Holiday Custody Schedules for Separated Parents
How to handle major US holidays in your parenting plan — practical scheduling examples for the holidays most likely to need their own rules.
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Thanksgiving Custody Schedule: Who Gets the Kids?
Thanksgiving is one of the holidays separated parents negotiate most. A long weekend, travel, and big family dinners make it a pressure point. Here's how families commonly split it.
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Christmas Custody Schedules After Divorce
Christmas is often the holiday separated parents feel strongest about. The usual questions: Who gets Christmas morning? How do we handle Santa at two houses? What about the long winter break?
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Spring Break Custody Schedules
Spring break gives each parent a realistic window for family travel. Most parenting plans alternate years rather than splitting the week, because travel makes halves hard.
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Summer Custody Schedules for Separated Parents
Summer is the one time of year separated parents can meaningfully restructure custody. Blocks of 2-3 weeks become realistic; travel and camp require advance planning.
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Mother's Day and Father's Day Custody
Many plans give Mother's Day to the children's mother and Father's Day to their father, whatever the regular schedule says. The real decisions are the times, what happens when the day lands on the other parent's weekend, and how to handle families where the labels don't fit.
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Easter and Spring Religious Holidays
Easter Sunday, Passover, and related spring religious holidays usually alternate years between co-parents. Plans should name the specific dates: 'Easter Sunday' is not the same as 'Easter weekend.'
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Halloween Custody Schedule: Who Gets the Kids?
Halloween is only a few hours long, but both parents usually want to see the costumes. Here's how separated parents commonly share the evening, school nights included.
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New Year's Eve and Day Custody
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day usually alternate years together. Split arrangements (Eve with one parent, Day with the other) can work for families who live close.
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