This week’s “Help me ‘Randa!” is to prepare our romantic relationships for the winter break that lies ahead.
The holidays are supposed to be full of family, fun and giving but if a couple can’t decide on where they should spend the holidays no one is going to have a jolly good time.
In order to make a decision on where to spend the holidays everyone needs to be flexible. When discussing holiday plans it is important to communicate with each family. This is a key component in attempting to please everyone.
In an article in the Huffington Post titled “How to Decide Where to Spend the Holidays,” wedding expert, Sharon Naylor states, “The bottom line is this: Everyone has to be flexible about holiday traditions. Remember the main goal: Spending this important time together.”
If a couple has to travel almost as far as the North Pole for the holidays, there are two options.
First, there is alternating holidays. Spend the holidays with one family this year, and the other family the next year. This keeps time spent fair between both families and a couple still gets to be together.
The next not-so-great option is to spend the holidays apart. When families just won’t budge, it is okay to spend the holidays separately, with each person’s respective families. If a couple must go this route, they can plan their own special holiday to spend together.
Remember, the most important part is being with loved ones, whether a couple has to split that time up depends on each individual situation.
Now, when a couple lives close to their relatives the situation becomes slightly easier.
A couple can spend the holidays with both of the partners’ families. There is still a little compromise that comes into play.
For example, if each family has their holiday dinner at the same time a couple must make a decision on where they will dine.
The article “Expectations & Negotiations:  Couples Who Compromise, Thrive,” the Centerstone Wellness Program states, “Learning how to negotiate can be very challenging; especially when there is an assumption of only one right way to do things. Couples are likely to face many unexpected home-lifestyle encounters if they are not prepared to compromise.”
So if a couple is having trouble deciding, they shouldn’t feel alone.
Making decisions about the holidays can be a tough task but by being flexible, communicating with family members and being willing to compromise, a couple will make it through the chilly weather.
Wishing the best,
Randa

A note from Miranda Hamm, staff writer and “Help me ‘Randa!” columnist: 
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