Twice I’ve been away from home for Xmas and both times, I took my gifts with me to make it feel like Christmas. I think even if my family had done a family Christmas before I went, I would have kept them until Christmas DayI find it so bizarre she took her gifts with her - that alone hints at it likely being a last minute thing her actually flying out.
If it was planned for any period of time, surely she’d have had a family ‘xmas’ in one of the days in the run up to the 25th and just exchanged presents before?