For those of you who celebrate and/or for those who have time off work, how do you plan to spend your Christmas? Visiting relatives? With your spouse/partner and children (if applicable)? Getting away from it all?

I'm going to have a very quiet Christmas myself. Alas my partner is working every single day I have off work which is a real shame. I am planning to take Christmas Eve off work since that is his day off, and we intend to have a lovely meal and relax and probably head to the pub at some point :D

Christmas day he will head off to work early afternoon so I expect we will have lunch first, then I'll settle down in front of the telly for the afternoon and evening.

Boxing day I will probably visit my parents, or maybe the day after.

New Years Eve will be the big celebration for us, neither of us is working and we have tickets to a great night out with loads of mates and beer :D

So tell me about your Christmas plans - do you enjoy Christmas, or do you, like many people, find it can put a strain on family relationships?

(Oh and have a good one, whatever you do!)

Christmas is for family when you're still livin' with 'em ;)

The day will start at about 4 30 am, when my brothers wake me up, if I'm not already awake, to look at the wrapped presents in our stockings from Santa. At 7 we are allowed to wake our parents up to actually open the presents. Then we will have breakfast, and my Mum will start preparing Christmas Dinner. Then some of my parent's friends will come over for Christmas drinks. Then we will have dinner (lunch) and then have to wash up. Then we are allowed to open the presents under the tree. Then we play with our new presents for the rest of the day, interspersed with calls to relatives back in England.

For us, 'twill be a bit of relaxation, and a bit of travel.

We'll wake up in the morning here so the kids can see what Christmas has brought and to have our holiday tradition of monkey bread for breakfast.

Then, before they've had a chance to get into any of their presents and such and amidst much complaining, we'll pile into the minivan and drive across the state to see Grandpa and his side of the family for Christmas dinner.

After we've stuffed and sated, and before the kids have had a chance to get into any of their presents, we'll pile in again and drive over to Grandma's for dinner, round 2.

Stuffing, satiation, and then piling again... for the trip back home.

With luck, I won't act on any black and evil thoughts that cross my mind throughout the day... :D

I lock myself up from the outside world with a bunch of dvd's, a few cases of beer and stuff and do absolutely nothing at all. I'm glad Christmas is on a saturday and sunday, on those days i'm pretty inactive as it is anyway.

I'll celebrate an early Christmas with my husband and a dear friend about a week before the actual holiday. We usually have a nice dinner, listen to Christmas carols and open gifts.

Then on Christmas we'll all go up to my friend's family for more food, music, talk and gifts. [img]smile.gif[/img] Nacht's and my parents are on the other side of the country so we don't travel out there in the winter, but we will be calling them.

My father-in-law will awaken us about 9:30 and come over from his house across the street, and we will open presents. Then Christmas dinner and then Piestrider will go to his other home and Galadria will be sad for a bit. We will then clean up the kitchen. Then I will get drunk.

Hiram and I will have a little bit of Christmas early, then go over to spend Christmas Eve with my mother. It's a tradition. No matter how old I've gotten, she still loves hiding pressies from me (and now my hubby) and waiting until I'm (we are) asleep to sneak presents in under the tree.

We'll all be getting up around 6:30 - 7:30am to have a bit of breakfast, then open presents. We may then head over to my aunt's house (about 30 minutes away) for a bit of Christmas dinner.

Unfortunately, all of Hiram's friends and family live in New Jersey/Philadelphia. And since he's only been on his new job for a few months, he'll have to be there for a year before getting a week's vacation. My hope is to spend some time next year around Thanksgiving/Christmas up there so he can hang out with his friends, etc. [img]smile.gif[/img] But this year, it will be with me and mine and I hope he will have a good time.

I will spend it with my father and friends. We'll probably eat and drink something and exchange gifts.

I'll visit my grandparents. First christmas day we'll go to my father's side. Just doing nothing and then have dinner I suppose. Second christmas day we'll do surprises at my mother's parent's.

We are planning on going down to my husbands family about a week before christmas, spend the night (probably if mother-in-law does not drive me crazy) let the kids play with their toys spend time getting to know their new cousin, and hopefully the sisters they have only talked to on the phone. [img]smile.gif[/img] Christmas day will be spent the fist few hours or so here away from everyone, then we will go over to me Grandmothers and visit with my crazy half of the family (I am not joking they are crazy) spend as much time with my grandmother as I can. you know, it is knida funny in a sad way, you always take for granted the family until you know one is very ill, then you want to spend as much time with that person as you can. and they are still my family, no matter how annoying they are, and how little my husband or his family likes them (think redneck christmas and you have my family ;) ) but that is how we will spend it....unless I get an offer to run away to some foreign country somewhere and never have to come back........ J/K
Happy Holidays everyone, no matter what you believe in [img]smile.gif[/img]