Michigan Custody Holiday Schedule

Why Holidays Need Their Own Schedule

Holiday scheduling in Michigan custody cases operates independently from the regular weekly parenting time schedule. When a holiday falls on a day that belongs to one parent under the weekly rotation, the holiday schedule overrides it. This seems straightforward until you realize that Christmas, Thanksgiving, spring break, and summer vacation can all overlap with different parts of the regular schedule — and without a specific written plan, every holiday becomes a potential dispute.

The Friend of the Court Bureau's 2021 Michigan Parenting Time Guideline provides a model holiday schedule, but it's a starting point, not a mandate. Parents can customize their holiday rotation in their parenting plan, and judges will typically approve any reasonable arrangement that both parents agree to. The problems arise when the plan is too vague or when parents skip holiday scheduling entirely.

The Standard Alternating Pattern

The most common approach in Michigan is an odd-year/even-year rotation for major holidays. Here's how a typical schedule works:

Thanksgiving. Parent A gets the child from Wednesday evening through Sunday evening in odd years, and Parent B gets the same block in even years. The non-holiday parent's regular midweek time is usually suspended for that week.

Christmas and winter break. The break is split into two halves. In odd years, Parent A gets December 23 through December 26 (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), while Parent B gets December 26 through January 2 (New Year's). The halves swap in even years. Some families prefer to split Christmas Day itself — morning at one house, afternoon/evening at the other — but courts and FOC caseworkers generally discourage this because it creates a hectic day for the child.

Spring break. One parent gets the full break in odd years, the other in even years. If the break is ten days, some parents split it in half each year instead of alternating.

Summer vacation. The non-residential parent typically gets an extended block — two to six weeks of uninterrupted time, depending on the parenting plan. The specific weeks are usually selected by the non-residential parent with advance written notice (30 to 60 days before summer begins is standard).

Mother's Day and Father's Day. Each parent gets the child on "their" holiday, regardless of the regular schedule. This one is rarely disputed.

Child's birthday. Some plans alternate years, others split the day, and others give the non-scheduled parent a dinner visit on the birthday. No single approach dominates — it depends on the family.

County Variations

Some Michigan counties enforce their own local parenting time guidelines that deviate from the statewide model. Oakland, Washtenaw, and Kent counties all maintain county-specific holiday grids. These local guidelines may differ on which holidays are included, how the time is divided, and when the holiday period starts and ends.

If your county has its own guidelines, the FOC will apply those unless your parenting plan specifies otherwise. Checking with your county's Friend of the Court office for the local holiday schedule before drafting your plan prevents surprises later.

Three Holiday Scheduling Mistakes That Create Conflict

Leaving it as "holidays as agreed." This sounds cooperative, but the FOC cannot enforce a vague arrangement. If one parent claims Christmas this year and the other disagrees, there's no court order to reference. The parent with physical possession of the child on December 24 effectively wins by default, and the other parent has no remedy until a motion is filed and heard — which won't happen before the holiday passes.

Failing to specify exact start and end times. "Thanksgiving weekend" means different things to different people. Does it start Wednesday at 6 PM or Thursday at 9 AM? Does it end Sunday at 6 PM or Monday morning? These ambiguities generate more FOC complaints than almost any other scheduling issue.

Ignoring transportation. Your regular exchange location might work for weekday exchanges, but holiday pick-ups often happen at different times, on different days, and sometimes from different locations (a grandparent's house, an airport). Who drives, where, and when should be specified in the plan.

How Holiday Time Affects Child Support

Holiday overnights count in the annual overnight total used by the Michigan Child Support Formula. If the standard schedule gives the non-residential parent 75 overnights per year, and the holiday schedule adds another 10–15, that shift affects the parental time offset calculation. For parents near the threshold where support amounts change significantly, accurate holiday overnight counts matter.

Building a Specific Holiday Plan

The most enforceable holiday schedules include the exact date and time each holiday period starts and ends, who is responsible for transportation, and what happens when a holiday falls during the other parent's regular parenting time. The Michigan Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes a Holiday Break Rotation Planner that maps every major holiday onto the annual calendar and calculates the overnight impact for child support purposes.

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