Surviving the Holidays When You Are Newly Separated or Divorced:

Part I:  Halloween

           Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season.  If you are going through a divorce, or already divorced, the holidays may bring additional anxiety.  This three part series will provide some tips on surviving the holiday season.

For the separated or divorced parent, holiday time with your children is shared between you and your ex-spouse or separated spouse.   Halloween is a difficult holiday to divide between parents for trick or treating because of the limited length of time of the trick or treating event.  If going trick or treating together as a family is not an option, the holiday is likely to be alternated between parents each year, or in many families the holiday is not specifically addressed in an Agreement or Judgment and the children are with whichever parent happens to have the children on that day of the week according to the regular access schedule. 

Even if you don’t have your children for trick or treating there are many ways to celebrate and create Halloween traditions with your children in the weeks and days leading up to the actual holiday.  New Halloween traditions might include an annual trip to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins off the vine, apple picking, and/or hosting a pumpkin carving or decorating party that could be just for you and your kids or include friends and family.   Some other things you could do include, making a pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds or other holiday treats from scratch, attending a Fall Festival, having a holiday themed movie night, allowing your kids to select the treats you will hand out to neighborhood kids or anything else that interests you and your children that you can share together and do year after year.  For some ideas of events happening in the D.C. area click here. 

If you have not addressed Halloween with your ex-spouse or separated spouse, now is a good time to figure out a plan.  If you think you will need assistance reaching an amicable resolution, you might want to consult a divorce mediator or divorce attorney so you and your children can enjoy Halloween stress free. 

(10/23/12)