The holiday season is here and with it can be some difficult times ahead based on your custody agreement. Even if you and your children are going to be together for one holiday, there’s a higher likelihood that you won’t see them on another. As a parent, it can be hard to be away from your kids on Christmas morning or when everyone is together as a family on Thanksgiving, but if your custody schedule is arranged that way, then you may need to consider some alternative ways to handle the holidays.
One great option is to start by talking to your ex-spouse about the holidays and what you expect. Perhaps Christmas Day is very important to your family but not to theirs. In that case, you may want to have Christmas each year, while your children go to their other parent’s home on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve.
Another option is to focus on having holiday events and celebrations on alternative days. For some parents, for example, having Christmas on Dec. 27 is beneficial, because their children can be with them for the whole day’s events. Even if the other parent wants to have them on Dec. 25, it doesn’t matter, because they have the full additional day to celebrate.
There’s also the possibility of choosing not to celebrate in a traditional way. For example, you and your ex-spouse might decide it’s important to you that your children celebrate the holidays with you both equally, so you could still share the time together regardless of your divorce.
These are a few ideas for managing the holidays and making the most of them with your children. Being creative is a great way to negotiate and make time for everything you want to do.
