Clive
Full Metal Jacket
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What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« on: November 14, 2007, 07:43:59 PM » |
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Just curious what the married couples/families do for the holidays in terms of staying home v. traveling to family. My wife and I decided to alternate parental homesteads (2-hour drive to hers, 9-hour drive to mine). It's a Clive's-Folks Christmas this year.
For the traveling crowd, how do you handle presents? Open before you leave? Open when you return? Haul all the crap with you and open it on the road?
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birdymaker
Straitjacket From: a third world country in the making
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2007, 07:48:14 PM » |
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travel for thanksgiving, home for Christmas. i insist.
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women are like tornados. In the beginning there's a lot of sucking and blowing. In the end, the car's gone, the house is gone..
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Spanky
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2007, 07:48:28 PM » |
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Well since my folks are 2 miles away and her mom is 15 miles away I don't think I qualify to answer. However when I was young we always hauled gifts with us.
But unless you have a trailer for the bike I suggest USPS.
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spacey
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat From: Group W Bench
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2007, 07:51:45 PM » |
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Glad to see you back. Got the Triple, eh? Nice.  The spacey clan has always done Christmas Eve, so at first we did Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with Hers (3ish hours north of here), but since she's been a nurse (or nsg student) she's had a hard time getting away from work on the holidays, so we don't do her parents place lately. Once she's got more seniority, I suspect that will change, particularly when grandchildren are in the mix. We tend to exchange gifts between the two of us at home and only haul those that are for family members. Even then, we draw names so we're only hauling a couple of gifts. |
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stroh
Sleeveless Hoodie From: Impact Crater Springs, CA
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2007, 07:53:40 PM » |
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Non applicable here as well. The whole fam damily is within 15 miles.
The only exception is Karen's sister and husband that travel about 3 hours no matter who's house it's at.
They pack all the *feces* up, and then return with the the *feces* we give 'em. Big ass Continental. Looks like the Grinch headed back up the mountain.
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Clive
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2007, 07:56:43 PM » |
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On the hauling presents point, I kinda meant for you folks with KIDS. But I don't mind hearing about what the spouses do with the gifts, for that matter, so long as I don't have to look anything up on urbandictionary.com.
On our front: two years ago, when it was last Clive's family's turn, we flew instead of driving. That made it difficult to take along all the gifts we had for one another and the young one, so we didn't. Last year, we took some and left some at home. This year ... we can't decide.
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Seamus
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2007, 07:57:52 PM » |
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Extended family here. It starts actually thanksgiving day for us with presents hauled 2 hours to my wifes "real" dad's house. Christmas eve is spent with my mom and dad and niece and nephew at my house, my sister used to host, but she has moved. That set of presents are opened. Christmas morning used to be spent with my wife's mom and dad, but dad died last year and mom lives in FLA for another couple of months. So now it's just the four of us, that set of presents are opened. It used to be a very grueling 24 to 36 hours, 15 years ago the Christmas morning part of it would take as much as much as 9 hours to finish, we would actually have a meal at the midway point and then resume. But people have moved and people have died and my folks are getting older and my kids are growing up and I don't know where I'm going with this.  |
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Uisce Beatha
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat From: In the Jar
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #7 on: November 14, 2007, 08:01:36 PM » |
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SLC v. Alabama v. Ohio v. Ireland v. Germany.
Easy peesey. We stay in God's country and send everyone advent calendars.
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"If you're darker than a caramel, Reverend Al speaks for you." - Aasif Mandvi
"Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man: no time to talk." - stroh
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Spanky
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2007, 08:02:47 PM » |
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It used to be a very grueling 24 to 36 hours, 15 years ago the Christmas morning part of it would take as much as much as 9 hours to finish, we would actually have a meal at the midway point and then resume. But people have moved and people have died and my folks are getting older and my kids are growing up and I don't know where I'm going with this. I hear you on this part. When we at her mom's everyone is there, so there are 8 kids and 7 adults. Takes all day, especially if we do the one present at a time thing. |
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Seamus
Straitjacket
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #9 on: November 14, 2007, 08:04:08 PM » |
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It used to be a very grueling 24 to 36 hours, 15 years ago the Christmas morning part of it would take as much as much as 9 hours to finish, we would actually have a meal at the midway point and then resume. But people have moved and people have died and my folks are getting older and my kids are growing up and I don't know where I'm going with this. I hear you on this part. When we at her mom's everyone is there, so there are 8 kids and 7 adults. Takes all day, especially if we do the one present at a time thing. Yeah that's about right I think there used to be 8 adults and about 8 kids...whew...draining. Yup we did one present at a time...mandatory...had to see everyones reaction. |
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stroh
Sleeveless Hoodie From: Impact Crater Springs, CA
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OfflineWe're doomed!
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2007, 08:14:19 PM » |
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Clive:  stroh:  |
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Spanky
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2007, 08:28:06 PM » |
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Clive: stroh:  That's funny as *feces* right there! |
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E-A-G-L-E!
Rich Corinthian Leather Jacket From: The Land of 10,000+ Slushy Ice Rinks
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2007, 08:37:23 PM » |
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Well, I am part of a family...  Before we moved in with Grandma, we used to go over to my paternal grandparents on Christmas Eve. (When I was really young my most of my dad's side would gather together for Christmas (Eve or Day), but the family tree outgrew that.) On Christmas Day, we would be with my mom's side. We'd open some presents on Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandma, some the morning of Christmas Day, and sometimes we'd bring a few with when we were with my mom's side. It varied by year. Now, we still spend Christmas Eve with Grandma; we just don't have to go anywhere. And we still spend Christmas Day with my mom's side. Typically, my mom's sister hosts it, which is an 1 1/2 hour drive for us. Presents are opened mostly on Christmas Eve, but some are saved for the morning of Christmas Day. |
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He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot
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campy
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2007, 08:51:41 PM » |
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I have worked probably 15 of the last 18 Christmas holidays, and since I hate it anyway, I hope to work again this year. The couple of times I haven't worked, I have spent Christmas with my side of the family in Wisconsin and Massachusetts and neither time were gifts involved, just a lot of drinking and family infighting.
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Aske
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Re: What Y'all Married Folks Do For Christmas
« Reply #14 on: November 14, 2007, 09:03:30 PM » |
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i can get drunk anywhere i guess  |
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