Top tips for managing Christmas arrangements for children when separated

Christmas can be a wonderful time of the year for children however, it can be an incredibly stressful time for separated parents if co-parenting arrangements cannot be agreed.

The Family Law team at Johnson Legal has years of experience in helping parents to manage their Christmas plans.

Here’s some of our top tips around how to make the festive period easier for you and your children:

  • Plan your Christmas arrangements now: It’s worth thinking about Christmas and holiday plans as early as possible when considering festive co-parenting arrangements. Many families and friends will be planning festivities together in advance so it’s wise to have this confirmed sooner than later.
  • Think about what the children want: Even though you might want to spend as much time as possible with your children over the holiday period remember that your ex-partner will also want to spend time with them. Do your best to view things from the point of view of the children, rather than thinking about what you and your partner want.

  • Think about the logistics: Will the children be ok with leaving presents at one parent’s home to go to the other parent’s home? Will you be able to travel between each parent’s homes on a day when public transport is very limited and weather conditions might be poor?

If you and your ex-partner can’t agree on Christmas arrangements, we can help. We can assist you with negotiations and if these are not successful, there is still time to take a case to court for a sheriff to make the decision.

It can take about six to eight weeks for the court to fix a hearing and the courts are generally very busy in the run up to Christmas. If you think your Christmas arrangements will end up in court, we would advise you to get in touch with us as possible to ensure there’s time for your case to be heard before Christmas.

The courts generally try to reach a compromise with both parents. This might be that the children spend most of Christmas Eve with one parent then most of Christmas Day with the other, or perhaps one parent has Christmas with the children this year and the other has Christmas with the children next year. Some other parents agree to spend part of Christmas together, perhaps to open presents from Santa with their kids

There is no one size fits all solution, so you can rest assured that the court will consider your family’s specific circumstances. The focus is always what’s best for the children.

Please get in touch with us if you need help reaching an agreement on your Christmas plans or if you need advice on arranging a court hearing. The sooner this is resolved, the less stress you will incur in the lead up to the festive period.