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.