Holiday custody schedules
Most parenting plans put holidays on top of the regular schedule: for the days a holiday covers, it decides where the kids are, whatever the usual week says. The fairest way to share the big ones is usually to alternate them by year.
Alternating by even and odd years
A typical plan says something like "Mother has Christmas Eve in even years and Father in odd years; the other parent has Christmas Day." Each parent then gets every holiday every other year, and the pairs (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Thanksgiving and the winter break) balance within each year.
| Holiday | Even years | Odd years |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving (Wednesday to Sunday) | Parent A | Parent B |
| Christmas Eve | Parent B | Parent A |
| Christmas Day | Parent A | Parent B |
| New Year's Eve | Parent B | Parent A |
| Easter weekend | Parent A | Parent B |
Holidays that stay with one parent
Mother's Day weekend usually goes to the mother and Father's Day weekend to the father every year. Some families keep a religious or cultural holiday with the parent who celebrates it.
Birthdays
Kids' birthdays are often alternated by year like other holidays, or split into a few hours with each parent. A parent's own birthday is sometimes a fixed day with the kids.
School breaks and summer
Winter break is commonly split in halves that alternate by year; spring break alternates; summer is often divided into longer blocks, such as two weeks each, so each parent can travel.
Keeping track
The hard part is remembering which year is whose, and what happens to the regular schedule around each holiday. In Fairweek you set each holiday once — "alternates, Mom's this year" or "every year at Dad's" — and the calendar applies it for every year, for both homes.
Pick your holidays, check the next two weeks against real dates, and invite your co-parent with a code. You both see the same calendar, holidays alternate by year on their own, and swaps take effect only when the other home says yes. Free for both of you.
This guide explains a common arrangement; it is not legal advice. Your parenting plan or court order decides your schedule — talk to a family lawyer or mediator about your situation.