The holiday season is filled with emotion, excitement, and, let’s be honest, stress. For co-parents, holiday stress often begins before the first slice of pumpkin pie is served. Between coordinating travel plans, school breaks, extended family gatherings, and your child’s desire to enjoy time with both parents, the logistics can become overwhelming fast.
That’s why co-parenting mediation is one of the most effective tools to create a workable, peaceful holiday plan, especially as Thanksgiving and the December holidays approach.
Why Holiday Planning is So Challenging for Co-Parents
Unlike regular parenting schedules that tend to follow predictable routines, holiday schedules can be anything but routine. Arizona schools often dismiss students for extended breaks around Thanksgiving (some the entire week), and again in December for two or more weeks. If your parenting plan wasn’t tailored to these unique timeframes, or if circumstances have changed since it was created, it can be unclear who gets the kids when.
Co-parents may disagree over:
- Who gets the child on the actual holiday
- Travel plans or out-of-state visits
- How to handle overlapping family traditions
- Adjustments needed to regular parenting time
- School closures and daytime childcare
These conversations are often emotionally charged and difficult to manage on your own, especially if your co-parenting communication is already strained.
How Mediation Supports Peaceful Holiday Planning
Co-parenting mediation is a structured, neutral process that helps both parents reach fair, child-centered decisions. During mediation, you’ll work with a trained mediator who facilitates productive dialogue, helps clarify each parent’s goals, and guides you toward a compromise that puts your child’s well-being first.
When it comes to the holidays, mediation can help you:
- Customize a schedule for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, and winter break
- Alternate holidays year-to-year, or divide the day itself
- Plan travel dates and flight schedules in advance
- Address pick-up/drop-off logistics
- Ensure school break coverage when both parents are working
- Reduce tension that can spill over to your child
Most importantly, mediation puts the decision-making power in your hands, not your judge. You know your family better than anyone else and mediation provides you the forum and the framework to reach an agreement together.
Why Now Is the Right Time to Mediate
Waiting until November to resolve your holiday parenting schedule often leads to last-minute conflict, anxiety for your children, and a rushed solution (or worse, no solution). If you think changes need to be made, or if your existing plan doesn’t address upcoming breaks, now is the time to act.
At McMurdie Law & Mediation, we recommend beginning the mediation process in October to give both parents time to plan ahead and avoid unnecessary stress during the most family-focused time of year.
Let’s Make the Holidays More Enjoyable for Everyone
A well-planned parenting schedule is one of the best gifts you can give your children, and yourselves, this holiday season. Mediation offers a private informal and confidential setting to build a holiday plan that supports your family’s unique traditions, schedules, and emotional needs.
Contact McMurdie Law & Mediation today to schedule a co-parenting mediation session focused on Thanksgiving and holiday time-sharing. The sooner you start, the smoother your holidays can be.