There are numerous hurdles to negotiate when co-parenting and Christmas can throw up several. One relates to gift-giving.
You may have more to spend on your children this Christmas than their other parent does. Is it OK to just go ahead and buy whatever you please? Or should you try and temper your spending to avoid making the other parent feel bad?
Consideration and conversation can go a long way
The very fact you are giving this consideration is a good sign. It shows an awareness of the problems that can occur when one parent has more spending power than the other. Or when one parent is willing to stretch their budget more than the other is willing to stretch theirs.
Children should understand you have different budgets
Most children will comprehend if parents have differing resources. They may do so even without you pointing it out, just from the details they see every day, such as what cars you drive, which neighborhoods you live in and what food you put on the table for dinner. What’s more, they probably won’t care either. However much they might love to get every item on their extensive Christmas list, they hopefully realize that the love you give them is more important than the presents you buy them.
Joint gift-giving could be an option
Buying them a gift from the both of you can often be a good idea. You don’t need to go halves either. One of you could put in more because you can afford more.
The key thing however is to talk about gift-giving as co-parents. It can help avoid misunderstandings, or situations where one parent feels patronized by the other or believes the other parent is spending big to try and make them look bad.
The better you can communicate, the easier co-parenting is likely to be. A well-thought-out parenting plan is a good place to start.