Plan a surprise holiday to another country. Or "sadly, I have been sent to an exhibition in the US and they wouldn't take no for an answer". Holiday for you, parents for her. It's the way you both like it. Why SHOULDN'T you both be happy at this time?

Two years ago was the first and last time I will spend with my wife's parents at Chinese new year in their hometown. Boring as fuck. I am not interested in lazing around for two weeks, indoors, saying one word per day and generally just feeling like a total knob. It's social torture.

I am amazed nobody has pointed out what meeting the GF's mother means.

Dude, under Chinese culture, if you meet her parents that means you are engaged. No matter how much she tells you she is non traditional, once you meet them that is it.

I was with my Chinese GF for 4 years before I met her mum. I knew what it meant if I was invited to meet her. A year later we were married.

As a devout Christian you cannot participate in the celebration of Chinese superstition !

Nod and smile, and laugh. That's all I do with the father in law, lol... but I can at least write Chinese and he understands it.

But still, that's STILL all I do. And I do the same with the MIL. Granted, I almost killed them... anyway, I digress. You can't avoid her... if her mother doesn't approve of you, chances are, she will leave you. In this regard, I was lucky; she defied her parents for me.

Then again...