Handling the Holiday(s)

Parrothead Mike wrote:
I wasn't trying to be politically correct in using the term "holidays" because my question really does include both the Thanksgiving and especially the Christmas holidays while being a snowbird.

This will be our 4th winter going south. Initially we left on February 1st, then mid-January, and last year we left December 30th. This year we plan to leave sometime right after Christmas as long as the nice weather holds up. But now we're starting to face the dilemma of leaving even earlier. (It's always nice to travel in warmer/dryer conditions.) It's a dilemma because of the holidays and family obligations/relations, etc. And as many of our snowbird friends have noted; first it's a couple of months and eventually it will be 6 months in the south.

Not sure we'll get to the 6 month snowbird experience, but without making a return trip for at least Christmas how do you all handle being away from family during the holiday period? It's not so much how we will deal with it, but I'm more concerned about our 2 kids (in their 30's & not married - no grandkids) and my nephew & his family that are more or less like our kids.

I want to break the news to them that we're thinking of heading south in November or possibly right after Thanksgiving. How have your family members handled it? How do you handle it? Do you just have your Christmas celebration at Thanksgiving or in between? How about just sending money as a Christmas present and being done with it? At our age (mid-60s) we are not as excited about the Christmas experience as we once were. It seems that it's becoming a more stressful time of the year for us and we'd prefer to just get away from it all and enjoy a warmer more relaxing climate. Are we alone with this line of thought?

the reaction of my daughter in law was "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE HERE FOR CHRISTMAS?!!!???"(this was 2011 the 1st year we did this) My grandkids were sad when we skyped (which saves.my.life!! couldn't live without Skype)

how I handled it? not well at all. I miss home at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We visited friends on Thanksgiving this year, and the whole time I was "I'm spending this holiday with someone ELSE'S family)

it won't be happening again, we're leaving later next year AFTER Thanksgiving. And, last year we flew home for Christmas the BEST CHRISTMAS i've ever HAD!!! I spent $$$ to do that, so I spent every waking moment, guilt free with my kids and grandkids <3 <3 <3


we WERE going to go to Disneyland this year, they were going to drive down and meet us there but it fell through, or I'd be flying home again. not sure where I'll be on Christmas, but I'll be sad :(