How is it best to handle buying gifts?

It’s often a good idea to agree in advance about how much money you will spend on the children for their holiday gifts. That way, neither parent will be able to manipulate the kids with an expensive present, and neither parent will feel the need to compete with the other. Also, collaborating with your ex will avoid each of you purchasing the same items. And if you have to cut back on your holiday budget, don’t worry about it too much. My mom would routinely announce, “It’s going to be a low-key Christmas this year.” I never felt slighted. What we did as a family was more significant than the gifts we unwrapped. When money is tight in a bad economy and in the aftermath of a recent divorce, don’t exceed your financial means—there’s no point.