Christmas is typically one of the hardest times of the year for divorced or divorcing parents and their children. Whether the divorce is done by that point or just getting started, the parents may not want to spend it together. Their children, however, likely want to share it with both of them.
Spending the day together may work if your relationship is amenable enough. Yet in many cases, it will be too uncomfortable or highly unpleasant. Here are some options to handle Christmas:
You all spend part of the day together
Maybe you have lunch with the kids and your extended family but invite your co-parent over for coffee in the morning so they can see the kids open their gifts
The kids travel for part of the day
Perhaps the children spend the Christmas period with you, but their other parent comes and picks them up to take them out for a few hours. It could be for a walk, to grab a drink, or just to take them to their place to give them their gifts.
You split the holiday
Maybe the children spend the night before Christmas with you, then leave after opening their gifts over breakfast. They then go on to have Christmas lunch and spend that night with your co-parent
You alternate years
You agree that the children can spend this Christmas period with your co-parent and their side of the family and that they will spend the following one with you and your side of the family.
You use video calls to allow people to be in two places at once
Various forms of video messaging allow a parent who is elsewhere to be with the children for a while. Just be sure to schedule a time for the call so it works for all of you.
Like most things custody-related, giving some thought to the issue and putting something in writing when making your parenting and custody plan can help keep things clear.