Jordan Watson

This time of year can be hard. It’s hectic, it’s stressful. Especially when your parents have divorced.

OK, mine divorced 23 years ago, but it’s still hard, alright.

When I was a fresh-faced eight-year-old – no beard in sight – my parents decided to split up. This is now so common I tend to think marriages that are still together after 10 years deserve a medal, or a news bulletin, or at least a packet of chips.

It was tough – it is for all kids – but by December that same year I had realised the massive perks.

Double the Christmas parties. Double the amount of presents.

And, if I was lucky, they’d both get me a pair of snap pants. (You know, the ones with the buttons up the side so you could just ‘snap’ them off. For some reason in the mid 90s the fad of stripper pants was huge among 8-yearolds.)

Christmas times two equals – DIVORSOME.

The Christmas / Birthday double-up divorsomeness carried on for many, many years. Even 25-year-old Jordan was still riding the double gift-giving wave.

But sadly, for 26-year-old Jordan – everything would change. Because 26-year-old Jordan had a baby.

That Christmas it seemed like both my anti-each-other parents had a secret meeting because, come Christmas Day, as they handed their new, amazing, cute, granddaughter her present – they looked to me and said ‘‘this is your present too’’.

Yeah, like I really wanted a blue and red circle thing that

The days of double-gifts seem long gone – instead, it’s double the parties to plan, double the stress, double the travel, double the packing.