Question of the Day Oct 25

Morning All!!!

With the holidays fast approaching the question for today is:

Do you usually have large family gatherings for the holidays?

This seems to be a tradition in my family, although each separate family celebrates at home, we usually try to have one day during the holidays that everyone gets together for a meal. There are to many of us to exchange individual gifts it would cost a fortune. But everyone will bring some food items along and we have a large buffet and catch up with the events of the year.

Well Neil's sisters take turns hosting thankgiving so it usually end up to be quite a big group of people esp now that most neices/nephews are married with yound children!

We have spent Christmas eve with one of his sisters families for years. We invite some of his sisters/brothers and some of their families back between christmas and new years but it can be quite the large crowd!!

We get together with hubby's family for all holidays. With his 4 brothers and one sister, spouses, nieces, nephews and grand nephews there are 25 of us. We used to host it but our current house is too small so we go to his other brother's place. Each family brings part of the dinner, i.e., his mom does the turkey and stuffing, one brother does roast beef and a ham, I do veggie dishes, another brother's wife does salads and home made bread, another 2 do most of the desserts and everyone helps with set-up and clean-up. They are such a wonderful family that it's a real treat. I've been married to hubby for 32 years and I have never seen a cross word between any of them.

I´ll spend (in order my family is in the same city,) the holidays sometimes in Parents house or sometimes in one of my brothers house....

When I was a kid we did, but now that everybody is pretty spread out and schedules don't allow for much travel time it's a much smaller number. Usually just my immediate family and a cousin or two.

When I was little, everybody would meet at my Aunt Suzanne's and we'd have 20+ people there. I miss it, .

I usually end up spending a lot of time with my boyfriend's family around the holidays and there is always a TON of people. The count at last Christmas was 27 adults and 14 children.

With all of my maternal relations that can be a huuuuuge crowd. The last time we got together we had to use the fellowship hall at Sis's church for Thanksgiving. Almost 60 of us.

Christmas tends to be more quiet. Just me and sis and her family for about 12 people.

We also have been known to get together to celebrate milestone birthdays for crowds of about 20.

Well, our family "gathering" is usually my Mom, sister and myself and sometimes my brother, Sister-in-law and Dog-in-law. Other members of my family are spread all over the place.

Not really. For the 4th of July we do a big barbecue but we don't have that many people over. On Thanksgiving we're going to my brother's house this year and we usually do Christmas just with my mom, my dad, me and my brother.

We tend to get together with my family since DH isn't really close to his. For Christmas, we do just our family Christmas, then do a big gathering day with each of the other branches of relatives. It's fun, but tiring.

We take turns, so it's my turn to entertain the family this Christmas

At Thanksgiving we usually do. On Christmas the biggest is usually at the inlaws on Christmas morning. My husband and his siblings and all the associated family members plus my mother and father in law. There are about 16 of us then.

It's kind of hard with my family. DH's parents and sister live down in Maine. My parents are currently retired in Portugal. My brother lives the closest to us, in Halifax, but he usually spends time with his wife's family. This year I think that my parents are going to come visit us and stay at our house for a week or two. I think my brother will come down and visit as well, as least for the day. DH's parents already came and slept in our house for week a couple months ago, so it's my sides' turn.

The last few years, with all our parents gone, we've been "making our own traditions", which usually includes my stepson and his SO, and a friend or two. But it's been a while since we've appeared at a gathering of the clan, so to speak. They tend to happen on the Island, which means ferry travel around holidays, which we try to avoid, but the time is coming when we are going to have to break down and do it. This is DH's family, and it usually means 20 or so people. My side of the family is all in Quebec and Ontario, and we don't travel much, so we don't see them very often, and not around holidays.