Where did you spend Christmas?

It’s weird being away from home at Christmas. Feelings of loneliness are a big symptom, along with a bit of guilt for not being home and confusion as to what to actually do when you don’t have the annual festive routine with family to enjoy. But you know where I am and that I’m away from home, so I want to ask about your Christmas break.


Did you stay at home or travel and who was it with? Are you currently travelling overseas yourself? Did you do something different this year or stick to tradition, and what does Christmas usually consist of for your family?

Everyone is different, due to my family being spread all over the UK  mine is typically with my parents and sister in the home, and every now and then we would see other family members if we got the chance. Mainly grandparents. My dad died in 2013 and since then it has been with my sister and mum, although we have made the effort since to see family located nearby. I believe the Christmas after dad died in November we spend it with my cousins and their family 40 minutes north in Newcastle. I lived and worked in Newcastle by this point after moving out of the family home in Durham and had to work Christmas Day, so it was easier for my mum and sister to come up to see me and the rest of the family that live here. It was a lovely Christmas and the first one I recall being away from home since the 90’s. 

So let me know what you got up to, again I hope you all had a great day and it would be nice to hear what this day consists of for you.

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28 thoughts on “Where did you spend Christmas?”

  2. I spent it with my parents, about an hour from where I’m living. It’s quiet, more quiet now that my siblings and I are all grown. It’s essentially an excuse for my Mom to make a big to-do about making a fancy meal. My niece will soon be the main focus of the season as we shower her with gifts and attempt to fill her with reverence for our family traditions.

    It’s taken on a somewhat different character for me since I converted to Catholicism this past Easter. My parents remain non-practicing Anglicans, and so I went to my first Christmas Mass as a Catholic by myself. My new perspective on the season made it lonely, in a way, because my family doesn’t share my spiritual enthusiasm.

    That didn’t put a pall on it, because that was only a few hours out of the whole weekend I spent with my family. It was a wonderful time and I can’t imagine spending Christmas without them. I know that day will come soon but I hope I can stave it off a few more years.

    AMDG

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    1. Family time is precious for sure. It is great that your mom likes to put on a fancy meal, I have never been a great cook but when someone has the enthusiasm to cook for everyone, everyone’s a winner! I am not religious, however my father grew up in a religious environment and I understand that mass can be a pretty powerful experience, even for someone like me.

      Enjoy the time with family because you never know how long we all have left to do so!

      Thank you for your comment,
      Sam

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  3. I spent the day with two very different groups of friends: A loosely-connected quartet of friends enjoying a noontide ham dinner and a family of six, relishing homemade pizzas, in the evening. As my birth family is on the other side of North America, I have long learned to cherish my friends here, during winter holidays.

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    1. I take it your family are pretty far away right now! It is great that you have friends to spend the time with over the festive period. The day seemed lovely, with plenty of food!

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  4. Yes for us the emphasis is on food and family but being a FIFO (fly in fly out) family, having everyone in town on the same day is sometimes a challenge. So we decided to have Christmas a week earlier when everyone was in Perth. We forgot about the date and enjoyed “Christmas”.

    It was a somewhat bitter sweet Christmas for me. I love all the cooking and preparation that goes into making it a family feast. This year I realised how this will change when my son announced we should all meet at their place next year for their first Christmas , as a married couple.

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    1. I don’t think the date you all meet matters, as long as their is a Christmas at some point to enjoy together 🙂 And that does sound bittersweet, however the reason for the change is a happy one! Maybe you can cook for them all over there?

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    1. I am not religious, so unfortunately I do not have that same mindset however I do appreciate your kind words and my Christmas was spent with some work friends so it was nice 🙂
      It is good to read you were able to spend some time with family, but sadly not all family. If anything it is a good excuse to travel (or for them to travel) and get to see them in the new year!

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  11. My travel was limited to a little over an hour to my in laws’ house for Christmas on the 16th. Then about a 30 min drive to my aunt’s on the 22nd for Christmas with my dad’s side of the family and a 20 minute drive to my parents’ house on Christmas day. I’m glad I no longer live 3 hours away from my family as I did not enjoy the traveling with so many others to visit family for the holidays.

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    1. Yeah it seems a lot more manageable now that you live closer to them, and that you are able to see all these family members over the festive period. I hate the travelling aspect! But I don’t get travel sick like I used to. Just bored easily!

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