I’m so very sorry to hear this. First, I pray that your brother-in-law’s returns home safe and sound. Second, I’m sorry that you’re family won’t be with you at Christmas. I’ve been blessed with never having to go through this, however I imagine I would feel the same way you do. I don’t have any real solutions, but how about setting up a FaceTime booth at both homes.
Maybe have the cameras centered around an area where everyone hangs out, that way you can see them and talk to them throughout the day. You could also mute them when you want to. I would mute my wife’s sister and her entire family if we did this at my place....hmmm...not too bad of an idea. I’ll tuck that away if the situation occurs where I could use this. I wish I had an answer for you, I truly do. I live 30 minutes away from my parents and my sisters, so I’m fortunate that I can squeeze everyone in on Christmas Day. I keep smiling at the idea of only seeing her sister’s family over Skype. I would no longer have to deal with her, her two kids and her two poorly trained dogs. All joking aside, I wish I had a better answer.
Never feel sorry for coming here to talk about anything Christmas related. It’s what makes this thread good. We all have different things going on in our lives that sometimes bouncing ideas or your feeling off of the members here is a good thing.