First married Christmas

**Epaphras** · 12-22-2008, 12:59 PM

For those of you who have already experienced one (or many more!) married Christmas, please share any meaningful, cute, embarrassing, etc. stories! For those of us who are about to celebrate our first married Christmas, what are you planning to do?

We set up our small 7' tree in our apartment and decorated it the day after Thanksgiving. We have been hiding presents and stocking-stuffers under the bed and wrapping them when the other is out.

We are planning on exchanging our gifts to each other on Tuesday night, because on Wednesday we are traveling to the other side of the state to split our time between the families. At my parents' house we are staying in my old bedroom. I always feel so naughty sleeping there with my wife - it was against the rules for so long lol.

How do you manage holiday travel with family? How do you decide who/when to visit and for how long? Luckily our families are only an hour apart, so we're visiting one on Christmas day and then driving to have dessert and spend Christmas Day eve with the "other" family.

Nate · 12-23-2008, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epaphras

For those of you who have already experienced one (or many more!) married Christmas, please share any meaningful, cute, embarrassing, etc. stories! For those of us who are about to celebrate our first married Christmas, what are you planning to do?

Our first Christmas was pretty uneventful. We spent a lot of the day together, and went across town to my mom's for awhile to exchange some gifts. Our whole first year of marriage was mostly just "settling in" to life together, and we really enjoyed just having a nice, relaxing, calm, quiet, unbusy holiday.

This is our second Christmas together, and now we're doing the whole take-off-work, leave-town, stay-with-family, etc, etc, etc thing. I'm glad we waited a year. We'll have years and years to worry about which famil[ies] to spend the holidays with and how and when to do so. We needed time to ourselves.

**Rach** · 12-24-2008, 02:12 AM

Since our families are on opposite sides of the west coast (his north, mine south) we have always alternated Christmas with each of them. This year was the year with my family down in So Cali, so that is where we are now. It's nice since we both work in education, we have two weeks off for "winter break" so it makes travel alot easier...especially when it is our year to be in So Cali. This arrangement works well, though when we have kids, we will start requiring our families to do more traveling to us, since traveling with small children is a bit harder.

bbrunskill · 06-17-2009, 06:44 PM

Coming up for our 3rd married christmas. This one will be fun as our son will be 2 and old enough to understand what is going on. Our famillies live a long way apart, so we are going to see my family this year.

marriageman · 11-16-2009, 09:42 AM

We learned right away to alternate holidays with her family and mine. Then after we had kids we learned that we wanted to have Christmas day for just our family. So we'll spend a few days before Christmas with my parents or her parents but then we'll have Christmas day just to ourselves.

It's a nice feeling when the kids are in bed December 24th and it's just me and her looking at the tree, watching TV, having some hot chocolate. I LOVE Christmas.

tlj009 · 11-17-2009, 09:54 AM

Quote:

How do you manage holiday travel with family? How do you decide who/when to visit and for how long? Luckily our families are only an hour apart, so we're visiting one on Christmas day and then driving to have dessert and spend Christmas Day eve with the "other" family.

We hit everyone during the same day. And we perform the near impossible task of eating 5 full meals in one day.

**bravesfan007** · 11-17-2009, 10:06 AM

This will be my first Christmas as a married person.

S.B.Nichols · 11-17-2009, 10:27 AM

Have fun. Christmas can be stressful. Think of fun and interesting ways to keep it non-stressful.

We got married four days before Christmas, which pretty much ruined our honeymoon AND our first Christmas together.

Nate · 11-17-2009, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.B.Nichols

Have fun. Christmas can be stressful. Think of fun and interesting ways to keep it non-stressful.

When I was scrolling down, out of the corner of my eye, this said "Think of ways to keep it non-sensual."

**slap_j** · 11-17-2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

When I was scrolling down, out of the corner of my eye, this said "Think of ways to keep it non-sensual."

Discard all mistletoe.

Nate · 11-17-2009, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slap_j

Discard all mistletoe.

tlj's idea of "eating 5 full meals in one day" might work well, too.

**Role Modlin** · 11-17-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marriageman

We learned right away to alternate holidays with her family and mine. Then after we had kids we learned that we wanted to have Christmas day for just our family. So we'll spend a few days before Christmas with my parents or her parents but then we'll have Christmas day just to ourselves.

It's a nice feeling when the kids are in bed December 24th and it's just me and her looking at the tree, watching TV, having some hot chocolate. I LOVE Christmas.

After 18 years...I will heartily agree with this.

jthomas1600 · 11-17-2009, 02:32 PM

I've missed many Christmas "day" celebrations in the 16 or so years I've been married. This year I'm out of town Oct., Nov., and Dec. so I'm missing a lot. But this post is not to whine and cry, but to say the one thing I've learned is to role with the punches. Not every holiday is going to be exactly the way you would plan it if you had control over all the variables. My wife will celebrate Christmas with the kids on the 25th and then we will have another Christmas when I get home.

S.B.Nichols · 11-17-2009, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

When I was scrolling down, out of the corner of my eye, this said "Think of ways to keep it non-sensual."

just the opposite, in fact....

Folk_guy · 11-17-2009, 05:15 PM

Being married around the holidays can be very stressful, in regards to trying to spend the time equally with both sides. My mother is particularly demanding regarding the holidays, and gets really bent out of shape when we leave to visit my wife's family. This has been going on for 30 years, and it doesn't get any better, you just learn to cope with it better. Don't let family distractions like jealousy over who you spent the most time with get you down. Just do your best to be fair, and don't let it stress you out. Try to keep in mind what the season is really about.