My ex made a big deal out of Christmas and purchased presents all year long to save and give out on Christmas Day. Since my idea of Christmas was not commercial I just let the kids be with her on Christmas morning and picked them up around noon time.
The facts of life are that there is no point trying to compete with a custodial parent who has your kids 12 out of 14 days. I spent what time I had in close quality time with my kids and even then lost one of them to his mothers alienation.
I hope I'm not treading on your toes when I say this but Christmas has lost all of its meaning in todays commercial world for most people becoming nothing more than a celebration of consumerism. If you can downplay its importance and use the time as an opportunity to have some quality time with your kids you'll be a much happier person than if you try to compete with your ex or mope over what you think you are missing.
I have a 40 something son and he remembers nothing about the details of his Christmas mornings but just the other day thanked me with great feelings for the time I spent with him teaching him how to target shoot with my small caliber rifle. The point being that this useless exercise in present giving is soon lost in the past but the time you spend with them can live with them forever.
My ex made a big deal out of
My ex made a big deal out of Christmas and purchased presents all year long to save and give out on Christmas Day. Since my idea of Christmas was not commercial I just let the kids be with her on Christmas morning and picked them up around noon time.
The facts of life are that there is no point trying to compete with a custodial parent who has your kids 12 out of 14 days. I spent what time I had in close quality time with my kids and even then lost one of them to his mothers alienation.
I hope I'm not treading on your toes when I say this but Christmas has lost all of its meaning in todays commercial world for most people becoming nothing more than a celebration of consumerism. If you can downplay its importance and use the time as an opportunity to have some quality time with your kids you'll be a much happier person than if you try to compete with your ex or mope over what you think you are missing.
I have a 40 something son and he remembers nothing about the details of his Christmas mornings but just the other day thanked me with great feelings for the time I spent with him teaching him how to target shoot with my small caliber rifle. The point being that this useless exercise in present giving is soon lost in the past but the time you spend with them can live with them forever.