As the holidays approach parents that are no longer living together and have just begun divorce proceedings often struggle to work out parenting time. The most important thing to consider is the impact of resolving this issue in a manner that does not traumatize your children and does not ruin their holiday celebrations.
There are many different ways to resolve parenting time which can be as simple as one parent having the children on Christmas Eve and the other parent on Christmas Day and alternating those holidays the following year. Some parents will choose not to alternate because their side of the family celebrates Christmas Eve and the other family has their celebration on Christmas Day. Depending upon the age of the children and the distance involved the schedule should provide for the pick-up and drop-off time of the children. Some families, although not most, will choose not to split the holiday and to alternate both days as a group the following year.
Additionally, parents may have to decide how to split the remainder of the school recess. This can be done by dividing the remaining days until school resumes in half; or, alternating the remainder of the December school recess with the President's week recess so that there is a block of uninterrupted parenting time.
With flexibility and reasonable negotiations both parents and children will have an enjoyable holiday.