Spending Christmas without your ex-partner for the first time can be a lonely affair, especially in the time of COVID-19, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s why… if you’re recently divorced and not sure what to do with yourself this Christmas, it’s time to put a post-divorce Christmas plan together.

COVID-19 has made spending time together very difficult, but there are special restrictions in place around Christmas to make the festive season easier on you. Once you’ve been to the divorce solicitors and finalised everything, it’s time to move on and start living.

In this post, we’re going to help you decide who you should share your post-divorce Christmas with, and give you some tips on what to do. But, before we do that, we’re going to briefly go over the Christmas COVID rules, so you know what you’re allowed to do.

What Are the COVID-19 Restrictions Around Christmas?

Before you can start planning your first Christmas post-divorce, you need to know what the UK government will actually allow you to do.

On the 22nd November, Boris Johnson announced that for the festive period between 23rd and 27th December, new Christmas restrictions would overrule our current tier system. These new restrictions are:

You’re allowed to form one ‘Christmas Bubble’ composed of up to three households, one of which can include an existing bubble arrangement.

The households in your bubble cannot be part of any other Christmas bubble during the five-day period.

You cannot change your bubble mid-way through the period – once you’ve started your bubble there’s no going back.

Because households can be of any size, there is no upper limit on the number of people within the Christmas bubble who can meet indoors at any one time, so you should keep the bubble as small as possible.

Any pre-existing bubble you’re a part of that will not form part of your Christmas bubble must be isolated from for 14 days prior to starting your Christmas one.

You can only meet members of your Christmas bubble in private dwellings, a place of worship, or an outdoor public space.

Meeting anyone outside your Christmas bubble will be subject to the tier restrictions of the area you’re in at the time.

That sounds like a lot but it’s actually pretty straightforward. You choose your bubble, you stick with them. Then if you meet anyone outside the bubble you follow the tier restrictions for that area.

In order to make your post-divorce Christmas the best yet, you need to form a successful Christmas bubble who will make the day perfect for you.

Who Should You Spend Christmas with Post-Divorce?

To help you make the all-important decision on who should be in your bubble, here’s our list of people you should consider spending your first post-divorce Christmas with.

Yourself

Before we get into all the people you could spend your first post-divorce Christmas with, it’s important to say there’s nothing wrong with spending the day by yourself. As long as you’re absolutely sure it’s something you’d enjoy and not a defence mechanism, why not?

Most people see Christmas as a day to get together with family, and break bread once a year. In reality, it’s not always a rosy affair. Families don’t always get on and if it’s just going to stress you out and make your Christmas worse, bunk them off!

Your Friends

People often say that friends are the family you choose. So, spending time with your friends could be the perfect middle ground between spending Christmas alone and with family.

Maybe get together with other people who don’t get along with their families, don’t have a family or would rather have a fun time with friends. Even if you don’t spend time together on Christmas day, the new bubble rules cover four other days. So, you could make your friends part of your bubble for those days instead.

Your Family

In the interest of giving your family a fair shake, most people’s first choice to spend time with on their first Christmas post-divorce would be their family. You could visit your parents, your sibling’s family, or get three family households together for one big Christmas day.

Going through a divorce can be tough, especially during COVID-19. So, having the chance to really sit down and talk with them about it would probably do you some good.

Your Children

If you have children with your ex-partner, there are extra special bubble restrictions you can take advantage of. People are only allowed to be part of one Christmas bubble. But children can be a part of both their parent’s bubbles.

Putting a plan in place ahead of time as to who will have the children and when would make Christmas a lot simpler. Make sure to involve the kids in any decision you make. Then plan it around their needs.

All of the Above

If you plan your time really efficiently, you could whip around everyone during those five festive days. You won’t even notice that you’re having your first post-divorce Christmas.

Include family and close friends in your bubble, or anyone you plan to meet inside, and meet everyone else outside under the area’s tier restrictions. A post-divorce Christmas doesn’t have to be a lonely Christmas.

What Can You do to Make Your First Christmas Post-Divorce the Best One Yet?

Now that we know what the rules are around Christmas and who you should consider seeing around the holidays. It is time to decide what you should actually do. These are the things we think will help you have the best post-divorce Christmas ever:

1. Don’t be resentful

The first thing you need to think about is not being resentful about the divorce. It’s easy to think of all the things you can’t do, like picking out a tree with your family, or watching the kids open presents together on Christmas day. But it doesn’t solve anything.

Also, whatever happened before the divorce doesn’t have to affect your life post-divorce. All that stuff is in the past and you should do your best to move on.

2. Enjoy your usual holiday activities

There are two ways you can move on at Christmas post-divorce. The first of these is to enjoy the things you usually do this time of year, forgetting that you’re not doing them with your ex.

You can do all the things you loved to do with them with family or friends instead, and if you have children it might be nice to keep up your usual traditions. You don’t have to avoid doing the things you want to do and punish yourself just because you’re divorced.

3. Start new traditions

The second way to have a great Christmas post-divorce is to introduce some new traditions. It’s up to you whether you want to throw out all your old traditions and replace them, or just add some new ones into the mix to spice things up. Some of the new traditions you can introduce are:

· Volunteering: giving back to the community might actually make you feel better about your current situation. Feeding the hungry and visiting people who are lonely at Christmas can really lift your spirits post-divorce.

· Travelling: one way to completely switch up your Christmas is to book a place to stay for a few days. Maybe take a trip up to Scotland and stay in a log cabin? You can do this with friends, family or on your own. Whatever works best for you.

· Treating yourself: make sure that you get everything you want at Christmas. It doesn’t matter whether you think you deserve it or not. Just go wild. This year has probably been one of the hardest with COVID and the divorce, so treat yourself.

Will This Be the Best Christmas Yet?

In this post, we’ve managed to cover what the COVID-19 restrictions around Christmas are. We’ve also discussed who you might want to spend the holidays with. Plus what you can do to make your first post-divorce Christmas the best one yet.

If you do your best to forget the past, see the people you love, enjoy Christmas the way you always have or add a new twist, then there’s no reason this couldn’t be your best Christmas yet.

Thank you for reading this post, and good luck with your first Christmas post-divorce.