Since we just got out of January, also known as Divorce Month, we thought it’d make sense to put together a short article on Valentine’s Day for divorced families. For some people, this isn’t an important holiday and they typically don’t do much for it. But kids typically celebrate it at school and may hear about friends getting presents. If they’re older, they may also pay more attention to people going out on dates or being extra sweet with each other on Valentine’s Day.
Whether you’re newly divorced or it’s been a while, here are a few tips to help your family enjoy this holiday.
Talk to Your Ex in Advance
The first thing we recommend is to talk to your ex in advance. This may be a bit more obvious with “major” holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it makes sense for Valentine’s Day as well.
Plan out things like who will have custody of the kids that day and what you can do for them. For example, if you’re close by but don’t have custody of the kids that day, maybe you can still bring them flowers, candy, a card, or a gift. You can take them out to a movie or dinner. Having something special planned for your kids will be especially important if your ex is planning on going on a date themselves.
You can also talk to your ex to get on the same page of, for at least one day, agreeing to be extra nice to each other. No fighting, no talking about each other negatively, etc.
The point is by spending a few minutes talking about the holiday, you can help make Valentine’s Day more special for the whole family.
Have the Kids Make (or Buy) a Card for Your Ex
Valentine’s Day isn’t a one-way street. While it’s common for parents to do something for the kids, they can do something nice for their parent as well. Whether you have the kids for the holiday or not, encourage the kids to get a card for your ex.
Just because your ex isn’t your Valentine anymore doesn’t mean you can’t do something nice for them! You can even have the kids do an ecard with a platform like Blue Mountain if they don’t feel like being crafty or spending money.
Start a New Tradition to do Something Fun – or at Least Try
Sometimes it’s hard to get kids to try new things, but they love the new activity once they give it a shot. Other kids are open to just about anything. Either way, consider trying something new this Valentine’s Day to help get their minds off the divorce.
Here are a few examples of new things you can try:
- Get crafty with ideas from Pinterest, Tiktok or good ol’ Google.
- Try a new hole-in-the-wall restaurant that you’ve passed by hundreds of times but never given a shot.
- Bake a Valentine’s Day-themed dessert like cookies with hearts on them.
- Make the holiday an excuse to pig out on your favorite takeout food and desserts.
Just like a lot of things with kids, you may strike out if you try something new, but you may also make it a memorable day they’ll want to repeat next year. At least you tried something new and helped get their mind off of the divorce.
Conclusion
We’ve helped a lot of clients and their families through divorce. If you or someone you know is going through one and needs an attorney, give us a call at 714.456.9118 or send us an email.We do everything we can to make the process go smoothly and prepare you for the hard situations such holidays. We hope you do everything you can to make this Valentine’s Day special for your family and yourself.
