The holidays are easily the best time of the year. Children and adults alike look forward to spending time with loved ones, giving gifts, and enjoying the festivities.
However, the holidays can also be a source of stress for stepfamilies. Where will the kids spend Christmas? What if the kids are disappointed about having to spend the holidays with one parent and not the other?
It’s important to remember that you still deserve to enjoy the holidays. You can’t worry too much about everything being perfect-because your family doesn’t need “perfection” to have a fantastic holiday experience.
If you’re stressed about making it all work, take a look at some tips below to navigate the holidays successfully.
Avoid Putting Too Much Pressure on Yourself
As a parent, you likely want your kids to enjoy the holidays as much as possible. Furthermore, you want to instill the values of the holidays into your kids-gratefulness, joy, and love.
This life lesson can’t be done if you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. Your kids won’t care if you burn their toast in the morning; they’ll be too excited about the festivities.
It’s easy to put a great deal of pressure on yourself to make everything perfect, but in reality-kids don’t want perfection!
Remember to Plan Ahead
It’s crucial to make sure that you plan arrangements ahead of time. For example, you need to have a conversation with your ex and discuss where the kids will be for the holidays.
Perhaps you will have the kids in the morning, and your ex will have them in the evening. Maybe you’re friendly enough with your ex that you can negotiate a way to both be with the kids during particular holidays.
Whatever you decided, it’s crucial that you work this out well in advance and stick to it. This way, there won’t be any surprises or disappointments when the actual holidays arrive.
Make New Memories Without Invalidating Other Ones
It’s only natural to want to make new memories with your kids and your new partner. Whatever dynamic your new family has, you deserve to put new traditions in place.
However, it’s essential to do so without slighting the traditions you and the kids shared with your ex. The kids deserve to enjoy the day without feeling like they have to tiptoe around conversation.
If they want to share a fun memory from a couple of holidays back, let them. Soon enough, the memories they’ll be recounting will be the ones you’re currently making!
Remember to Enjoy Yourself
In all of the chaos and planning, you may forget to take a step back and remember why you’re doing it in the first place. Remind yourself all that you have to be grateful for. Savor the sweet moments and take the bad ones in stride. Ultimately, kids aren’t going to remember tiny blips throughout the day. They will, however, remember if their parent was utterly on edge or irritable the whole time.
This holiday season, remember: enjoy yourself and enjoy your family. With a little patience and planning, you can successfully navigate this holiday season with your stepfamily!
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