Divorce is a challenging life transition any time of the year, but when it intersects with the holiday season, especially Christmas, it can feel even more emotionally charged. The warmth and joy associated with the season may seem at odds with the difficult decisions you are facing in divorce mediation. However, with thoughtful planning and communication, it is possible to navigate this issue, creating a meaningful holiday season for everyone involved.

Holidays, particularly Christmas, become a central topic for co-parents during divorce mediation. How will holiday time be shared with the children? Who gets to host Christmas morning? This is especially meaningful when your children believe in Santa Claus. What customs will continue or evolve? What new rituals will begin? Creating a plan in divorce mediation allows families to approach the holiday season with a clear path, minimizing conflict and stress.

For many families, a holiday (Christmas or pick any meaningful-to-you holiday) is filled with traditions and expectations. You can create some stability for your children by making a new holiday schedule where everyone knows what is happening. By setting expectations, you reduce misunderstanding or disagreements and preserve the holiday spirit. You can also reimagine how you celebrate and create space for some new traditions. Without even realizing it, you may have already created new traditions in the past- when you first got married or had children. You can do it again.

During the process of divorce mediation at Westfield Mediation, LLC, the divorce mediator helps co-parents develop a plan for all holidays, not just Christmas. When you have a plan for a holiday that you created it is easier to implement. It is not something that you have to do because a random judge made this decree. You worked together to develop a plan for your children to celebrate the holiday in a new way. You put the children’s needs at the forefront and remained flexible and open-minded. It may not feel like it sometimes, but that is a big win. By embracing the divorce mediation process you can set the tone for many peaceful and enjoyable holidays to come.