How our First Christmas Family Vacation Almost Didn't Happen

This past weekend, our family went on our very first Christmas Family vacation and it was a big deal.For as long as I've been alive and generations before me, our family celebrates Christmas on Christmas eve. We go to mass, we enjoy a big bountiful feast of food, and we open gifts.Christmas day for my family is the day in which we eat leftovers, relax, and spend time with each other in the comfort of our own homes.Since I've been married Christmas day has been dedicated to my mother in law and is a much quieter and tame day compared to Christmas eve with my family. We open gifts, eat delicious southern comfort foods in between naps, and watch A Christmas Story, just the three of us- my mother in law, my husband, and me, all wearing our pajamas.Brandon, my husband, and I, like to think we're lucky because we don't have to pick between families for Christmas. My family celebrates Christmas eve, his mom celebrates Christmas day.My husband this year decided that he wanted a change of pace for Christmas and part of that change was merging our worlds- my Latino, loud, and unfiltered family with his single mother who is NOT used to noise, or chaos.I've been around long enough that I can physically notice her discomfort the few times we've all been together for an extended period of time. In my family, multiple people speak at once and we're all able to follow all the several conversations happening around us. We speak loud and fast. My mother in law is not used to that.Brandon also wanted a change in scenery, a weekend getaway- no quiet time at home, no Christmas story marathon in our pajamas."Are you really sure about this?", I asked (with my mother in law in mind), but Brandon was settled on it so we proceeded to ask our family members.All parties agreed to an expense paid weekend vacation (Merry Christmas from us) and so the planning began.We wanted to give our relatives some much needed rest and new experiences so we planned a spa weekend for everybody. Everyone had access to the spa facility- indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and two spa treatments each. Dinner would be together as a family both nights at nice restaurants.I made reservations for our party of 11 people, specifically spoke to the chefs about special accommodations for our two vegans. The spa manager assured me that the products at the spa were vegan friendly and that none were tested on animals. I booked everyone's treatments and rooms, e-mailed the family an itinerary, the address to the hotel, spa facility schedule, breakfast serving times, links to the restaurant menus, and everything else they could possibly need or want to know.On Christmas morning we would load up in four vehicles and drive two hours eastward to a quiet little Christmas town; all our plans were set.Despite all of the careful planning, life likes to throw in a wrench or two here and there and so the trip almost didn't happen.One of my sisters ended up having emergency surgery three days before our trip. The days and hours leading up to the trip were taken one hour at a time. On December 23rd, she got to come home from the hospital and was cleared by the doctor to go on the road trip. She was a trooper and wins the award for most bravest, strongest, and most valuable team player!And if that didn't seem like enough of a stressful event...We discovered fraudulent charges on the credit card we used to book the trip (less than a week before Christmas). We cancelled the card and requested quick delivery on a new one that also arrived on December 23rd.Hooray! The trip was meant to be!Of course petty things came up in amidst of the planning:Half of our family members had to track down a bathing suit in the middle of December and had a problem with obtaining one. Really??My sister's fiance caught a cold that she ended up passing onto Brandon and me. Thanks for that (can you sense the hint of sarcasm?)Last minute spa treatment changes had to be made because it was suddenly realized that a stranger would be completing the massages. No, really, I need more things to do the day before we're supposed to leave even though you knew all this beforehand (more sarcasm).And my mother in law complained up until half way into the trip about how early she had to wake up to meet us for the road trip despite declining our offer to stay at our house the night before. *Sigh* Was this really a concern?Despite it all, we went on the trip and it was a success!So how did we do it?

1. First of all, my sister, again, was a true trooper. Had she not been able to go, none of us would've went. It's all or nothing for us. Our family is one unit.
2. We made time for everybody. We tried to include everyone in conversations and tried not to let anyone feel left out, especially my mother in law.
3. We thanked everyone for their part in making the trip successful. Each member of the family that attended played an important role in making the trip even possible whether directly or indirectly.
4. We checked in on everyone. Were rooms okay and up to standard? Were the meals to satisfaction? Did they know where the nearest drugstore was located? Etc.
5. We kept our promises and expectations- meals were covered, we met at the times we said we'd meet, etc.

And to our greatest surprise...No one argued and everyone actually wanted to spend time together- I mean the whole time! I just knew our family members would want to be apart and have some alone time but I was wrong. Even our moms who are both wonderful women but different in every way, found common ground in conversation.One morning we ended up eating at two separate tables for breakfast and it was a big deal that we weren't all at one table. It was actually very cute.Would we do it again? I'd like to, but we'll see how the family feels this time next year about this possible new tradition. The biggest criticism most of us had was that it just didn't feel like Christmas. Maybe it was because we didn't spend it at home doing our usual thing, or maybe it was the unusual warm weather.Have you taken a family trip that merged two worlds? Did it go smoothly? If not, what would you do differently?