The holidays are supposed to be full of celebration and stress-free moments. When a big life event like a divorce gets in the way, you may find it hard to celebrate like you used to. Instead of ruining your winter celebrations of holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, there are ways to cope and celebrate without negativity. The following five coping methods can help you in your personal holiday celebrations along with the proceedings you have with a divorce attorney.

New Holiday Traditions

As a married couple, you likely had a lot of holiday traditions that could bring up sad or painful memories when the celebrations roll around. Instead of focusing on those traditions, you can forge new ones for you and your family.

Examples of these traditions include holiday light parades, Christmas plays, or some type of recreational activity like ice skating. Use local newspapers and community calendars to help plan the new events and traditions. If you have annual tickets to holiday traditions, work with your attorney on ways you can sell the tickets and split the profits.

Holiday Keepsakes

Whether you're decorating a Christmas tree, hanging stockings, or displaying holiday centerpieces, there are a lot of keepsakes that probably hold sentimental value for you and your spouse.  Instead of keeping those items packed with regular holiday decorations, it's a good idea to keep them in a separate storage case so you do not get upset every time you pull out the holiday decorations.

If the keepsakes are too much to bear, you can donate general holiday decorations to churches or families in need. For personalized holiday keepsakes like an ornament, it's a good idea to ask your spouse if they are interested in keeping them before you dispose of anything.

Fully Celebrating

Do not let divorce proceedings hinder the time to celebrate. This is especially important if children are involved with the divorce. Children can pick up on things very quickly, so it's important to give them happy holiday times to remember.

Celebrating with your extended family is important, too. At larger holiday gatherings like Thanksgiving, you should try to relax and have as much fun as possible. It's a big adjustment after splitting from a spouse, but it will help open you up to healing and acceptance.

Focus on Giving

During a divorce, it's easy to get down in the dumps and focus on your own problems. Instead of dwelling in the negative, you can appreciate everything that you do have and help give to others. There are multiple ways to focus on giving during the holiday season.

• Food Kitchens: Help serve food and communicate with others at local food kitchens. It can not only help you through a divorce, but it can turn into an annual holiday tradition. It's easy to find multiple food kitchens in your area that are consistently looking for volunteers.
• Toy Drives: Donate toys, help run a drive, or work on other services like wrapping toys. You can gain a great perspective by seeing and helping children in need during the holidays. It can help drive your own anger and sadness into positive directions.

Collaborative Divorce Proceedings

Court room battles or intense mediation can cause a lot of pressure, stress, and angry feelings between parties. As an alternative, you can work with your attorney to seek collaborative divorce proceedings. These type of proceedings remove the court room element and allows you to openly communicate with your spouse.

These types of proceedings can help the holidays go by smoothly. It can even turn the proceedings into a type of celebration. For example, instead of a serious meeting room, you, your spouse, and attorneys can enjoy a Thanksgiving-like meal together as you plan out all the divorce needs like assets. The casual atmosphere removes the tense structure from traditional divorce proceedings.

Attorneys have worked with a lot of divorce cases during the holidays. It's a good idea to openly talk to them about getting through the tough times and any successful stories they've had in the past. If you are looking for an attorney to help you navigate the divorce proceedings, then try visiting a site like http://www.glfamilylaw.com.