How to Navigate Celebrations After Divorce
With about 50% of couples ending up divorced, it’s no secret that not all marriages are meant to be – and it goes without saying that divorce can be a stressful, long, and tiring process. But what about life after divorce? If you’re recently divorced or have been for a while, you may find yourself struggling with how to go about celebrations such as Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgiving, and even Mother’s Day as a single individual. With some helpful tips, you’ll soon find yourself looking forward to every celebration of the year.
Starting to socialize again
Many people may begin to feel lonely after settling into life after their divorce – but you don’t have to be; and you certainly don’t have to celebrate any special occasion alone, either. No matter what the occasion is, inviting friends or family over or going out is a great way to boost your happiness and allow you to make new memories with those that you love, all while getting back into the social scene again.
Focusing on spending time with your family and friends is one of the best ways to get your mind off of your divorce – especially if you’re close to your them and they’re one of your biggest support systems. Believe it or not, immersing yourself into spending more time and being sociable with family and friends can be a great way to cope with celebrations after divorce in multiple ways. For example, taking the time to pick out the perfect Mother’s Day gift, or having a holiday get together or dinner can be a perfect way to get your mind off of things and to feel less alone.
Running into your ex
It goes without saying that you may experience nervousness when it comes to getting back out there and having a good time, especially when it’s supposed to be a happy occasion like a birthday or holiday dinner. Unfortunately, this can be even more intimidating if you expect to run into your ex (and maybe even their family, too) at a celebration. However, you’ll be surprised at how well things can go over when you use techniques like overcoming your nerves to increase your confidence. Overcoming your nerves may sound challenging, but can easily be done by remaining positive, staying calm, collected, and confident – which can allow you to fully enjoy yourself no matter what the occasion may be.
Creating new traditions
Whether your marriage lasted 15 years or just 2, life after divorce can prove to be quite difficult for both parties involved. After spending holiday after holiday together, you probably had many traditions with your ex-spouse that were cherished in your marriage. Whether it was Christmas tree shopping at a specific place each year, or popping a favorite bottle of wine at midnight on New Year’s, old traditions celebrated with a previous spouse can become almost haunting after divorce, and can oftentimes leave a bad taste in your mouth as well as sadness for celebrations to come.
Creating new traditions is a great way to freshen up your celebrations – and can help to undo the sadness that may come along with the thoughts of “getting through” celebrations. Not to mention that this can be a perfect opportunity to do something you’ve always wanted but couldn’t when you were with your spouse – or get rid of those traditions you’ve always hated. Doing something you’ve always wanted when it comes to annual celebrations can not only make you feel happier but can help you to put aside those old celebration memories that took place when you were married. So, let your creativity take over and start celebrating with new and different traditions.
Adjusting to life after divorce can prove to be a difficult time for anyone, and one of the hardest things to cope with is the holidays, anniversaries, and other celebrations. However, by getting back into the social scene again, changing up your holiday traditions, and learning to enjoy yourself through this tough time can greatly help you to enjoy every celebration of the year.
Author of this article, Lucy Wyndham, is a freelance writer and former Financial Advisor. After a decade in industry, she took a step backward to spend more time with her family and to follow her love of writing.