its prob different if you dont have kids, but we have always had kids, and i have only my mom in the same city and state, and my husband has about 100+ family members who all live in the same city.
so guess where we would go...for 2 years we did the thanksgiving/christmas rounds at his moms house, and other relatives would pop by for a few minutes. we hated it. either the people who cooked couldnt cook for sh!t, or they dont ever cook.
we sat on the couch, while the little kids ran by us and threw stuff around, and made noise...by us...we hated it, but we got guilted into going. his dads side of the family was worse. they are very religous and we had a baby underage...yea, they lined up to talk to us....
we were not allowed to watch tv, not even a family movie, we were not allowed to leave the house, even though we were grown, it was just strange, and they didnt have a tree or even had christmas music playing either.
we just dont get involved with hoildays, we dont cook, we just let them slide by. why, the kids get toys and clothes, they go outside to play, they get time off from school....what more do kids need, day light to ride bikes, and time off from school.
i dont think a few days in the year is a reason to jump through hoops. we eat roast chicken, turkey, glazed ham, sweet potatoes, squash, i make the same awesome mashed potatoes every time, we have fancy rolls weekly, i make kick ass corn bread....all year.
we have fun all year and make special memories all the time, i dont like going over someones house and not being treated well or i am so uncomfortable being there, im just clock watching the whole time im there.
i like being at home, with the kids running in and out, watching movies, and not jumping up to go running in the kitchen every 15 minutes, for 10 hours. sometimes husband works, so i will go meet him when hes off.