While there is still time to debate it all: my wife and I are probably bailing on all the usual holidays this winter. How controversial is it to just not show up for Thanksgiving or Christmas? In our case each consists of five or six events each, some on the same day. We’ve been making the run of it all for ten years together.

I’m not skipping Halloween and New Years parties of course, I believe in pumpkins and silly costumes, and I subscribe to the Gregorian calendar.

We make a pretty mindful effort to host and attend dinners and the like with all the the in-laws and step-in-laws frequently. Work gives us a few days off a year and spending that time driving is not our idea of “fun”.

Is that selfish?