One of the hardest adjustments that separated or divorced parents come across is how to handle holidays. After being used to seeing their children on every holiday, having to share, or split holidays is a difficult reality. Here are a few suggestions for how to make it through the upcoming holidays amiably and in the best interest of your children.
- Communicate with each other! Make sure you that you communicate to the other parent about what dates and times are the most important to you. If you don’t tell them, they won’t know.
- Both attend shared events. For example, if there is a Christmas play or other event at the school and both parents can go, this is a good opportunity to both be there for the child with limited interaction with each other.
- Prioritize your holidays. If you traditionally spend every Christmas Eve with your family, you can try to arrange that to be your scheduled holiday and allow the other parent to have Christmas Day. Or vice versa. The goal is to maximize time with both families.
- Ask your children what is important to them! What matters most is that your children have the most enjoyable holiday season possible.
- Remember that your former spouse is still a parent to the children. Though it’s hard sometimes, an agreeable relationship with the other parent is valuable to your children’s life.
- Seek guidance from other resources. Many counties have a standard holiday schedule for parents to guide them if they can’t decide on their own how to divide the holidays.
Splitting holidays is tough. It’s best for everyone when the parents can agree to an amicable holiday schedule. However, this isn’t always possible. Sometimes the court needs to be involved. If you need help with handling holiday and parenting time issues this holiday season, contact our office and speak with one of our experienced Family Law attorneys today!
