Alexandra NielDivorce Recovery Coach, ANiel International, LLC. · I help women who held it all together through divorce finally build a life that’s actually theirs | Thrive After Divorce

Your First Holiday After Divorce Discover New Traditions #shorts

1 Oct 2024 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:59

In this YouTube short, the speaker offers practical advice for navigating the first holiday season after a divorce. She recommends avoiding social media to prevent painful comparisons, encourages creating new holiday traditions—such as accepting a friend's invitation to Thanksgiving—instead of defaulting to former in‑law gatherings, and suggests involving children in the new celebrations to ease the transition. The overall message is to use the post‑divorce period as an opportunity to try activities you previously couldn’t, have fun, and build fresh, meaningful holiday experiences.

Chapters

So you just wrapped up your divorce. It's your first holiday since the event. Now what do you do? First of all, avoid social media. Memories of holidays past are going to come across your feed, or you might be tempted to compare yourself to where you were in previous years. Second, think about how else you can celebrate the holidays. If you always had to go to the in-laws because that's just how things were done, you have an opportunity to do something completely different now. I remember my first Thanksgiving after my divorce. I had always celebrated with my in-laws because my family doesn't live in the US, and I didn't know what to do or where to go until my best friend called me and she's like, "You're coming over to my house for Thanksgiving." And you know what? That's been going on for 13 years and now even includes my better half. So have some fun with it. Try new things, discover new traditions. What have you always wanted to do but couldn't? Involve your kids because that's going to help to make the transition as smooth as possible.