Navigating holidays as a blended family creates special challenges. There are custody orders to follow, bad feelings to deal with, and on top of that the desire to bond and spend holidays as a happy family unit. Although the challenges can be great, it doesn’t have to be horrible. Below are six tips to help you make any holiday happier and less stressful for your blended family.
Follow The Custody Agreement:
Every parent wants to be with his or her children on special holidays. What should be your highest consideration during holidays and any other time of the year are the needs of your children. Your children love their other parent as much as they love you. Putting your desire to spend holidays with your children on the backburner is imperative. Strictly follow your custody agreement and don’t expose your children to his/her parent’s arguments over who gets to spend time with them.
Plan Ahead For Family Activities:
Blended families are not only made up of children, biological parents and stepparents. You may have a close-knit extended family that includes four sets of grandparents and several aunts and uncles who all want to spend time during holidays with your children. The best way to deal with and keep negative issues from arising is to communicate with every member of the family and make plans ahead of schedule so that your child is able to take advantage of all the love offered up during special holidays.
Don’t Be Held Captive By The Calendar:
Christmas gifts don’t have to be opened on the 25th and if that Turkey has to wait a day or two before you carve it, who cares! If your children are going to be with your ex on the holiday, plan to have Christmas or Thanksgiving the day before or after. It isn’t about being together as a family on a certain date, it is about being together as a family. Holidays can be celebrated at any time convenient for the family.
Make Sure Your Child Is Able To Give As Well As Receive Gifts:
If it is a holiday where gifts are exchange don’t be petty or vengeful. Take your children shopping and buy a gift for them to give to the other parent. You won’t really be buying a gift for an ex you may not especially like. You will be giving a gift to your child by teaching them to be generous and showing them that their feelings are important to you.
Create New Blended Family Traditions:
Traditions help us bond as a family and create memories we cherish over our lifetime. There is no better way to help a blended family build strong bonds than to create new holiday traditions. Start new traditions that every family member can look forward to every year.
Allow Your Children To Share Their Feelings:
If you are a child of divorce, holidays can be a bag of mixed emotions. If your children have to be away from their other parent during a holiday, they will naturally miss that parent. Make sure your children know that their feelings are normal and it is OK to express any negative feelings they may have. A child’s feelings are real and should always be validated.
