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Original poster

Separating now-before Christmas? Or hang on til January for kids sake?

40 replies

sparklymessenger · 03/12/2012 13:56

Basically things were quite manageable and due to financial reasons we decided to continue living in same house together and separate after christmas to make it easier on dc and ourselves I suppose. We are living separate lives and have been for the past few months apart from activities with dc and discussing financial arrangements.Now the situation is becoming quite a strain for both of us and although we don't discuss things in front of the dc, they must pick up on some of what is going on. Need advice with regard to sticking it out or if splitting up now before Christmas would be best for all concerned?

OP posts:

gettingeasier · 04/12/2012 08:16

Manipulative ? I dont see that.

Also I disagree that Christmas will be retrospectively affected , how do you work that out ?

ScarletWomanoftheVillage · 04/12/2012 08:24

If you want to split now, then just do it. By the time Christmas comes, you'll be in a better place and things will seem lighter.

Both of you can still make sure your dcs have a good Christmas, you just have to be determined.

If you do it now, it doesn't need to be associated with Christmas at all.

It certainly doesn't need to be a crummy Christmas for the dcs either way.

At least in the run up to Christmas there are plenty of activities etc which will be great distractions and opportunities for fun.

Fighting all the way to Christmas and then splitting after sounds like a long drawn out time of hideousness for the dcs.

Perhaps just get it over with, like pulling off a plaster then you can get on with your lives.

Don't let it drag on....awful for everybody.

Best of luck.

YouOldSlag · 04/12/2012 11:36

Also I disagree that Christmas will be retrospectively affected , how do you work that out ?

It happened to me when I was 10 and it WAS retrospectively affected. It's just people sharing their experience and POVs.

Yogagirl17 · 04/12/2012 12:32

ScarletWoman "If you want to split now, then just do it. By the time Christmas comes, you'll be in a better place and things will seem lighter."

Really? Have you been through a divorce? Christmas is only three weeks away. Once they start the process things are going to feel very dark indeed for everyone involved. It is going to be months, at least, before things begin to feel anywhere near normal again. How can you possibly think they could split now and be in a 'lighter' place in just a couple of weeks?

8rubberduckies · 04/12/2012 13:20

OP, we have ended up in a similar position to you, facing separation right on top of Christmas. We split up in early November but are still living together, 2 dc aged 4 and 1, and decided not to tell our oldest until xdp had a place sorted to go. This has taken a while, and he gets his keys on 10th December, so we are facing telling ds this weekend.

I feel bad that it is right on top of Christmas, but it is just the way it has worked out, and we are hoping to minimise the pain over Christmas by spending the day as a family, the morning at xdp's new house and the afternoon at mine. I think that if you are confident you can show a happy united front for Christmas day that will be the day that sticks in your dc's minds, whether he is staying the night or not.

A couple of people have said to me that Christmas will be a good distraction for our ds at a difficult time as well. I am sure that they are picking up on tension at home anyway at the moment, and I am certain that is more damaging than a clean and quick split if at all possible, no matter what the time of the year. If you continue as you are for another 3 weeks it may be a worse day for the dc's if there are arguments and a bad atmosphere. It is incredibly tough living under the same roof once you have made the decision to split.

Also, it may take a while to sort out alternative accommodation for your dp anyway, so even if you get the ball rolling now it may not be until after Christmas he has to move out anyway.

Good luck.

Alittlestranger · 04/12/2012 14:17

I do think people saying how sorry they feel for the OP's kids (as though OP isn't already worried about them) and talking about the magic of Christmas in unhelpful to say the least and manipulative at best. But then I will never understand the mystic and sense of obligation that some families attach to December 25th.

If the OP splits after Christmas this then becomes the "last good Christmas" and as the truth emerges they will start to remember all the tense looks etc. Also Christmas is a pressure cooker, it can be hard to keep things under wraps even if that's the plan.

YouOldSlag · 04/12/2012 14:22

It's not manipulative at all. If the OP can manage civilly at the moment, then perhaps she may feel willing to carry on and do Christmas. If it's impossible, then don't.

You will never understand the mystic and sense of obligation re: December 25th? Erm, the children are 7 and 4, Christmas is magical for children. I thought that was a given.

And as for your last paragraph- the children are 4 and 7, they will hardly be analysing their parents' relationship.

I was 10 when my parents split up and it was a complete to shock to me. I had not thought anything that came previously was fake or forced. You could have knocked me down with a feather. Christmas between two homes ten days after they split was awful. Just awful.

YouOldSlag · 04/12/2012 14:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Llareggub · 04/12/2012 14:36

I split up with my exH just after Christmas following an incident of DV on Christmas Eve. I didn't make the decision to split until after to give me some space to reflect and make plans. Christmas was dire; a real feeling of falseness and being on the outside. If I could do it again I would do it before Christmas, and use the time as a period of adjustment instead of this weird limbo.

I am a year on now and very much looking forward to a real, happy Christmas. You will get though it.

Yogagirl17 · 04/12/2012 15:44

How is it manipulative if it's answering the question the OP asked? She seemed to want to weigh up both sides of the argument and hopefully she's been helped to do that.

YouOldSlag · 04/12/2012 17:31

Llareggub, that's really sad, I'm so sorry. Glad things are going in the right direction now.

Can I just say that although I am in favour of eking out another Christmas for the sake of children, that does not apply if it's impossible to be civil, or you are in any danger or distress.

Lovingfreedom · 04/12/2012 17:42

I'm not usually in favour of stringing things along any longer than necessary. If the kids are really looking forward to Christmas though and you and your husband can stand being together in the same house for a while longer (and you are not in danger if you stay) then you could wait. If you are going to do that then having some plans including dates and practicalities would be good then you are doing everything apart from actually leaving. Having it all planned out well in advance will probably make it a smoother transition for your children when the time comes too.
Having said all that, my DCs adapted to Christmas with one parent at a time quite well. Split in Nov last year.

ScarletWomanoftheVillage · 04/12/2012 19:34

yogagirl - Yes, I have been through a divorce. And I have been through it from the child's point of view, too. But of course everyone who goes through this has a different experience. I think if you've known for a while you are splitting up and things in the house are getting tense, then once the actual separation happens it can be like lancing a boil and the tension eases - that is what I meant by 'a lighter place'.

Obviously, the rest of the process of divorce is hideous to go through and, as you say, takes months, but the op has already started that process by making the decision. Once that decision is made, it can be agony still being together under the same roof while knowing the relationship is over, and will perhaps ruin Christmas anyway.

Yogagirl17 · 04/12/2012 19:37

scarlet yes I see what you mean. I guess my experience was somewhat different cause it all happened so fast.

anon1968 · 05/12/2012 20:19

Hi. I went through this 3 yrs ago my husband told me in the november he no longer loved me and was leaving, I asked him to wait until after Christmas,( we have 1 child, 11 at that time) it was honestly the worst 6 weeks of my life,I was a complete mess, we are back together now, but I still associate Christmas time with that, and for that reason I would say if you can cope, wait until after so that your children will get used to the change and not associate it, however I was a mess and looking back I'm sure she picked up on things, because it was just the 3 of us, it was hard to enjoy the day, and i should have tried harder, are you in a position to either go to family, or them come to you ? this may help take the pressure off you, it all depends whether you can put an act on, I'm not sure whether I would do things the same, I'm just trying to say how I don't see Christmas the same now. Sorry you are going through this. X

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