We do every other year for Thanksgiving.

Christmas Break - BM gets first week - exchange day is also xmas @ 11 am - Then we have them the entire week. then that weekend it goes to what ever parent would normally have them.

- I have complete custody with no visitation for my BD so I have them year in and year out. -

I don't have any advice to offer on my end of things b/c my Ex isn't involved, but this is how BF and BM handle their holidays...

Halloween: Doesn't matter who's holiday it falls on, we all go together, BM, BM's other child, BF, me, skids, my kids, and maybe this year BM's husband will show up too with his son. If BM is working, we would just trick or treat in our own neighborhood with just us.

Thanksgiving: If it falls on a day where BM is working, then we have the skids on Thanksgiving day, if BM is off from work, then she has the skids, and we celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday instead so that the skids can be there with us to celebrate.

Christmas: BM normally goes in late on Christmas mornings even if she is working, BF has been going over there early in the morning to watch the skids open presents from "Santa", usually lasts less than an hour, then he returns home, we (me, BF, and my kids) open up presents that morning, then BM will drop the skids off with us on her way to work. If BM is off work, it's the same routine other than the skids will come to us a little later on in the afternoon.

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“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”

Thanksgiving holiday is every other year. BM odd years, DH even years. But instead of keeping skids the whole time last year (the first time we did it) DH let BM get skids that Saturday for a special meal with her family.

For Christmas it's much like libby described except exchange day is the day AFTER Christmas, which I think I prefer. I damn sure don't want my Christmas day spoiled by seeing the ex. I'd rather she kept them for the whole day on her year.

BUT with the child being so young and her father being so new in her life, shorter visits might be better.

Our papers state:

Rotating Christmas morning. Dropping off 2:00 Christmas afternoon for whoever has the child that year for the morning. Whoever has christmas afternoon has the child until Jan. 1. Depending on the age of the child and the school schedule.

Thanksgiving: rotating mornings and drop off at 2:00 for whoever has Thanksgiving mornings that year. Whoever has Thanksgiving afternoon has the child until Sunday at the normal drop off time for weekends.

We also have mother's day for the mother and fathers day for the father. (We do the whole weekend though)

Spring Break: Non-custodial parent has that

Summer: 2 weeks - 6 weeks is normal visitation for us.

Hope this helps.... You can do whatever visitation works out for you and your daughter.

DH & BM do the alternating thing on Thanksgiving and this year we are Skid free for Thanksgiving but they're mad because we also alternate every other year with my parents and DH's family and this year is my parents and Skids want to go to MY parents! LOL!

Christmas we usually have SDs from when school is out until sometime the night of Chistmas Eve and then they go back to BM's to stay for a day or two and then they usually come back to spend a few more days during the school break. I honestly have no idea what the real schedule says because we've never followed it for holidays.

With perfectson, I get him every Thanksgiving no matter what, however on several occasions he has wanted to go to EH's and that was fine. We worked around it like us eating early lunch and his dad having dinner or something. I also always get perfectson Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and that's the one I would never budge on. EH always does Christmas on Christmas Day where my family did it big Christmas Eve so it worked out fine to do that. He would go to his dad's Christmas Day sometime.

Thank God perfectson is old enough to decide where he wants to go and what he wants to do now and we don't have to bicker over these crazy schedules!! Shew!

Alot of people rotate due to court orders. If it isn't in the court order and you have primary custody, its your decision. My DH has sole custody and there is no order for the holidays so he decides. Usually he gives BM Thanksgiving Day, Easter Day and Christmas Day. SS wakes up at our house on all of these holidays and she picks him up around noon and has him for the rest of the day.