By Corrine Bylund

Holidays are stressful.  Planning early can help ensure that everyone can continue to have memorable happy holidays, even in the midst of litigation.

First, some dos and don’ts for the holiday season:

• Do make the best of your time with your child.  Just because you might not have the exact date or hour that you wanted, doesn’t make your time with your child any less special. 

• Do encourage your child to enjoy the time they spend with your spouse or former spouse.  Your child will likely be upset that they aren’t spending time with both you and your spouse during the holidays.  Make separate holidays easier by letting your child know that it’s okay with you that they have a good time with their other parent. 

• Don’t disparage your spouse or your spouse’s family in front of your child. 

DadsDivorce.com editor, Rick Ortiz, talks to award-winning author, Joel Schwartzberg, about his collection of divorced dad essays, "The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad."

The author discusses how his own experience as a father and, later, as a divorced man was formed into the essays that visitors to this website will appreciate and understand.