Halloween is fast approaching. Soon enough, it will be time to take your kids trick-or-treating.
Couples who have been divorced for a while likely already have a parenting plan in place that dictates how they’ll navigate the holidays, but newly separated parents might not. If co-parenting is new to you, then you may want to consider the following options when navigating holidays this year and when negotiating your future parenting plans.
Think outside the box (or about more than a single day)
There are generally a lot of celebrations for a single holiday that your child can take part in. For example, your child’s school may celebrate Halloween by allowing children to dress up and trick-or-treat. At the same time, a local church may celebrate a fall festival around that same. There’s also trick-or-treating in different neighborhoods at different shopping centers. The date on which these occurs can vary depending on the day on which Halloween falls.
You and your co-parent might choose to celebrate the holidays differently. For example, maybe your co-parent can let your child dress up in a costume to go pick pumpkins and bake special holiday treats, while you are the parent who will endure haunted houses and scary movies with the kids.
If there are those moments that neither of you can imagine missing, then you might want to set your differences aside with your co-parent and jointly attend them with your child. For example, you may both want to walk your child from house to house during Trick-or-Treat night.
A united front and consistency are key to maintaining a sense of normalcy for your child — especially during the holidays. If this is your first Halloween after separating from your spouse, use it as a trial run to see what does and doesn’t work for your family. That can help you go into custody negotiations a lot more confidently down the line.