The holidays can be an amazing time of year. It’s a time for everyone to gather together and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. Whether it’s decorating the tree, watching holiday movies, or waking up early on Christmas day to open presents, there is always something to love about Christmas.
Spending the holidays with your family is great, but being with the entire extended family can easily turn into chaos. Here are 5 reasons why it’s okay if you avoided your relatives during the holidays:
1. Practicality.
Unfortunately, some of us have no choice but to work on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. When your extended family lives several hours away, it’s not easy to pay them a visit. It can also be difficult to fit the entire group under one roof, so sleeping arrangements are often tricky or uncomfortable. Instead of driving all night after a long work day just to wait hours to use the bathroom, wouldn’t it be nice to be snuggled up on the couch watching a movie with your close family instead? If your extended family genuinely cares about your wellbeing, they will understand.
2. Forced small talk.
When we are young and carefree, it’s easy for everyone to get along. However, when we get older, we naturally grow apart. Thus, conversations are often forced, empty, and without meaning. It’s better to be talking to the people who genuinely care about your life or the things you have to say.
3. Questions about your future from condescending relatives.
You know, I’m talking about the ones who think it’s okay to scold you or tell you what to do as if you were a child. You don’t need your own family to be judging you or your life choices. Nobody needs unsolicited advice or their aunt chasing them down to tell them they should go to college! So don’t feel bad avoiding them if you have judgey relatives.
4. Gossip.
A family without gossip? I would love to see that! There is usually at least one relative who can’t help themselves but to start gossiping about you as soon as you leave the room. These types of relatives are also the ones who pretend to be your best friend just to get information from you. Nobody needs to deal with two-faced relatives with bad intentions… especially at Christmas time.
5. Competitive relatives.
They can be patronizing, constantly one-upping other family members, or subtly bragging about how generous they’ve been with the Christmas presents this year. Wouldn’t you rather avoid conversations that are low-key comparing each other’s success? Let’s keep the holidays positive and magical, folks.
When some of your extended family members bring negativity to your Christmas celebrations, it’s okay to celebrate without them. If there are family members that you would like to spend time with, you can easily make plans with them before or after the holidays! Sometimes quality time is more important than holiday traditions. Some relatives are so busy keeping up appearances, they forget how to genuinely enjoy each other’s company. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?
Featured image from Thought Catalog via Unsplash.
