I (M55) am suddenly without immediate family: no spouse, no kids and nobody at home with me.
I am dreading the holidays.
I have (1) an aunt, uncle and cousins in one city a few hours away and (2) a brother and his family in another city a few hours away.
I’ve usually just waited for invitations and if they didn’t come, I’d spend holidays with immediate family at my home, but immediate family is now gone.
My sister-in-law has said “we’ve got to get you to come out sometime” and I said, “sure!”, but I don’t know if that was just a general statement or if it was supposed to be an invitation. My aunt said, “we need to stay in touch” but it would be kind of weird to invite myself to their house.
How do I get an invitation for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner?
That’s all I need; I can stay in a hotel.
TL;DR: how direct can you be in asking family members for an invitation for the holidays if you’re all alone?