[UUMom]

I think I need a porfessional organizer. Or a personal assitant. Yeah, that would be niice. Or anyone chime in, as I am feeling very challenged at this minute.

I am trying to get it together to have two at least small 'christmasses' in two different places. We are going to FL (family) for two weeks right before christmas and through NY.

One thing I have done is get someone to stay at hour place full time while we are gone for the dogs and other animals. So that's done. And it's a load off my mind.

So, if you had to transport a little christmas 1500 miles, how would you do it without losing your mind? (No fair saying you wouldn't do it. lol)

 

[MomAndOliver]

Well, I don't have a good general answer, but I can tell you what I am planning. Just so you know where I am coming from, I have one 3-year-old ds and the three of us will be driving to Nashville (10 hours) on Christmas in a mini-cooper (so definitely space constraints on what we can take). We are going to get up on Christmas, let ds open his presents and eat our traditional cheese-and-sausage Christmas biscuits, and then drive. ds is getting a few new train pieces for Christmas, so I am going to set them up in a track for him after he goes to sleep Christmas Eve, and I am going to make sure that the track fits in a medium-sized Rubbermaid container. That way, before we leave, he can put it in and he will be able to play with it in Nashville. At 3, I couldn't just let him open things and then not be able to take them with him, so this is my solution. I will also leave room to pack his new pajamas (for another 3-year-old, this might not be important, but ds really wanted these pajamas) and a few small new things. His stocking is going to be snacks for the car, also his first issue of Highlights, which my grandma got him for Christmas. We will also need to take a few small gifts for my husband's family (I may take gift bags flat and just put them in when we get there). It isn't a perfect plan - I really wanted to stay home. But it is very important to my husband that we go see his grandparents this year, so I am trying to make things as smooth as possible.

 

[Peppermint Leaf]

LOL -- I thought your title was transporting 1500 Christians !!

:

 

[angelcollector1]

Well I did that last year however in the opposite direction. I live alone though and flew so lots of space constraints. I got there early enough to have a few days to buy gifts major time and $ saver since I didn't have to ship them. If you are an online shopper you could shop where free shipping is offered and ship things to where you will be staying.

 

[UUMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peppermint Leaf LOL -- I thought your title was transporting 1500 Christians !! :

Excellent! I didn't even 'see' that. I'll fix it. lol

 

[pumpkin]

I assume you are driving?

We travel all the time for the holidays. It really isn't a big deal.
I just load presents in the trunk of the car and go. Gifts ordered online often get shipped to the destination and wrapped when we arrive.

We generally just go along with whatever the people at our destination are doing in terms of decorations and such. Sometimes I bring our favorite cookies. If we are in a hotel, I try to bring some small decorations. A string of lights or a one foot fake tree.

When visiting certain families I know that they don't really do much for the holidays and it always disappoints me. For those events I bring along some activities that will get me in the spirit. One year I bought some gingerbread house kits and tons of decorations and got all the young kids together to decorate. It was the only holiday specific activity the whole week since the hosts cared more about skiing and hiking then cocoa and lights.

 

[UUMom]

I ordered a few things on line that are being shipped. Some other things have to be taken in the car. My kids want their stockings in FL etc., so I've got to bring those. They also still want a tree in their own home, although we have been abe to tone down their needs for lots of white lights outside. We're down to just the porch.

The house needs to be put in order after we have a party here-- my kids can't face no Christmas with their cousins and grannies here. Although I made it a potluck, and that helps.

I am feeling stressed about what feels like two Christmases. Our Christamsses tend to be very simple, and doing it in two places means nothing feels very simple.

His side down there, my side up here. But my MIL can't travel as she is recovering from surgery. We are very much looking forawrd to seeing our family there. But there's a lot to do to make it happen.

Once there, we should be able to relax some. We plan on taking the kids to a hotel for a couple of days, too. So that should be some good down time.

 

[UUMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkin I assume you are driving? We travel all the time for the holidays. It really isn't a big deal. I just load presents in the trunk of the car and go. Gifts ordered online often get shipped to the destination and wrapped when we arrive. We generally just go along with whatever the people at our destination are doing in terms of decorations and such. Sometimes I bring our favorite cookies. If we are in a hotel, I try to bring some small decorations. A string of lights or a one foot fake tree. When visiting certain families I know that they don't really do much for the holidays and it always disappoints me. For those events I bring along some activities that will get me in the spirit. One year I bought some gingerbread house kits and tons of decorations and got all the young kids together to decorate. It was the only holiday specific activity the whole week since the hosts cared more about skiing and hiking then cocoa and lights.

We are driving. My MIL just sent money to buy the kids gifts-- I thought she was going to give them money. But now I need to shop & bring those gifts along as she wants to see them open everything Christmas morning. Hey, just had surgery and not quite up to shopping, so I will cut her a teeny bit of slack. lol

What a good attitude you have! My dh's family in FL are party people, even when it's not a holiday. And for them, the biggest parties are around Christmas. (Although presents are not a huge thing, so I've always been grateful for that!!). Decorations and such will *not* be a problem. There are several parties at various homes that are planned. I am worried about putitng on about a zillion pounds, however.

There will be lots of kids, and I like the idea about doing a little craft with them. I might think about a Target trip down there or something for glitter etc.

 

[doubledutch]

ship all the gifts ahead of time, or at least anything not terribly heavy/bulky/expensive to ship. eta: i understand bringing the kids' gifts from mil (although, if you can, order online and have them shipped to her house). however, gifts from you to the kids, or between you and dh or whatever . . . why bring them? let the kids open them at your local christmas party or a nuclear family "christmas trip eve" the night before you leave or something. they will have the presents from your mil and the stockings to open on actual christmas.

it sounds like you are also stressed about hosting christmas for your local family (and the aftermath of that party!). is there any way to take some of the pressure off you? potluck? will the kids help clean up . . . or would you want a cleaning person as a christmas gift?!

 

[marieangela]

We did Christmas in the Bahamas (bil and fam live there) a couple of years ago. Had to fly from PA. We agreed on no gifts for adults, just the kids. We bought packable, non-fragile things for nieces and nephews. We told the boys we would see what Santa got them after we got back from the our trip. They got plenty of gifts while we were there (kind of hard to bring back, but we managed). One bil and wife decided to bring their kids gifts with them unbeknownst to us. Mil was worried that our kids would feel left out or bad about not having as much. They didn't even notice. They had a blast with their cousins, went to the pool and the beach, and were fine with what they got. We then looked forward to going home and having Christmas at home. I had my parents water the tree while we were gone and put the dog in a kennel (my parents aren't dog people). It all worked out. Good luck and have fun!