Family drama-induced Christmas signals

Every year, early December, my partner and I visit my family in the city where I was born. We exchange gifts, play board games, and catch up in general. This sounds all nice and cozy - unless you're familiar with the dynamics in my family. You see, none of them get along with anyone else but me.

This means that instead of arranging and scheduling one get-together where we all could meet, I need to arrange and schedule separate get-togethers with each (3 or 4 in total). And since I am not wasting any precious time in December driving back and forth the two cities multiple times, I pack all of those meets for the same weekend.

So when the time comes to pick the weekend for the trip, I cross my fingers and hope that everyone's free - if not all weekend, then at least at different times so there are no overlaps and everything fits.

I'm happy to report that this year, the scheduling went smoothly: the chosen weekend worked with everyone, as well as the specific times. Someone might call it luck. Someone else might call it being an organizational mastermind.

Whatever it is, I'm glad we don't have the same issue in my partner's family.

What's more, the intense hour of texting and emailing is a clear signal to my brain that Christmas is, indeed, coming!