Everyone's relatives are annoying
Kill them with kindness
Combat subtle jabs from your brother or outright rudeness from your mother-in-law by being as pleasant as possible. Kill your relatives with kindness and it will turn their mood around—or at least make them look like the jerk instead of you.
House rules
Don't stay with relatives if you can afford to stay somewhere else. With everyone confined to one house, there are bound to be arguments over the smallest things, so having a physical space you can retreat to without being surrounded by your entire family can help make the holiday more enjoyable. If a hotel isn't in the mix, look into an Airbnb or a family-friendly vacation rental that you can split with a sibling.
Have an exit strategy
If you can't stay somewhere else—either because finances are tight or there's no availability anywhere—make a plan for how you'll get out of the house to stay sane during your visit. Offer to run errands, take the dog for a walk or whatever you can so you can get a breather for a little bit.
Cousin troubles
Getting together with family members who have kids can sometimes be tough because your sister-in-law might let her children do things that your kids aren't allowed to do. It's tough to face that peer pressure as a parent to just give in, and it's also tough for your kids to deal with not being allowed to do something that they see their cousins doing. Try to avoid tantrums and problems in advance with a simple phone call to agree on anything that might be an issue for your kids or theirs. If you don't let your kids eat sugar between meals or play violent video games, there's no harm in strategizing ahead of time to keep the rules in place.
Skip holiday cards
Do yourself a favor and just say "forget about it" when it comes to holiday cards. You can send them to your parents and your in-laws, but there's no need to impress your 125 closest friends and PTA acquaintances with holiday greetings. Instead, save money and time by taking a cute photo of the kids and sending it as an email to wish people a happy holiday season.
"Me time"
Even if it means waking up an hour before your kids roll out of bed, stealing 30 minutes on your own to relax during nap time, or asking a relative to put your kids to bed so you can have a minute to yourself, don't forget to get some quiet time in. As the saying goes: If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!
