Should you celebrate your divorce with a party?

 Posted on November 30, 2018 in Divorce

Human beings have a natural inclination to celebrate. Whether we’re celebrating Christmas, New Year’s Day, a pregnancy, a birthday, a person’s “coming out of the closet,” a retirement, and many more momentous occasions, we love a chance to get together to mark important events and transitions from one part of our lives to another.

So, why shouldn’t you have a party to celebrate your divorce? After all, you had one to celebrate your marriage!

People may argue that a marriage is something worth celebrating because the reception party is designed to acknowledge the couple’s new status as a married duo in front of the entire community. The party is meant to allow friends and family members to wish the new couple well and offer their support, whether through gifts, money or just a willingness to be there when needed.

Is any of that different for a divorce? When you go through a divorce, you naturally hope that the community around you will recognize that you are no longer part of a couple. You’re independent and free again. You probably also hope that your friends and family members will be around to offer their support — especially emotionally as you make your adjustments to your new life.

For a very long time, American culture treated divorce as something shameful, the end of a dream. Now, attitudes have shifted. You may even be happily anticipating new dreams!

Here are a few suggestions for your divorce party to liven things up:

• Don’t be too serious. If you have a sense of humor about your divorce, now is the time to show it. A tombstone cake with the dates of your marriage and divorce can be a wry testament to the past you are ready to bury.
• Invite your closest friends. Don’t invite anybody you feel can’t be supportive and encouraging.
• Invite your ex. If you and your ex have happily parted ways, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate together. Other couples have done it!

When a divorce is the right thing to do, there’s no reason not to celebrate the ending of one chapter in your life and the start of another.