Traditionally, the first day of December, or even the first weekend of December, Christmas trees in family homes across Australia will go up, decorations dragged out and tinsel hung along handrails.
So much preparation goes into planning for Christmas to ensure that the day is perfect for all the family that sometimes it can be forgotten what the day is really about. If you are a separated parent with children, you will likely have the additional stress of what is to occur for your children on the day.
Your 2023 Christmas Checklist from a family lawyer is here to help you prepare for the silly season. Make sure you start thinking now about:
- What are the current arrangements for Christmas? Are there any in place?
- What happened last year? Were there any dramas on the days leading up to and on Christmas Day?
- What worked and what did not work last year?
- What do the kids want?
Hopefully the first answer to most of the above questions was not “I need to go to Court!”.
Communication and collaboration with your co-parent will be most helpful to you this time of year. Christmas should be a joyful event for children and not one for them to be caught in the middle of parental squabbles. Be flexible, listen to your kids, and focus on their needs, not yours. Sure, lunch might be a bit late or the Christmas party a bit early, but in the big scheme of things, your kids will not remember that. They will remember the good times they had with you.
If you need specialist legal advice on how to make this work, contact one of our experienced family law solicitors.
We are here when you need us.
Photo: Nicole Michalou on Pexels
