holidays | My Divorce Recovery

Coping With the Holidays Without Your Children

Last year as the holidays approached, I came across a blog entitled “Coping With Divorce When the Kids Are With the Other Parent During the Holidays” by psychologist Sharie Stines. In my own life experience, and in working with parents going through a divorce, I recognize what a critical and deeply distressing time this is, especially for recently divorced or separated parents who are without their children on the holidays for the first time.

Turning Holiday Breakdowns into Breakthroughs

During this past Halloween, I was reminded that this holiday is often a flashpoint for conflict between parents who are divorcing or have already divorced. In many of the families that I work with, there were issues around the timing and act of trick-or-treating, costumes, dinner, etc. Read More →

Giving Your Children the Gift of Peace for the Holidays

The holidays are stressful for families—and stress does not discriminate. It applies to families of all shapes and sizes including those that are intact, separated, or divorced.

For families that have the additional challenge of recent divorce or separation, the first holiday season can be very difficult to navigate—there can, and probably will be, significant differences from what the children, and their parents, are used to (especially if the holidays are not celebrated together). Read More →

Holiday Survival Guide

The holidays can be wonderful, but also very stressful when you’re coping with divorce. The major fear that parents have going into a shared parenting plan is what the holidays will be like. Whether you are with your children or not, the holidays are often a huge adjustment because there is such a departure from the traditions of the past.

Having said that, it doesn’t mean that your family cannot enjoy the usual traditions, if the other parent is willing. In an effort to be a family first—as opposed to being a divorced family first and a family second—some parents have agreed to celebrate holidays together. Read More →