The Christmas and holiday season is often a joyful occasion however, it can be stressful and difficult for separated families who are co-parenting their children. Currently, there is no statute in New South Wales that regulates Christmas arrangements for separated families. Rather, the Court believes that it is in the child's best interest to have personal relationships with both parents after separation and thus, parents should try and reach an amicable agreement that allows the child to spend quality time with both of them over the Christmas and holiday season.
Separated parents who have a Court Order in place must ensure that those Orders are strictly followed and adhered to. However, if the parents do not have a Court Order in place, they should come to an agreement in advance so that both parents can make plans, and the child is aware of how their holidays will be spent. In making such agreements, parents should primarily be concerned with the welfare of their child but can also consider other factors such as the child’s age, wishes or feelings, and also the practicality of handing over the child to the other parent, including the distance between both parent’s houses.
One common arrangement between separated parents is sharing Christmas Day. The child would stay with Parent A during Christmas Eve and until Christmas morning, before being handed to Parent B for Christmas lunch, dinner and night. This works best for parents who live in close proximity to one another, allowing for smooth handovers with least disruption to the children.
Another arrangement is for the child to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Parent A, and then Boxing Day and 27 December with Parent B. As with the above arrangement, this is more appropriately suited for families where both parents live within a relatively short distance to one another.
Alternatively, for parents who do not live close to one another, multiple handovers around the holiday season may not be practical and instead, may cause additional stress and difficulties. In such situations, parents may choose to divide the days which their child is on holidays for in half, and each parent spends half of the child’s holidays with them, before handing them to the other parent for the remainder of the holidays.