After your divorce, your life changes quite a bit. From financial changes, to where you’re living, and even how you’re living… There’s a lot to get used to. One area you might not consider is the strain that this holiday season can put on a newly divorced family. When it comes to holiday gifts post-divorce, you might not consider how much planning ahead is involved. In short, there are decisions that need to be made between the two of you as parents and it’s best to start early…
Holiday Gifts Post-Divorce
Lay out the groundwork
Some basic groundwork is important for holiday gifts post-divorce. After all, you and your co-parent want to be on the same page. A good way to do this is by coming together and having a conversation about it. Mainly, you’ll want to talk about things like what the kid’s asked for, who will give what, and costs.
Be sure to keep these conversations neutral and non-judgmental. You don’t want to put down your ex, or make them out to be some kind of gift-giving showboat. Rather, you need to work together with them to ensure your kids get the gifts they’d like from both of their parents.
Use past holidays as reference
While giving holiday gifts post-divorce is different from how it was when your family was all together, that doesn’t mean you can’t use the past for reference. For example, you don’t have to get the kids double the gifts just because you got a divorce. Some parents feel like they do, but this just causes unrealistic expectations and high costs.
Keep your gift budget realistic as well. Having one parent buy nothing but expensive things, while the other is more modest, will confuse your kids. Instead, it’s better to work together and split the costs as evenly as you can between the both of you.
Keep traditions going
If your kids are still young, you might wonder how you can keep “Santa” a part of giving them holiday gifts post-divorce. However, the nice thing about this is you can do it any way you want. Maybe he comes to one house and you all meet there, or he stops by both. Either way, your kids will believe it, and still enjoy the tradition.
Don’t forget to let any extended family in on your plans as well. That way, they can help keep the traditions going. Plus, they can also keep their own gifts within the limits you set, such as budget-wise.
