I absolutely love the holiday season. For me, the best thing is being able to spend time with my family without worrying about work. Yet, one thing my family often has to worry about during this time is how to split our time with all of our family. Juggling the holidays as a family of five can be a challenge. On top of that, Lawrence and I are blessed to have two sets of parents. While I definitely do not promote divorce, I can see how God still continued to bless our family with a loving, supportive village.
So since we both come from split households, that makes for an extremely large family. As a child, I can recall house hopping throughout the holidays so that we can spend time with as much of our family as possible. And as a child, it was fun because I did not have to worry about the logistics of it all. But now that I am married with a family of my own, I realize that traveling from house to house with 3 small children can be exhausting. I often find that I can’t truly settle in at one place because I am watching the clock to ensure we get to the next stop in a timely manner. Not to mention, I don’t eat too much at one place, so as not to be rude at the next.
So what’s our solution? We make our own traditions that allow us to maximize time with family, while keeping us sane. Below, are some of the ways in which we juggle the holiday season as a family of five:
Thanksgiving
We rotate whose house we celebrate at each year. Now, obviously the pandemic had us all cooking our own meals last year, but we are ready to get back to this rotation. Between my mom, my brothers, and I, we all pitch in with a dish to bring. My in-laws have even joined us at times.
Christmas Eve
My brothers and I have had a long-standing tradition of spending this day with our father’s side of the family. We are grateful that our dad and stepmom are still willing and able to host us, our spouses, and all 10 of the grandkids! It is a night filled with great food, wonderful company, and karaoke. This is also the day that we exchange gifts on this side of the family.
Christmas Day
Lawrence and I host Christmas breakfast with his side of the family. We also tend to rotate who will host breakfast each year. This allows us to share a meal with my in-laws and exchange gifts with them. In the afternoon, we typically celebrate with my mother, at her house. This is the only day during the holiday season that we may house hop. It just depends on the year.
At the end of the day, we aim to spend as much time with as much family as possible, in a way that does not leave us completely exhausted. In order to do that we have to plan ahead. Making holiday plans the week of induces unnecessary stress. With a family of five, determining all the logistics well in advance is essential. Making our plans around nap and bedtimes are very important as well. If the girls do not take a nap before going to a family event, we are guaranteed to either leave early or constantly have to help manage their emotions throughout the event.
As our children grow older and our family continues to expand, these holiday traditions may need to change. We are completely open to that, as long as we plan ahead :-).
How do you organize family time during the holiday season? Comment Below:
