All I Want for Christmas is You, and You, and You: Holidays with Extended Family

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My husband and I were both raised in Colorado Springs, and we both have a lot of family members who still live here. We also have a three-year-old, who is somewhat of a hot commodity around the holidays (does anyone get more excited about receiving presents than a three-year-old?!). For these reasons, this time of year often feels like we’re in our own romantic comedy where we’re driving around the city (sometimes multiple cities) to make an appearance at every holiday get-together, except there’s no dog to have monologues with outside. Two years ago, between just Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we went to FIVE different family Christmas celebrations. Crazy, you say? I. Love. It.

holidays

Living away from family for over three years meant I missed celebrating a lot of the little things – cousins’ weddings, Mother’s and Father’s Days, New Year’s Eves, Thanksgivings, and one Christmas, among other things. Missing those holidays was hard, but the idea of it was worse than actually living it. I enjoyed having tiny celebrations with my tiny family. We only had the three of us, and it was lovely. But, now that we’re in Colorado living near family, I’m surprised to say that I enjoy the hustle and bustle of seeing everyone.

In the months before leaving Texas, my husband and I were convinced that moving to Colorado and living near so much family would be difficult – that we’d feel pulled in every direction for every occasion that came up. Luckily, we both have understanding families; if we can’t make it to a celebration, function or get together, no one tries to put pressure or guilt on us. But I love seeing everyone! I love preparing and packing up three different types of appetizers for three different meals. Now that we own a house with a little bit of space, I can’t wait to have people over for Christmas morning brunch. See our tree? See our daughter in fleece Christmas pajamas? See the stockings?! It’s so much more fun when you can share the holidays with everyone!

I know many people won’t share my sentiments, and I can’t blame them. I also enjoy just being still. I love it when my husband, daughter and I are at home by ourselves in the evening and we have nowhere to be, but you also won’t catch me complaining about having to eat Christmas ham at three different houses.

How do you feel about all the family “obligations” that come with Christmastime? Do you say yes to every invitation? Or keep the driving to a minimum to maintain sanity?

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Sara
Sara was born in Colorado Springs, and lived here her entire life until she attended college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. There, she earned her degree in Journalism and Political Science. Sara met her husband, Luke, in the summer of 2008 while working at Wag N Wash Healthy Pet Center, although they didn't start dating until 2011 - after Sara had graduated from college and Luke had joined the Air Force. They married in 2012, when Luke was stationed in a small town in West Texas. Shortly after moving to the Lone Star State, Sara started her career in local television. She did everything from running the cameras, to producing the five o'clock news, to creating marketing campaigns for local businesses. Sara's daughter Cora was born in 2013, and Sara got her first taste of being a full-time working mom while living over 600 miles from her own parents. Luke's Air Force enlistment ended in the summer of 2015, so they high-tailed it back to Colorado Springs. Now, Sara lives near Old Colorado City and works in the marketing department of a law firm in Downtown Colorado Springs. She loves spending time with her family, cooking, biking, photography and playing with makeup (that’ll happen after working in television in Texas).