How To Survive Christmas as a Divorced Parent.

The festive season is fast approaching and if you’re recently divorced, you might be dreading the Christmas period. All the traditions associated with this time of year can shine a spotlight on the upheaval in your family life and you might be worried your kids will struggle to cope with the fact that their mum and dad won’t be together for the celebrations. To help you get through this tough time, here are a few useful pointers on how to survive Christmas as a divorced parent.

Try to cooperate with your ex

Especially if you had an emotionally charged breakup with your ex-spouse, you might find it hard to cooperate with them on practical issues. However, for your kids’ sake, it’s crucial that you try. Any conflict between the two of you can have a hugely negative impact on your youngsters. Expert solicitors The Law House highlight the importance of considering the needs of the whole family in divorce cases, especially the needs of the children. By avoiding arguments and making clear plans concerning where your kids will stay and what they will do over Christmas, you can keep any upset to a minimum. Try to come up with a schedule for the festive season well in advance so that you and your ex both know what to expect and can make the necessary arrangements.

Accept help from friends and family

Don’t shy away from accepting help from your friends and family over Christmas. If you try to go it alone and create the perfect experience for your kids by yourself, you may struggle to cope on both a practical and an emotional level. It’s much easier if you make your loved ones a part of your celebrations. This way, you can share out duties like childcare, cooking and cleaning. Also, having more people in your house will help to distract you and it should mean there’s more of an atmosphere for your kids.  

Focus on making new traditions

Rather than trying to recreate the traditions of previous years when your partner was still around, concentrate on making new ones. You’ll never be able to turn back the clock and relive the celebrations of the past, so it’s best to focus on creating different ones that suit your family’s changed circumstances. You could visit new places, try new foods and generally mix things up. This should help you to avoid raking up negative feelings.

There’s no escaping the fact that Christmas can be a testing time for divorced mums and dads, but tips like these could help you and your kids to get through the festive season relatively unscathed.

Until next time,
Jada x