Happy Holidays? How Co-Parents Can Avoid Holiday Nightmares with Parenting Expert, Christina McGhee on The Divorce & Beyond Podcast with Susan Guthrie, Esq. #149

On this episode, America's Favorite Parenting Expert, Christina McGhee returns to talk with Susan Guthrie about the many ways that co-parents can make the holidays happier and less stressful for their kids as we enter this 2020 Holiday season! So often the "happiest time of year" can actually be one of the most stressful and scary.  Throw in divorce, separation and a pandemic, and the 2020 holiday season presents even more issues for the children whose parents may be struggling right now.  Thankfully, leading Parenting Expert, Christina McGhee, joins Susan again to give some practical and actionable advice and tips for managing the holidays in two households!   Some topics Christina covers in this episode: How to prepare to talk about the holidays with your co-parent Learn what is most important to kids about the holidays How to handle presents over the holidays What to do about extended family and their expectations How to take the pressure off the kids at their holiday events And much, much more! Here are some additional articles from Christina that might be of assistance: Handling Holiday Hassles With An Ex Who Hates You https://divorceandchildren.com/2017/12/handling-holiday-hassles-with-an-ex-who-hates-you/ Gift Giving Tips for Divorced Parents https://divorceandchildren.com/2016/12/gift-giving-tips-for-divorced-parents/ Radical Acceptance: How parents dealing with divorce or separation can stop being miserable during the holidays https://divorceandchildren.com/2018/12/how-parents-dealing-with-divorce-or-separation-can-stop-being-miserable-during-the-holidays/ 6 Things Children of Divorce Want From Their Parents This Holiday Season https://divorceandchildren.com/2014/12/children-and-divorce-holiday-tips/ 10 Tips for Handling the Holidays When You Are Divorced https://divorceandchildren.com/2008/12/10-tips-for-handling-the-holidays-when-you-are-divorced/ ***SPECIAL SERIES OF EPISODES on DIVORCE AND PARENTING!  Susan is thrilled to have Christina McGhee returning monthly to touch on several of the hot topics in parenting and divorce!  We will be discussing how to co-parent with a high conflict ex, how to handle the holidays and MUCH MORE so stay tuned.  CHRISTINA WILL ALSO ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS SENT IN BY LISTENERS SO SEND AN EMAIL TO [email protected]  or by DM to @divorceandbeyond on Instagram with your question and hear the answer on a future episode!*** For More Information on This Week's Special Guest:  Christina McGhee  is a speaker and divorce parenting expert who believes divorce doesn't have to equal devastation for families. While splitting up is undeniably hard, with the right kind of information and support, she thinks parents can be children's absolute best resource as life changes.  As a coach with 20+ years of experience, Christina is dedicated to providing parents with the tools and practical support they need to get it right for their kids. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book, Parenting Apart: How separated and divorced parents can raise happy and secure kids.   As a child of divorce and as a bonus mom (aka step-mom), Christina gets plenty of opportunities to practice what she preaches.  Together she and her husband have four “adultish” children (2 bonus, 2 bio), an ever-growing community of rescue dogs/cats, and an obscene number of chickens.You can find out more about her at divorceandchildren.com *** Christina's Special Gift for Listeners:  Talking to Kids About Divorce:  How to Handle Hard Conversations can be accessed here: https://divorceandchildren.com/just-for-you*** The film Split: A Divorce Survival Guide for Kids (and their Parents) can be viewed here:  https://www.brunofilms.com/split.  Split is a deeply personal film made in collaboration with children aged 6-12, exploring the often frightening and always life altering separation of their parents. Split gives us the children's perspective on divorce... no adults, no experts… just kids speaking the powerful