Planning for the Holidays During Divorce

 Posted on September 13,2024 in Family Law

When parents get divorced, the prospect of not being able to spend major holidays with their children can be very upsetting. Many parents - including parents of adult children - cannot fathom a Thanksgiving or Christmas without their children around. However, unless you and the spouse you are divorcing feel that you can spend these holidays around each other as well as your children, you will likely need to find a way to divide your children’s time during major holidays. It is often best when parents are able to do this by agreement, through mediation. A Novi, MI divorce attorney can help you and your co-parent plan for the holidays.

Child Custody During the Holidays 

A few things to consider when planning who your minor children will spend the holidays with include: 

• School schedules - If the children are with one parent for most of the year due to their school schedules, the other parent’s only opportunity to spend meaningful time with the children is likely to be during school breaks, which may coincide with major holidays. 
• Any religious differences - If you and your spouse do not share a religion, this may be important when dividing holiday time. For example, if one of you is Jewish and the other is Christian, it may be best to have the children spend Hannukah with the Jewish parent and Christmas with the Christian parent. 
• Which holidays are important to you - Some parents get very excited about Halloween and look forward all year to dressing their children up in costumes and taking them trick-or-treating, while others might be happy to spend Halloween out with adult friends. 
• Alternate years - Some parents choose to take turns spending major holidays with their children. This tends to work particularly well as an informal agreement between parents with adult children.
• Split the day - If you and the other parent live near each other, dividing the day (or days if your major holidays involve multi-day celebrations) may work well. Your children could wake up and open presents at one parent’s house, then go to the other parent’s house for dinner and more presents. 
• Joint celebrations are an option - If your divorce was amicable and you are still friendly with your ex-spouse, you can consider a joint celebration. This can work exceptionally well for blended families when all parties get along. 

Additionally, do not forget that you will also need to divide any sentimental property pertaining to the holidays, like decorations or items of religious significance.

Contact an Oakland County, MI Parenting Time Lawyer 

Elkouri Heath, PLC can help you and your co-parent find a holiday child custody plan that works for you. Our dedicated Novi, MI child custody lawyers will work with your family to find the right arrangement for the holidays. Contact us at 248-344-9700 for a complimentary consultation.