Grandma Lori

I don't know how it is like for everyone else, but my son Josh, that lives near Kansas City, MO, has a hard time with his children's birthdays. He tries to get them to the family so we could celebrate, but having one set of parents, and two divorced parents, that all live very far away from him, and not to say each other, is really tough. What I suggest is finding a comfortable place where everyone is comfortable to go and visit. So my son only has to go to one place, he usually goes to his in-laws farm. And the kids have a blast. Definitely thing through when making family time.

Devilfish_Dad

That is a really great idea. My parents live in town with me, but Marsha's parents live about 100 miles away, and I have a brother that lives in between us. Thanks for the great idea.

TheNanna

Good tip Grandma Lori

Lily

When relatives from both sides live far away, I think you should take turns visiting them. Alternate Christmases with the families, and birthdays too if that's possible. This will ensure that your children grow up knowing all their relatives, not just the closest ones.

Grandma Lori

That seems kind of odd, alternating Christmases, seeing baby every 2 years. My sons visit about every 2-3 months, and we even sometimes go down south to her parents farm for birthday parties. We can work around that.

babysaurus

Alternate Christmases are sometimes the only solution. For instance, my aunt has 3 kids, and they all have 2 kids each. She lives in Ohio, the kids live in Ohio/Kentucky. The inlaws are in Georgia, Texas, and Colorado. So, my cousin's go to my aunt's on even years and to their inlaws on odd years. They had considered breaking it up so that their mom would always have at least one of them home for Christmas at all times, but she said she'd rather spend alternate Christmases alone than to live with the thought that they'd never all be together for Christmas again. You just have to find something that works and go with it. Alternate Christmases are better than nothing. Same with Birthdays.

Mom2Twins

Rather than choose between grandparents, we'll probably spend holidays at home. Of course everyone will be welcome to come and spend the holiday with us, but we don't want to have to make the decision. We'll visit relatives, and make sure they get equal attention, when it's not a holiday.

amber

This isn't going to be an issue for us. Our familys live within a few miles of each other. A short road trip of no more than 10 minutes either way for all family members.