As the holidays roll around, most people start getting into the cheery holiday spirit. Many start watching lighthearted movies, listening to festive music, doing holiday baking, and more. One big tradition during the holiday season is spending time with family and loved ones.  However, the holidays can pose difficult decisions for people that come from non-traditional households. This could be families that are blended, extended, single-parent, and more. Not all holidays are accommodating for non-conventional families, but most families have made it work, and have even made new traditions along the way. 

One of the hardest holidays to work around is Thanksgiving. It’s only one day and you can’t really celebrate twice in one day. Nonetheless, there are ways to adjust. I come from a blended family and we’ve figured out an alternative that works really well. We celebrate the Tuesday before actual Thanksgiving. That way, we can make other plans for Thanksgiving day and have the opportunity to eat with our other sides of the family. There are also other ways to celebrate Thanksgiving in a non-traditional way, like having a Friendsgiving. 

Christmas and Hanukkah can be a little bit easier to navigate, but still difficult. Since Hanukkah is eight days long, many families find ways to split it up. For divorced or blended families, one parent might get the kids for the first half and then switch after four days. Usually a similar schedule is set up for blended families celebrating Christmas. Elise Woods, a student at Boise High who’s parents are divorced, explains how her family tackles the holidays. “For Christmas, I’m with one parent for Christmas Eve and the other parent for Christmas Day,” she says, “and the parent I’m with switches every year, but that way each one gets a special dinner around Christmas time.” This is similar for a lot of other non-traditional families. An added bonus is getting to celebrate Christmas twice.

It can be hard for some families to adjust to different holiday schedules and situations. However, that doesn’t make them any less special. It can also give families a chance to form new traditions. Holidays are all about surrounding yourself with family and loved ones, no matter the size or structure.