VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The holidays are a fun time spent with family but can be difficult for some couples. Deciding on where to spend Christmas can cause lovebirds to be torn apart.
Pauline Barrett with the
BC Association of Marriage and Family Therapists has been working with couples for more than 50 years. She has seen couples fight, breakdown and get divorced over the holidays.
Barrett says questions around where to go always comes up at this time of the year.
"Do we go to one set of parents one Christmas, and another set of parents next Christmas? Do we go to our in-laws on Christmas Eve and then spend Christmas day with the other in-laws? Do we drive ourselves mad by trying to have two Christmas dinners in two different houses?" says Barrett.
She says the key is communication when it comes to holiday planning, and it's not just you and your partner, but a dialogue with the whole family.
"The bottom line is the ability to talk about that and put it out on the table. Couples and in-laws can really sit down and talk about that and try to decide how is this going to be best for everybody, so we can enjoy Christmas and not find this a drudgery."
Barrett also suggests settling the score by spending one Christmas with your side of the family and the next year with your spouse's.
She says from both her personal and professional experience has seen many battles at Christmas.
But she wants people to be reminded of the true meaning of the holidays, "Christmas is a time when we celebrate love and peace and justice in the world and in our own families."