The holidays can be a tough time for couples, especially newlyweds. This is because both parties have their own set of unique holiday and family traditions that they hold dear to their hearts and would like to uphold. Unfortunately, these traditions sometimes conflict. For instance, if one party always had a live, Douglas Fir Christmas tree when growing up, they probably won’t be happy with an artificial one.

Holiday decorations are another area that couples often disagree on. If one person grew up in a family that made a big deal of decorating their home for the holidays and even put up front yard decorations and the other doesn’t really care for them, it can lead to arguments which are not good for the relationship.

Couples can avoid such arguments by:

Planning ahead

Talk to your spouse ahead of the holidays about your holiday traditions and ask them about theirs. Make a list of all the traditions from both sides of the family and discuss which ones you would love to keep and which ones you can do without. If you have kids, don’t forget to ask them their wishes for the holidays.

Making new traditions from the old ones

Look for possible combinations of the family traditions that you have decided to keep that will work best for your family. This way you can have traditions that both of you enjoy. Remember to take cultural differences into account when coming up with your traditions.

Compromising

Compromise is very important when you are merging new traditions. Even if you think your spouse’s traditions are ridiculous, you must be prepared to compromise. Don’t try to convince them to give up traditions that are important to them.

Keeping all family recipes

Food is such a touchy subject that it deserves a special mention. No one wants to have to give up a special recipe that has been in their family for generation. Holiday food is one of the few areas where compromise may not be the best solution. You can have it all. For instance, there is nothing wrong with having two deserts for Christmas if they are both special family recipes.

If you are having trouble deciding which family traditions keep and which ones to let go off, try the above  advice for newlyweds.