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For a lot of us, the holidays means some manner of travel so that we can spend the time with our families. But sometimes, that travel means your family comes to you. The bonus in that scenario is - obviously - you don't have to deal with a lot of the stress and rigmarole that goes into traveling during the busiest season of the year to travel in. But on the down side? Now you have to clean house, potentially do some cooking, and figure out how you're going to entertain the family unit for however many days they're visiting.



Stumped for things to do so that they're kept busy and you're not tearing your hair out? Luckily, we have some suggestions that might help.

See a show. Whether you check out your local theater scene, work your way into a concert, see a dance recital or even hit up the symphony, taking the whole gang to a show is a great way to eat up a good chunk of hours and expose them to your city's local culture. To keep things cost effective, try finding your seating options at a site like CheapTickets.com.

Check out the tourist traps. Every city has at least one - that thing that's their hallmark, printed on t-shirts, shot glasses and souvenir spoons you find at the airport and junk shops. So what better time to indulge in some cheesy touristy goodness than when you have tourists in town? And if you've done your best to avoid your town's tourist trap, this is the perfect excuse for you to check it out (and get your photo in front of it.)

Go on a light show hunt. After the sun has gone down and you've ingested as much food as humanly possible (and then eaten just a little bit more to be sure), pile in the car and scout out your neighborhood's holiday light show. Sometimes they're an organized experience, like L.A.'s DWP Holiday Light Festival or Edmonton's miraculous Candy Cane Lane, other times it's done as an agreement with a neighborhood association or on an informal arrangement. And if your city doesn't have something like that - all the better. Just go on a neighborhood drive and see what you can find!

Do a turkey trot. What better way to prep for a holiday gorgefest than by running a race ahead of time? Get the whole family involved in a good turkey trot - preferably one that raises money for charity - and go for a run. To up the ante, make bets within your family tree to help egg each other on when you're running out of steam.

Find the cheesiest holiday celebration you can, and join in. Maybe it's an over-the-top lighting ceremony, some manner of Ice Capades, or better yet, the opportunity to sit with Santa. Wouldn't that be the ultimate family photo op if everyone piled on the big man and told him what they want for Christmas? Whatever it is, make it memorable... 'cause after you talk your family into doing all of the above, they might not come back next year!