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Would you tell me if the inclusion of my before family effects the meaning of the sentence below?

I celebrated New Year's with family.

I celebrated New Year's with my family.

Are both sentences perfectly natural?

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Both fine. If there is a difference I'd understand the first to mean "I visited members of my family, or they came to visit me". And the second to mean "I stayed at home with my parents/spouse/children."

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Did you celebrate with friends? / No, I celebrated New Year's with family.

Did you go out? / No, I celebrated New Year's with my family.

But that is at most a nuance and to be honest there really isn't much difference. The second is probably more common.

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  • Yes, the first is about anyone who is technically part of your family, while the second is about your nuclear family, so the family that you live with, or your parents' home if you don't have your own family
    – gotube ♦
    Jan 1, 2022 at 22:38

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