We're supposed to learn from our own mistakes that other people's errors can be instructive

too, from efforts to control the weather that went disastrously awry to the untimely death

of the Segway boss. History is a treasure trove, mishaps and meltdowns that can teach us

all. I'm Tim Halford, host of cautionary tales, the podcast that mines the greatest fiascoes

of the past for their most valuable lessons. Listen to cautionary tales on the iHeart Radio

at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio.

Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is to come up with creative ways to split the holidays.

If you have a big family, inevitably some folks are going to need or want to spend holidays

with other sides of the family. But if you plan well, you might be able to see everyone

and avoid bad feelings, too. If you have a partner, it is possible that you live near both sides

of your family. Or maybe one family loves to celebrate Thanksgiving, while another

leans more into Christmas or another religious holiday. If so, that is great. But many families

wind up in more complicated situations. Two sets of grandparents are many hours away from each

other and both want their whole broods under their roofs. Or maybe one particular family member

can't or won't travel or has to work on the holiday itself, which means that people more

often than not wind up going to them. That means these travelers don't get to spend holiday

time at home, which many people like to do too. You can alternate doing Christmas and Thanksgiving

with each side of the family. But what if another set of siblings is on a different schedule?

Then you are never seeing them. Ideally, everyone is accommodating. But that doesn't always happen.

It can lead to hard feelings. But I recently heard an idea which I find intriguing and is a good

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