The ABS says that almost 113,000 marriages took place in Australia in 2017 - down about 5% from 2016. In the same year just over 49,000 divorces were granted, up by 5% from 2016.
Many of life’s rites of passage are bookended. We celebrate births marking the beginning of life and funerals marking the end of it, one’s first day of school and then graduation, on Valentine’s Day we celebrate both being in love, and increasingly, on being single. When you think about it, the divorce party trend seems like it has its justified place in these rituals and traditions. How couples approach divorce can be wildly varied. Some quietly exit stage left, some box on in court until there is nothing left to fight over and some manage to keep it classy and civil, hosting a joint party to celebrate the end of their nuptials. Singer Jack White and ex-wife Karen Elson threw a joint divorce party for (only) their closest friends and shared their happy ending in a press release to the world. Which seems pretty damn grown-up. The divorce party trend was started in 2003 by American Christine Gallagher who went on to author the Divorce Party Planner book. She described the original divorce party she threw as “half therapy, half bacchanalia”. No one would deny the divorce party as a therapeutic device, and to bring closure particularly in the event of a toxic marriage, if you are actually still speaking. However, in these climes, one might very well question the bacchanalia part suggesting wild excess and consumption. (Yep, had to look that word up too. Bacchanalia according to Wiki: The Bacchanalia were Roman festivals of Bacchus based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They seem to have been popular and well-organised throughout the central and southern Italian peninsula.)While divorce parties are on the rise, the reality of divorce is that 99% of couples are worse off financially than they are together. So before you plan a big party - either together or to draw a line at the front door for which friends are siding with you, think about not being too excessive.Even if you are totally over the ex, starting with a bonfire of their stuff down at the beach, making crazy broken hearts, there is a way to get your own back and do it wearing your eco-consumer hat. As much as you might despise the possessions of your former partner, dumping or burning “their shit” or any memorabilia from the wedding and marriage is not good for anyone. Most 'ex' possessions are in good condition, so don't just dispose them. Donate, recycle, upcycle - send them in the direction of someone who can make good use of them. (And think about what your kids, who more than likely still love you both, might want.) It might be difficult to consider the Waste Hierarchy at the time of a divorce but honestly, thoughtful disposal will make you feel even more virtuous about removing every last bit of his or her existence from your home, as it goes to make someone else happy while it gets it out of your way.
If celebrating your divorce is something you want to do to mark a new status in life, use it to signal and new direction in yourself as well. Take the higher road. Throw a dinner party for your closest friends, even if that's just doggo, because your ex got the cat.There is always the option of inviting anyone who might like his stuff around to the front lawn and give it all away, while serving organic tea and bikkies.Whatever you do, ditch the mean, the bitter, the waste and start a new life of kind, good and eco. You'll be so much happier for it.