Free tool
School Holiday and Special Occasions Planner
Who gets Christmas Day? The fairest answer most families land on is: take turns, by year. Tap each occasion below to set who has it in odd years and who has it in even years, add anything special to your family, and print a plan that settles the question for every year ahead. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
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The approach it uses still works on paper: list every school holiday and special occasion, then agree who has each one in odd years and who has it in even years. Taking turns by year is the pattern mediators most often help parents agree.
Runs entirely in your browser. Names and choices are never stored or sent anywhere. School term dates vary by council, so check yours on gov.uk.
Why odd and even years work
It settles the argument once
Decide Christmas Day one time, and the rotation answers it for every year that follows. No annual negotiation, no keeping score.
Children know what to expect
Predictability helps children most. When they know the pattern, special days stop being a source of worry and go back to being special.
Big days can pair up
A common trade: one parent has Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, the other has Christmas afternoon and Boxing Day, then swap the whole package next year.
Making the plan stick
A printed rotation plan is an agreement, not an order. For most families that is enough, especially when it is recorded in a parenting plan alongside the everyday pattern from our Schedule Builder. Where you want it formalised, a parenting plan agreed in mediation can be turned into a consent order by the court, and our guide explains when that is worth doing.
If one occasion keeps causing conflict, that single issue can go to family mediation on its own. Mediators settle Christmas disputes every autumn, and a single session is often enough. Remember the £500 voucher covers cases involving children, and our voucher checker takes 30 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Who normally gets Christmas Day?
There is no legal default. The most common agreement is alternating by year, often with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day travelling as a pair, and many families split the day itself while children are young.
How do we handle the six-week summer holiday?
Most families split it into blocks rather than alternating whole summers, which is why the planner lists first half and second half separately. Week-about patterns also work well for younger children.
What about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?
These usually stay with the relevant parent every year regardless of whose weekend it is, and the planner defaults that way. Tap to change it if your family works differently.
Can I take the children abroad in my holiday block?
Taking a child abroad needs the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility, or the court’s permission, even in your own holiday time. A MIAM is required before applying for that permission. See do I need a MIAM.
Sources
- GOV.UK, School term and holiday dates, gov.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.
- GOV.UK, Making child arrangements if you divorce or separate, gov.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.
- GOV.UK, Permission to take a child abroad, gov.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Cafcass, resources to help you make arrangements in your child’s best interests, cafcass.gov.uk. Accessed 4 July 2026.