It’s that time of year again. It’s time for eggnog, turkey, ham, traditional holiday dinners, work Christmas parties, pumpkin pie, Hanukkah, and Christmas celebrations. For many people, the holidays are an exciting time of year full of laughs, good food, friends, and family. But when you’re a parent going through a divorce, the holidays can mean feelings of stress and worry instead of the warm, fuzzy feelings they normally bring.
If you’re a parent who recently split with your spouse or if you’re in the divorce process and you have yet to address child custody during the holidays, you probably have some questions. How will you split your time with your children during the holidays? Will you have to spend the holidays all alone? Will you be able to celebrate time-honored family traditions or will you have to make new ones?
Are You on Friendly Terms?
If you’re on friendly terms with your soon-to-be-ex, perhaps you don’t have to give up or change anything at all. If you can easily be in the same room together, why not go on celebrating the holidays as you usually do every year?
For high-conflict families, sometimes it makes the most sense to go on celebrating the holidays as they did in the past, only the celebrations may eventually include new significant others as they start to enter the picture.
When divorced, low-conflict families can celebrate the holidays together, it can be wonderful for the children. It shows them that they are now just one big happy family, especially as stepmoms and stepdads are warmly embraced by both sides of the family.
Alternating Holidays is Popular
Not all families are low-conflict or on the best of terms and that’s okay too. This is especially the case when there has been infidelity, poor money management, substance abuse, or other major conflicts during the marriage. If you can’t see yourself celebrating the holidays with your ex because that would ruin it for you, one solution is to alternate holidays each year. This works well for many families of divorce.
For high-conflict families, it’s very important to stick to what it says in the Parenting Plan about child custody during the holidays. In these situations, as the dust settles, interactions between the parents usually get better as trust is slowly restored.
Next: Why Not Leave the Kids with My Spouse?
If you’re looking for divorce representation, contact Arnold Law Group, APC today.