Aimee & Jeff
With Aimee and Jeff, the problem wasn’t a fight but a loaded issue: Which family’s home should they go to for their first holiday?

He said: “I really just don’t want to insult or hurt either set of parents. I know how sensitive my parents can be, and I’m wondering if my in-laws could possibly be a bit more understanding.”

She said: “I suppose we could spend the morning with his parents and the afternoon with mine, just to keep everybody happy. I don’t know how they’d feel about that. I do know how important the whole tradition is in our home, especially for my dad.“

Marriage pro’s fix-it: Ready for a shocker? Sometimes the best solution is the one that leaves each side with a little less than they wanted. It’s called compromise. For Aimee and Jeff, this means that both of them need to give a little ground here. One person should step up and say, “Okay, I’ll give in on Thanksgiving if we can do Christmas with my family,” and the other may want to follow with, “Or we could do your family this year and mine next year.” The larger lesson they can learn is that it’s not so hard to give in if they see their mate is willing to do the same.