WEBVTT - How to split the holidays

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to come up with creative ways to

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<v Speaker 1>split the holidays. If you have a big family, Inevitably

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<v Speaker 1>some folks are going to need or want to spend

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<v Speaker 1>holidays with other sides of the family. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>plan well, you might be able to see everyone and

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<v Speaker 1>avoid bad feelings. Two, if you have a partner, it

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<v Speaker 1>is possible that you live near both sides of your family,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe one family loves to celebrate Thanksgiving while another

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<v Speaker 1>leans more into Christmas or another religious holiday. If so,

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<v Speaker 1>that is great, but many families wind up in more

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<v Speaker 1>complicated situations. Two sets of grandparents are many hours away

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<v Speaker 1>from each other and both want their whole broods under

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<v Speaker 1>their roofs. Or maybe one particular family member can't or

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<v Speaker 1>won't travel or has to work on the holiday itself,

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<v Speaker 1>which means that people more often than not wind up

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<v Speaker 1>going to them. That means these travelers don't get to

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<v Speaker 1>spend holiday time at home, which many people like to

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<v Speaker 1>do too. You can alternate doing Christmas and Thanksgiving with

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<v Speaker 1>each side of the family. But what if another set

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<v Speaker 1>of siblings is on a different schedule, then you are

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<v Speaker 1>never seeing them. Ideally, everyone is accommodating, but that doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>always happen. It can lead to hard feelings. But I

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<v Speaker 1>recently heard an idea which I find in treguing and

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<v Speaker 1>is a good one for the matriarch or patriarch of

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<v Speaker 1>a far flung or big family to implement. That is,

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<v Speaker 1>you establish a holiday gathering time that is not Thanksgiving

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<v Speaker 1>or Christmas. You all gather on your family's particular celebration day,

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<v Speaker 1>but that leaves the other days open for families who

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<v Speaker 1>wish or need to celebrate with their other side of

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<v Speaker 1>the family, or who'd like to stay home. Your family's

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<v Speaker 1>celebration day could still be around the holidays. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>you could host your big holiday gathering on a mid

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<v Speaker 1>December weekend. You all gather on, say December. People might

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<v Speaker 1>need to take a day or two off work to travel,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe not too many days. And in any case,

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<v Speaker 1>for folks who work in say law enforcement or at

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<v Speaker 1>a hospital, it might be easier to request the days

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<v Speaker 1>around or seventeen off than an actual holiday. You can

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<v Speaker 1>all celebrate and then people can spend Christmas or Thanksgiving

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<v Speaker 1>at home or with other relatives if they wish, or

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<v Speaker 1>those who are available can gather again if they want to.

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<v Speaker 1>More family time, fewer bad feelings now. To be sure,

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<v Speaker 1>there are often a lot of office parties and kid

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas events and such on December weekends, So to make

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<v Speaker 1>this even easier on people, you might host your holiday

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<v Speaker 1>gathering the weekend after New Year's whatever that happens to be.

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<v Speaker 1>I will note that the twelve days of Christmas actually

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<v Speaker 1>happen after Christmas, extending to January six. Many places still

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<v Speaker 1>have their lights up, and it might be easier to

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<v Speaker 1>get tickets if you are the frugal sort. I'd note

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<v Speaker 1>that having a family holiday party around January six means

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<v Speaker 1>you've got a week of shopping time available during the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest sales of the year. How much of a win

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<v Speaker 1>is that, plus you stretch out the fun. January can

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<v Speaker 1>be bleary in many places, having a big celebration to

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to pushes any duldrums off a few weeks

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<v Speaker 1>closer to spring. So if you've got a big family

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like to see, and many of your family members

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<v Speaker 1>have other sides of the family that they need or

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<v Speaker 1>want to see, then consider instituting a non holiday holiday.

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<v Speaker 1>The holidays are more about spending time with loved ones

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<v Speaker 1>than the actual dates themselves. If you can arrange to

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<v Speaker 1>spend time with your whole family without causing tough choices,

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<v Speaker 1>that's really a huge present you are giving to everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>It is definitely better than another tie. In the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for this thing, and here's to

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<v Speaker 1>making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love

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<v Speaker 1>to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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