Holiday Schedules
The big holidays alternate year to year, on top of whatever base schedule you already run, plus room to add the holidays that matter to your own family.
How it works
Whatever base schedule a family runs the rest of the year, from week on week off to 2-2-3, holidays are usually handled as a separate layer on top of it. The most common approach: each major holiday alternates which home it belongs to from one year to the next. If Household A has Thanksgiving this year, Household B has it next year, and so on.
Winter break and spring break often split down the middle, first half with one home, second half with the other, also alternating which home gets which half each year. Whatever the rule, it overrides the regular rotation only for the dates it covers, then the base schedule picks right back up afterward.
Who it fits
Kid ages
Applies at any age, though older kids often get a say in which specific holiday traditions matter most to them, which families increasingly build into the plan directly.
Distance between homes
Works regardless of distance, since holiday blocks are usually longer stretches, which makes even a long-distance handoff manageable a few times a year.
Work schedules
Especially useful for parents with unpredictable weekday jobs, since holiday time is planned well in advance and rarely depends on a typical work schedule.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Every major holiday is shared fairly over time, not fixed to one home
- Sits cleanly on top of any base schedule without redesigning it
- Room to add the specific holidays that matter to your own family
Cons
- Takes planning ahead of the holiday itself, not day-of decisions
- Overlapping rules, like a holiday during a regular schedule week, need a clear priority order
- Missing an alternate-year holiday in one year means waiting until it comes back around
An example year
Say this year is Household A's year for Thanksgiving and the first half of winter break, and Household B's year for spring break and the second half of winter break. Next year, every one of those flips: Household B gets Thanksgiving and the first half of winter break, Household A gets spring break and the second half. Meanwhile the regular base schedule, whatever it is, keeps running every other week of the year exactly as normal. A family-specific holiday, say a religious observance in the spring, gets added the same way, alternating or fixed to whichever home makes sense for that particular day.
Frequently asked
Do holidays override the regular schedule?
Yes, for the days they cover. A holiday schedule sits on top of the regular rotation and takes priority on those specific dates, then the base pattern picks back up right after.
Which holidays usually alternate by year?
The big ones: Thanksgiving, winter break or the December holidays, and spring break are the most commonly alternated, so each home gets every holiday roughly every other year.
Can I add holidays that are not on a standard list?
Yes. Family-specific days like a religious observance, a family reunion weekend, or a cultural holiday can be added the same way as any other holiday, and set to alternate or stay fixed, whatever fits your family.
What happens to summer?
Many families layer an extended summer block, often one or two weeks per parent, on top of the base schedule as its own holiday-style rule, separate from the school-year rotation.
A planner you can print
Print it, fill in which home gets each holiday, and alternate it year to year. It sits on top of whatever base schedule you already run.
Free, one page, no sign-up. Prints clean in color or black and white.
Build your holiday rules in ten seconds
Layer alternating holidays and your own family's dates over any base schedule, and WhoseNight keeps the whole calendar straight automatically, widget included.
Free on the App Store. Android is coming: join the beta list from the Google Play button.