5 Tips to Negotiate Holiday Gifts for Your Kids with Your Ex-Spouse After Divorce
Even after your Florida divorce is final, you may still have to negotiate with your former spouse or even make decisions together, especially if you have shared children.
If this is your first holiday season after the divorce, brace yourself for holiday gift negotiations. Typically, holiday seasons trigger a wide range of family law issues. Although the issue of time-sharing on Christmas and New Year’s Eve and out-of-state vacations during the holidays are usually covered in a child custody and divorce agreement, holiday gift-giving often requires additional discussions with the other parent.
If you cannot agree on where and how holidays are spent, speak with our Orlando child custody attorney to facilitate a productive conversation and reach a consensus.
Tips to Negotiate Gift-Giving with Your Former Spouse
The gifts that are exchanged during the holiday season often become a matter of contention between divorced parents who do not have a shared vision of what to give their kids for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.
Luckily, you can avoid unnecessary conflicts with the other parent when negotiating holiday gifts after divorce with these five tips:
- Start with a conversation, but stay calm. Since many divorced parents resent their former spouse, it is imperative that you put your differences behind and remain calm to communicate about your kids productively, especially during the holiday season. These conversations with the spouse should cover such topics as what your kids asked for, the budget for those gifts, who is giving what, and how to address the questions about Santa.
- Consider past holiday seasons. Unless this is your first holiday season after the childbirth, consider how you have handled gift-giving in the past. Just because you and the other parent have split apart does not mean that your kids need twice the number of gifts compared to your previous holidays.
- Consider your budget. Ideally, your budget for holiday gift-giving should be similar to your ex-spouse’s. Otherwise, it could create unrealistic expectations and a feeling of competition between the parents. There is nothing worse than confusing your children if one parent brings expensive gifts, while the other one gives more modest ones.
- The “Santa” thing. Depending on how old your children are, Santa may be a major part of your kids’ holidays. You will have to decide with the other parent how to celebrate Christmas with Santa gifts. Some parents prefer to have Santa come to both houses to make it fair.
- Focus on the children. When it comes to holiday gift-giving, it all boils down to one thing: your children should come first. Do not involve kids in your tensions or disagreements with the other parent when negotiating holiday gifts.
The holiday season is all about making positive memories for your children, so make sure that gift-giving does not ruin holidays for your kids. It is much better to compromise and find a middle ground for the sake of your child. Contact our Orlando divorce attorney from Law Offices of Steve W. Marsee if you need legal help regarding negotiations with the other parent. Call at 407-521-7171 to receive a consultation.
https://www.marseelaw.com/will-your-spouse-receive-funds-from-your-separate-bank-account-in-florida/
