A Massachusetts mom is sharing a helpful reminder for families who can't be together on specific holidays for various reasons, whether because of divorce, job requirements or geographic locations.
In a Facebook post shared Dec. 1, Jess Wilson opened up about her family's flexible way of celebrating special occasions like Christmas, a practice that started after her parents got divorced when she was a child.
"My dad has always insisted that I spend all of the major holidays with him. The qualifier was that they could happen whenever it was convenient for me, and later, as my family grew, for all of us," the 55-year-old mom of two wrote.
"Christmas on Jan 2nd? Sure, why not?" she continued. "It's still Christmas if you say it is. No guilt. No competition. No one left out."
Wilson, a former financial professional, told ABC News that she adopted this concept years ago, after her father introduced the idea to her.
"As a child of divorce, there's a ton of pressure on the kids to be in two places at once," she said. "My mom was insistent that I spend the holidays with her and her family, and rather than add to the pressure by pulling me in the other direction, my dad said, 'Well, I insist that you spend the holidays with me, but they can be whenever we want them to be.' And so, it really just alleviated the pressure."
Now that Wilson's two daughters are older -- 22 and 24 -- Wilson said she wants to make sure they have the same freedom as well, to celebrate whenever possible.
"While it started when I was a kid, it actually became even more of a gift to me, I think, as I got older -- and to my children too," Wilson said. "This is now becoming something that's important for [my oldest daughter], to be able to not feel the pressure of things happening at a certain time."
She added that she hopes what works for her family can also help other parents and families who might be feeling especially stressed out during a busy time.
"I think all of us understand criss-crossing obligations and how that makes us feel and all of the pressure that so many of us are under to try to make everybody happy," Wilson said. "I think this just creates a relief of that pressure that so many of us are under."
"We don't have to be tied to the calendar in order to be tied to each other," she added.
