The holiday season is the only time of the year where family time is emphasized. Many divorced parents struggle to find a happy medium during this time for their children. Taking children from house to house on a special holiday creates more stress than Christmas joy for children and their parents. Even with custody guidelines in place, parents can work together to create a great vacation for their children.
Alternate Holidays
Vacation alternation is one of the most ideal options for divorced parents. When you consider the four major holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, you give each parent the opportunity to have two holidays on the actual day with their child. Each year it can be alternated so that neither parent can have children on a specific holiday over another. This is also convenient to accommodate work schedules, as many people cannot have a few holidays off every year or on the days surrounding them. Christmas is the only holiday that focuses on gifts. For this reason, one parent may choose to celebrate the holiday before or after the day while the other parent has the child on that day.
set fixed days
To help lessen the hustle and bustle during the holidays, some parents choose to set specific days each year on which a holiday will be celebrated. Maybe it’s the weekend before or after the actual day. As families grow, this option becomes more ideal. It allows distant relatives to visit on an alternate day and allows them to stay home with their loved ones on the specific holiday. This option is also more suitable for families consisting of two divorced parents with grown children who have their own families and lifestyles elsewhere.
celebrate together
While it’s a rare option, celebrating together is another way to balance the holidays in a divorced family. Divorcees who have maintained a peaceful relationship with each other and their families find it easier to have a big dinner to celebrate a holiday. In general, this creates less stress since no one person is required to cook. With many members in a divorced family, there are more than enough people to carry a plate. This generally creates a fun environment a few days a year and maintains normality in a child’s life.
The method to best cope with vacations in a divorced family is specific to the needs and situation of that family. There is no right or wrong option to choose. In the end, vacations are about being surrounded by friends and family while enjoying memories of the past and creating new ones. Creating those perfect moments for your children should take precedence over any anger or resentment that may exist.
