Child custody plans need to address any potential deviations from the standard schedule. One of the most common is the fact that schedules may need to change around the holidays. This is due both to the holiday celebrations themselves and to the fact that many children will have a break from school.
But if you and your spouse are divorced and trying to figure out how to plan for the holidays, what options do you have? Below are a few examples.
Maintaining the standard schedule
First of all, if you have planned in advance, you may not have to change much at all. For instance, some couples will swap custody of their children every other week, and they will set things up so that they also trade the holidays every other year. You may have your children for Christmas this year, and your ex will have them next year.
Splitting up the holiday
For many parents, though, they want to see their children on the holidays every year. One solution could be to split the day itself in half. The children wake up on Christmas morning with either you or your ex, and then you exchange custody after lunch. The main downside here is that the children have to travel in the middle of Christmas Day, but it does mean both parents see their children on the same day.
Adding an additional celebration
In some cases, such as when parents do not live very close to one another, the best solution is to add another celebration for the same holiday. Maybe your ex lives two hours away, so you do not want to drive in the middle of Christmas Day. Instead, you could have the children on Christmas, and your ex could have their own Christmas celebration with the children the weekend after the holiday.
These are just a few options to consider, but the important part is to understand all of your custody rights as you determine what type of holiday custody schedule will work best for you and your family.
