Wyoming Holiday Custody Schedule and School Break Planning

The holiday custody schedule generates more co-parenting conflict than almost any other part of the parenting plan. Everyone wants Christmas morning with the kids. Everyone wants Thanksgiving. And the ambiguity of a vague holiday clause — "parents shall alternate holidays" — is exactly the kind of language that lands families back in court. Wyoming courts expect specificity, and building a clear schedule now prevents years of conflict later.

How Holiday Schedules Work in Wyoming

Wyoming does not mandate a specific holiday rotation. The court expects your parenting plan to address holidays and school breaks explicitly, with precise start and end times, and to state clearly that the holiday schedule overrides the regular weekly parenting time schedule when the two conflict.

Most Wyoming parenting plans use an odd-year/even-year alternation. Parent A gets certain holidays in odd-numbered years and the remaining holidays in even-numbered years; Parent B gets the reverse. The key is covering every major holiday so nothing is left to negotiation in the moment.

Holidays to Include

A thorough Wyoming holiday schedule addresses all of the following:

Thanksgiving. Typically defined as Wednesday after school (or 6:00 p.m.) through Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Some families split the extended weekend, with one parent having Wednesday evening through Friday at noon and the other having Friday at noon through Sunday evening. Choose whichever structure fits your family, but define the hours precisely.

Christmas/Winter Break. This is the holiday that causes the most disputes. Common approaches:

• Split the break in half. Parent A has the first half (from school dismissal through December 25 at noon or 2:00 p.m.) and Parent B has the second half (December 25 at noon or 2:00 p.m. through January 1 or the day before school resumes). Alternate which parent gets the first half each year.
• Alternate the entire break. Parent A has the full winter break in odd years; Parent B has it in even years. This avoids mid-break transitions but means one parent misses Christmas entirely every other year.
• Christmas Eve/Christmas Day split. One parent has Christmas Eve through Christmas morning; the other has Christmas Day from noon onward. Alternate annually. This ensures both parents share in the holiday each year, but it requires a mid-holiday transition.

New Year's Eve/Day. Often bundled with the second half of winter break. If you split winter break, the parent with the second half typically has New Year's. If you want to address it separately, define the schedule from December 31 at a specific time through January 1 at a specific time.

Spring Break. Alternated annually. Define the start as the day school releases and the end as the day before school resumes, with specific exchange times.

Easter/Passover. If significant to your family, address it separately from spring break. Define the period (e.g., Good Friday at 6:00 p.m. through Easter Sunday at 6:00 p.m.) and alternate annually.

Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day. These three-day weekends are commonly alternated. Define each as Friday at 6:00 p.m. (or Saturday at 9:00 a.m.) through Monday at 6:00 p.m.

Mother's Day and Father's Day. Almost universally assigned to the corresponding parent every year, regardless of the regular schedule. The child spends Mother's Day weekend with the mother and Father's Day weekend with the father, with specific Saturday-to-Sunday times defined.

Each parent's birthday. The child spends time with each parent on that parent's birthday, typically from after school through the evening or overnight.

The child's birthday. Either alternate annually or split the day (daytime with one parent, evening with the other). Some parents agree to a joint celebration instead of splitting the day — if your co-parenting relationship supports that, great, but do not assume it will work if other parts of the relationship are strained.

Summer Break Planning

Summer is where the regular schedule gets the longest disruption, and where the most detailed planning pays off. Address these elements:

Division of time. Common approaches include splitting summer roughly in half, giving the non-residential parent an extended block (4 to 8 weeks) while the residential parent keeps the remainder, or continuing the regular schedule throughout summer with each parent getting designated vacation blocks.

Uninterrupted vacation time. Most Wyoming parenting plans give each parent two to four weeks of uninterrupted vacation time during summer. During these blocks, the regular schedule is suspended and the other parent does not have parenting time. Require advance notice (typically 30 to 60 days) for when each parent plans to exercise their vacation time, with a priority deadline to avoid conflicts (e.g., if both parents request the same weeks, Parent A has priority in even years and Parent B in odd years).

Summer camps and activities. Decide in advance who has authority to enroll the child in summer camps or programs, and how costs are shared. If a camp falls during the other parent's scheduled time, establish a notification and consent process.

Return to school schedule. Specify the exact date when the regular school-year schedule resumes. Do not leave it as "when school starts" — define a specific date tied to the school calendar, or state "the Sunday before the first day of school at 6:00 p.m."

The Extended Visitation Abatement

Summer scheduling directly affects child support through the extended visitation abatement under Wyo. Stat. § 20-2-305. When the noncustodial parent has the child for 15 or more consecutive days, child support automatically abates by 50% for each day of that continuous period. This is not optional — it happens by operation of law unless the court orders otherwise.

Make sure your summer schedule accounts for this. If the noncustodial parent has the child for six consecutive weeks during summer, the abatement applies to all 42 days. Brief returns to the custodial parent for a weekend visit do not break the consecutive count but are excluded from the abatement calculation.

Making the Schedule Enforceable

The difference between a schedule that works and one that generates conflict is specificity. For every holiday and break period, define:

• Exact start time and exchange location (e.g., "Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the child's school" or "Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at the McDonald's on Dell Range Boulevard")
• Exact end time and exchange location
• Which schedule it overrides (state explicitly that holiday schedules take precedence over the regular weekly schedule)
• Travel provisions if one parent will be taking the child out of the local area during their holiday time

The Wyoming Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes a holiday rotation planner that maps out odd-year and even-year assignments for every standard holiday, plus a summer schedule worksheet that accounts for vacation blocks, camp logistics, and the child support abatement calculation.

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