North Carolina Divorce Lawyers BlogDevelop New Holiday Traditions After Divorce
Creating a new family tradition can be a way to bring cheer to the holidays for both children and adults, especially when the family structure is changing due to divorce. One way to bond in a new family dynamic is to incorporate ‘matching outfits’, such as holiday themed pajamas or the famous ‘ugly Christmas sweater’. The following ideas can help you develop new holiday traditions after divorce.
Ideas to Try
According to The Suburban Mom blogger Jen Burg, whose blog has featured a variety of expert tips on navigating family life, matching pajamas can help kids feel cozy and relaxed during the holidays and provide an opportunity for fun family bonding activities. She also notes that the pajamas can make for some cute pictures!
How About the Ugly Christmas Sweater?
The ugly Christmas sweater has earned its place in American lore and has become increasingly popular in recent years. It even has a special national day! The third Friday in December is known as National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. It is a day when people don their best, most hideous, sweaters to bring joy and laughter to all they meet.
Helping Make Holidays Feel Normal
So why explore new and interesting traditions? When going through a divorce involving custody, it is important for holidays to feel somewhat normal for children. If wearing an ugly Christmas sweater or dressing in matching holiday-themed pajamas has been a part of your family’s traditions, keep doing it! If it hasn’t been, why not start a new post-divorce tradition for you and your children?
Even if you don’t have children, start a new tradition with your loved ones and friends by having a contest of who can wear the ugliest sweater! Or curl up in cozy holiday PJs and invite a couple of friends over to watch a movie. This is a great time to put on your favorite Christmas movie and enjoy some quality time with the ones you love.
The holidays can be a time of intense emotions and sadness about what used to be. It is important for yourself and your children that you remind them that things may not be how they used to be, but things will be okay.
Finding a New Normal
For children, going through a divorce is a scary time and can make them feel like things will never be normal again. Create a day for them to have fun and laugh and make new memories and traditions. You might be dreading the holidays and nervous about how things will be this year. It can help to find ways for you and your children enjoy the season in a new way.
WRAL News notes that “If you haven’t participated in the matching Christmas pajamas tradition before, it’s never too late to start. There’s not much to it, as all you have to do is, well, find the best matching Christmas pajamas for your family — then buy them!”
From the traditional ugly Christmas sweater to fun holiday pajamas, there are some great ideas to make the holidays a little more festive this year. We hope you will enjoy these ideas and come up with a few new holiday traditions. Wishing you a happy holiday season!
Note: This blog has been updated from 2021.