The Halloween candy has been eaten and the costumes are put away. Now parents must endure prepare for what is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of year”. Indeed, holiday season is ideally about good tidings and cheer, and making life-long memories for children. However, many divorced and separated parents look towards the holiday season with dread, because they know it will be another season of fighting and sniping over gifts and parenting time.
Fortunately, you don’t have to go through another holiday season constantly wishing that it would be all over. Here are a few tips to help you get through them without killing your ex.
Be clear about your order – If anything else, you should be clear about what your custody (or parenting time) order says regarding where your kids should be. If not, seek clarification well before the holidays. This is especially important if your order only grants “liberal and reasonable parenting time.”
Be creative about holiday celebrations – It makes no sense to get worked up if you don’t (or can’t) have the kids for Thanksgiving dinner or on Christmas morning. Why? Because the holiday season is about sharing special times, regardless of what day it’s on. So be creative about your celebrations.
Call a truce – This is the time for setting personal differences aside and work together to make the holidays memorable for kids. A number of wars have seen truces for Christmas, so it’s entirely possible for you and your ex to do the same.
Source: About.com, How to Negotiate the Holiday Schedule You Want
