Let's face it, there's a hierarchy of holidays. Any day that you get to miss work is definitely a holiday. Depending on the food served, the traditions honored and even the gifts given (don't act like it's not important, this is a safe place), we all have our favorites. My mother is a Christmas nut. She literally plans all year round for that single day of the year. So on Christmas, we have to see my mother. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, is attached to Easter. She has more bunnies in her house than Beatrix Potter. Because its her favorite, we make sure to see her on Easter. Thank goodness, these two wonderful ladies aren't devoted to the same day.
It's lot of fun to juggle holidays between my family and my in-laws. It's even more fun to throw in my daughter's father's schedule. Suddenly, there's a whole new set of favorites and preferences to consider. On any given holiday, here's the list of family obligations my three year old is supposed to honor: her immediate family, her mother's parent's, her mother's father's parents, her mother's mother's parents, her step-father's parents, her father, her father's father, her father's mother, her father's father's parents and her father's mother's parents. Now sometimes, grandparents and great-grandparents are seen simultaneously, but not always. So for a single holiday, my pre-schooler has ten households that want a fraction of her time.