Post 17: 🎄Navigating Traditions, In-Laws & Holiday Chaos (Throuple Style)🎁

Navigating traditions, in-laws, and holiday stress.  

Let’s be real — holidays are already stressful AF when it’s just two people. Add a third? Now you’ve got a full-blown scheduling war, three sets of family expectations, and enough awkward dinner seating questions to fill a Buzz feed quiz.

But somehow… we’ve figured it out. Mostly. With caffeine, compromise, and occasionally just peacing out to the woods.

Who’s Family This Year? (A.K.A. the Annual Debate That Starts in August)

So here’s the deal: holidays in our house are usually SoCal-based, because, hello — palm trees, good Mexican food, and no snow. Will’s fam has joined us a few times, and it’s been smooth sailing (hi, if you're reading this 👋). Caleb’s Texas crew hasn’t done the holiday trio meet-up yet, but we always keep that door open. And Daniel’s Vegas fam? They’re rolling in this Christmas, which is a first — bring on the chaos and the kiddos.

Here’s what we stopped doing: trying to please everyone. Spoiler alert — that just leads to burnout, resentment, and crying into leftover green bean casserole. We realized that sometimes the best holiday is the one spent on our own couch, eating takeout, watching “Elf” for the 199th time.

And honestly? Making our own traditions is kind of magic. No turkey? Cool. No tree? Let’s go camping. We’ve had holidays in the woods, on the road, and in full “do not disturb” mode — and they’re some of our favorites.

Family Reactions: The Good, the Weird & the Surprisingly Sweet

Some of our family members are fully on board with our setup. Others? Still… buffering. Caleb and Will have been together for almost 19 years, and Daniel’s been with us nearly a decade. If that doesn’t count as family, we don’t know what does.

Not every relative shows up for Christmas, and yeah, that can sting. Especially when you know your family’s newest toddler won’t even remember who was at the dinner table… but your adult kids will. That part’s hard.

But when people do show up and make the effort? Like that one time they set three extra places without blinking? It hits. It really hits. We’re still emotionally recovering from finally making it to the grown-up table.

Holiday Stress? Communication, Coffee, & Knowing When to Say No

Balancing three backgrounds, three sets of traditions, and a shared calendar that looks like a flight control tower — it’s a lot. So we talk. A lot. About who’s going where, who wants to go, and what’s actually realistic (spoiler: Texas is not “on the way” from Minnesota).

We’ve learned that just because someone invites you doesn’t mean you have to say yes. Especially if saying yes means you’re going to be a grumpy little Christmas goblin the rest of the trip. We make sure each of us feels seen, heard, and supported. That’s the bare minimum in a throuple, and honestly, in any relationship.

Gift-Giving & Expectations: Yes, We Set Budgets (Sometimes)

Do we buy each other gifts? Yup. Solo gifts for each dude — with a limit, or else Caleb will show up with something outrageous and blow it all up. For birthdays, the other two usually team up and go big for the birthday guy. (We love an event.)

For the families? Lord help us. Caleb’s family is massive, so we do age groups and budgets to keep things fair. Also, don’t remind us of that one time we brought actual nice gifts to a White Elephant party and everyone else brought gag gifts. We’re still talking about it.

Making It Ours: The Best Traditions Are the Ones We Make

Our favorite holiday memories? Usually not the family dinners — it’s the road trips after. The random stops, the meteor craters, the side-of-the-road gas station meals that somehow taste better than anything at grandma’s. We make it a thing.

Every year we get a new ornament with the year on it, and we’re slowly building a village with hand-me-down pieces and new memories. We bake cookies (Caleb goes full Hallmark movie coming to C-Dawg's Snack Shack this fall), we decorate together, and we turn our house into a little slice of holiday chaos.

Final Thoughts (Cue the Holiday Music)

The holidays aren’t perfect. They’re messy, emotional, and full of unexpected moments. But we’ve found what works for us: flexibility, communication, and a whole lot of love. And when things fall apart (because they will), we just laugh, hug it out, and pass the pie.

Your turn — got a favorite holiday tradition, or navigating throuple life during the holidays too? Drop it in the comments. We’d love to hear it. ❤️

🌽 Life Update: Fair-ly Done, Garden Chaos, and Big Gay Podcast Energy 🎙️

And just like that... poof — Fair season 2025 is officially in the books. OC Fair wrapped us up with nothing but good vibes, no drama, and a whole lot of love. We were even in a new location this year, and people legit thought it was our first time there — which, honestly, was kinda refreshing after 7 years in the trenches. This is the earliest we’ve ever wrapped a Fair season, so now what? Do we just… swim? Lounge? Manifest summer finally showing up?

Let’s talk Rigsby 🐾— our king is WALKING again! Okay, okay, it’s more of a hop-waddle combo, but still. He’s crushing the cul-de-sac and even makes it halfway down the next block. We’re almost two months out from surgery, and he’s more determined than ever to be his full Rigsby self again. The motivation? Off the charts.

Rigsby's little walk

Garden update? Total chaos, obviously. The pumpkins are re-growing like little green rebels, hoping to make it before Halloween. Our jalapeños? Bright red and absolutely bursting. We tried to wait for county approval before launching C-Dawg’s Cowboy Candy… but we’re probably going to start testing early batches (and giving them away, not selling… yet). Tomatoes are still thriving, melons are going wild, and everything else is calming down for now — although SoCal’s weird non-summer weather might throw us a wild card.

Jalapeños & peppers

Normal and Cinderella Pumpkins

Baby Watermelon

Biggest Watermelon

20 feet of watermelon vine

Tomatoes

Peppers ready to eat

Mini & White Pumpkins

Oh, and we did a thing... 🎧 We ordered all the gear for the 3Dudes1Life Podcast! Yup, it’s happening. Expect stories from our lives, throuple truths, laughter, probably some chaos, and maybe even a few “celebrity” guests (we do know people). Keep your ears peeled — September is the goal!

Honestly, the energy in the house right now? “Let’s get the hell out of here for a weekend.” Will’s been full-time home with Rigsby for two months straight, and Daniel’s been clocking 90% too. The cabin fever is real. But the silver lining? That downtime gave us space to reset, refocus, and push our new queer projects forward with no distractions. So in the end... it’s been a blessing in disguise.

Got Labor Day plans? Spill them in the comments! We might hit the road, or we might just float in the pool with a drink and pretend the world doesn’t exist. TBD. 😉

With love & chaos,

 DCW