Day 6: Christmas Contact Orders

Unless child contact over the Christmas or holiday period has been previously arranged by agreement or a Court order, parents will need to liaise and make arrangements between themselves. This can be difficult and emotive.

The following guidance may assist in smoothly arranging contact arrangement orders over Christmas and holiday periods:

1. Approach the topic with the other party as early as possible. This will ensure each party, including the children know where and what they will be doing over the Christmas period.
2. Ensure that you ask the children what their views are. However, do not ask your children to decide. This is unfair and will put them under unnecessary pressure.
3. Create a rota with the other party. For example, this year the children will spend Christmas with me and New Years with you. Next year the children will spend Christmas with you and New Years with me. This makes it fair for all parties.
4. Suggest celebrating Christmas days on two days, one on Christmas day and the other on Boxing day.
5. Avoid lengthy travel on Christmas day. This is always unfair on the children. It will also impact your plans too because you will be responsible for transportation.
6. Compromise. Remember being emotive increases stress levels for you and the children.
7. If you are finding it difficult to express your views on Christmas contact, perhaps draft a letter or email to the other party setting out your proposed options. If you do not think this will work, try family mediation to come to some sort of resolution.
8. If you cannot reach an agreement, you should contact a family lawyer for legal advice as soon as possible. To contact our Client Relationship Director for Family Law, Mandeep Randhawa, click here.
9. Court should always be the last option. Any presiding Judge will want to see evidence that you have tried to make arrangements outside of the Court room.
10. Always ensure that whatever arrangement is made, it is in the best interests of the children. This should be at the forefront whilst making any arrangements.

Remember, there is no ideal solution. You should make arrangements based on your own family’s needs.

If you require further guidance or advice do not hesitate to contact the Garrick Law Family Department by calling +44 (0)203 196 7822 or emailing us at enquiries@garricklaw.com