Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Sometimes they are soooooo selfish!

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Christmas - why does it have to be a pain in the butt every year!? RANT ALERT!!! Since we arrived in the UK 10 years ago, every year at Christmas time my husband and I have always played the part of host to the orphans. We have done it willingly and perhaps even fostered the whole idea. Since we had very little family in the UK, and most of our friends where in the same boat, it just seemed to make sense that at a time of year where family traditionally gets together, we would all pull together too so as ensure that nobody is left along at Christmas away from family and home. Over the last few years as families have grown, kids have arrived, etc our life styles have changed and we all live further apart, however, we do still try to keep in touch regularly. My husband and I both have a married brother living in the UK in the London region. We live about 2 hours further north so it isn't that easy to get together given that we have 3 young kids and my brother has 1 with another on the way. Hubby's brother and his wife don't have any kids. This year we accept that we won't be seeing my brother since his wife is due on about 4 Jan and the new baby could in fact be here for Christmas I guess. They are planning on a quiet time with no extra bodies around. If mum to be is feeling Ok on Christmas day then they might go to a friends house (their friend lives 30 minutes away and is close to the hospital). OK, fair enough - I don't have a problem with that. I then called my other sister in law (hubby's brothers wife) and after the usual chitchat asked her what they were doing for Christmas. I was all ready to invite them to come and join us when she gaily informed me that they were going to a mutual friends house (one of our original orphan group) and that they were staying there all weekend and spent Christmas with friend H and her family (parents and sister), etc. Then, to add injury to insult, she proceeded to change the subject without even asking what we were planning!!! We haven't been and probably won't be invited to join them all at H's house - the house is too small to have all of us there. We also live too far away for us to just go there for the day, we would all have to stay over and there just would be no space besides which the day would be far toooo hectic for all of us to join all of them. The house isn't child proofed, etc... Nightmare stuff for me to have to chase after the kids all day. Well, suffice to say I was furious! Christmas is a family time, surely they could have said something to us and perhaps tried to make a plan that would have included us? Am I being ridiculous about this? Anyway, we have decided 'St*ff them all!' and we have booked a week away over Christmas. We are taking the kids to Aviemore, Scotland for the Christmas week and plan to have a great time. Hopefully it will snow and we can spend the week playing in the snow, perhaps get the kids on skis for the first time. So, what are your Christmas plans? Do you spend Christmas with your family? or do you have a bunch of looser family members like ours? If you don't spend Christmas at home - where do you like to go? Sorry for the rant - I'm calmer now! Thanks Violetdreams