Tips for Developing Your Holiday Timesharing Plan
Holidays provide amazing opportunities to create lifelong memories for your family and your children. Make the most of the holidays by preparing your holiday timesharing plan with these tips in mind.
#1 –If you have very young children who are not in school, parents will often focus on dividing just the actual holidays between themselves in their parenting plan. But it’s important to keep in mind that the holiday timesharing schedule you create today, will still apply once your child starts school in the future. Once children are attending school, both parents usually want to take advantage of their child’s time off from their usual schedule of school and activities to spend quality time together over the holiday break. Instead of just splitting up the holidays, it is often best to focus on dividing the entire holiday break from school to maximize the time each parent gets with their child during this quality timesharing.
#2 – Be as specific as possible when developing holiday timesharing plans and avoid entering timesharing agreements with verbiage that states “Holiday timesharing to be agreed upon at a later date.” Open-ended timesharing plans are great when people are getting along, but vagueness only leaves room for confusion and resentment among parents and children alike.
How can this be avoided? Define drop-off and pick-up times and exchange locations for holiday timesharing. The more defined the agreement is up front, the less potential there is for arguing or conflict around the holidays, a time you should be enjoying with your family.
#3 – Don’t be afraid to celebrate the holiday on another day of the week on the years you don’t get the actual holiday. I’ve never heard anyone complain that they get two Christmases or two birthday parties. Your child will remember the magic of the holiday, not that the holiday was celebrated a day early or a day late.
#4 – If travel is required for the child to visit a parent, determine who is responsible for the cost of airfare, who needs to accompany the child during travel, or what age the child is allowed to travel as an unattended minor.
#5 – Many times, your child’s school will be closed during times that are not federally recognized holidays. Plan ahead and determine which parent will be responsible for childcare in these circumstances. If childcare costs will be incurred for school closures and/or holiday breaks, make sure to specify how these costs will be split between the parties.
Overall, the goal when coming up with your holiday timesharing schedule is to make sure you come up with a plan that will work for you and your family for years to come. Johnson Ritchey Family wishes everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!
