-if you're in the early stages of dating, you're not obligated to invite him to your family gatherings or events, and you're not obligated to go to his. He shouldn't be rushing you into things. You don't want a man that just wants to show you off like a trophy.

-pay attention to how he treats his family, especially the women of his family, during the holidays. Is he helping his grandma decorate her house, did he help his mom with cooking and cleaning up, is he getting his mom a nice present or rolling his eyes and complaining that gifts are "cooperate scams?"

-is he making an effort to understand what you do for the holidays, is he being respectful of how you celebrate? If you are from different cultures or religions this is especially important. He needs to be inclusive and should want to learn your traditions.

-if he is celebrating a holiday with you he should be dressing appropriately and nicely. He should be bringing something along.

-yes, he should be giving you a gift if he's celebrating a holiday with you. It should be thoughtful and substantial, not some super cheap generic gift.

-If he celebrates Christmas pay attention to if his parents are still giving him clothing, socks, etc and they are doing that as a means of coddling him. Some lvm refuse to buy their own clothes and still rely on mommy to shop for them.

-watch his etiquette if you fo along to his event. Does he stay with you the whole time? Does he take your coat for you? Does he introduce you to everyone? When people are talking does he make sure you're included in the conversations, answer your questions, and explain back stories/inside jokes? Does he vanish with his bros? Does he let people insult you? 🚩

-watch for holiday themed negging? Ie "she just had to order the peppermocha mocha whatever crap from the coffee shop! Ugh. She's been making me listen to Christmas carols. She's spending too much on gifts, shopping takes too long with her." And this neg "she's too much of a perfectionist with the holidays. Does it matter what her great aunt will like better? Does it have to be wrapped perfectly?!" All 🚩🚩🚩

-you want a man that's a good sport. If hes coming to an ugly sweater party with you then he needs to be a good sport and rock an ugly sweater too. Good sports will participate in the event's activities, games, and traditions. Is he rolling his eyes at how your friends do a gag gift exchange or how your family plays a special game on a holiday? Lvm will exclude themselves and not even try.

-avoid men that complain about and resist whatever brings you joy this holiday season. If you like putting up a Christmas tree early he needs to be cool with that and should be offering to help you.

-holidays will mean that most lvm will pull back on you. They'll start dropping the effort and generally won't invite you to anything. They won't get you a gift. Or they'll try to invite you over to their place for sex without any of the work or gifts. Beware.

-watch out for lvm that will come along to events just for the free food or out of boredom. The giveaway is that they act like bumps on a log, only eating food and doing things that benefit them. They will avoid any work of helping or bringing anything. They're awkward and often act shy.

-if it's the early stages and you aren't being invited/aren't inviting him yet, you Do NOT have to get him any presents. From my experience even in the early stages men that are more serious about having a relationship with you will get you a substantial gift and will be celebrating with you, but he also won't rush into inviting you to meet his family.

RECAP: holidays are a great time to gage a man. If you invite him to your events really good way of seeing how he acts, if he offers to help, if he gifts, and how he treats your coworkers, friends, and family. How does he speak of you? Do not rush into having a man attend your family or social events.

Edit: want to add one big reminder: if you go to anything with him please have your own means of transportation lined up / drive yourself. So if the red flags are coming out you can walk out asap, on your own terms. You don't want to be stuck at his event having to wait for him when he's being a jerk.