Celebrating Christmas gets complicated for divorced parents, who still share custody of their children. They have to determine how they’re going to split up the holidays and what is best for their kids in this unique situation.
In some cases, parents will determine that it would be wise to spend Christmas day together, giving the kids a joint celebration with both of their parents. This is seen as easier than transporting them between homes during the holiday and splitting up Christmas day itself, and it is often seen as a better solution than alternating years so that there are certain years where you don’t see your children at all. But is it something you should consider?
It all comes back to the parents
In most cases, the children would be fine with an arrangement like this. You and your ex can simply pick a neutral location or one of your homes where you’re going to have the Christmas celebration. The kids will enjoy getting to see both of their parents, opening all their presents and enjoying family time in a way that they probably did before you got divorced.
The potential issue, of course, is why your divorce happened and if the two of you are no longer on good terms. For example, if your spouse asked for a divorce after engaging in an extramarital affair, it is very natural that you wouldn’t want to spend the holidays with them. So a shared celebration is a terrific solution, but only for co-parents who are already in the right position to use it.
Whether you are not, make sure that you know about all of your legal options over the holiday season.
