2026-27 holiday custody schedule (UK)
The holiday dates for the 2026-27 season in the UK, how odd and even years decide who has each one, and four common splits you can open as a full-year calendar. Both parents can subscribe to the result. Free, no account.
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Holiday dates, 2026-27
The nights the calendar gives to the holiday. Under an alternating rule the first parent has even years (2026) and the second parent odd years (2027); you can flip that for any holiday.
| Holiday | Nights | Alternating: who has it |
|---|---|---|
| Halloween 2026 | Sat Oct 31 | first parent |
| Christmas Eve 2026 | Thu Dec 24 | first parent |
| Christmas Day 2026 | Fri Dec 25 | first parent |
| Boxing Day 2026 | Sat Dec 26 | first parent |
| New Year's Eve 2026 | Thu Dec 31 | first parent |
| Easter long weekend (Good Friday to Easter Monday) 2027 | Thu Mar 25 to Sun Mar 28 | second parent |
| Early May bank holiday weekend (UK) 2027 | Fri Apr 30 to Sun May 2 | second parent |
| Spring bank holiday weekend (UK) 2027 | Fri May 28 to Sun May 30 | second parent |
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve are single nights. The Easter long weekend covers the Thursday to Easter Sunday nights, so the children go back on Easter Monday. Monday holidays take the Friday to Sunday nights before them. Holidays replace the regular rotation for those nights only.
Odd and even years
Most parenting plans alternate holidays by year: one parent has the holiday in even-numbered years, the other in odd-numbered years. Christmas and Easter fall in different calendar years, so that single rule already hands each parent one of the two big holidays every season. For a single day a split also works: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with one parent, Boxing Day with the other, swapping each year.
Four common holiday splits
Alternate each holiday by year (odd/even years)
The most common rule: one parent has the holiday in even-numbered years and the other in odd-numbered years. Christmas 2026 and Easter 2027 fall in different years, so that one rule already gives each parent one of the season's two big holidays. Here Mum has Christmas 2026 (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day) and Dad has the Easter long weekend 2027; the next season they swap.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with one parent, Boxing Day with the other
Both parents see the children every Christmas. In 2026 Mum has Christmas Eve (Thursday Dec 24) and Christmas Day (Friday Dec 25) and Dad has Boxing Day (Saturday Dec 26); the next year they swap.
Christmas school holidays split in half
Each parent has half of the school holidays, and the halves swap every year. The sample uses Fri Dec 18 to Sun Jan 3; your school's term dates are on its website, and in Claude or ChatGPT you can give the exact dates.
Easter long weekend, every other year
Good Friday 2027 is March 26 and Easter Sunday is March 28. The calendar gives the whole long weekend, Thu Mar 25 to Sun Mar 28 nights, to one parent, so the children go back on Easter Monday, and alternates it each year on top of an alternating-weekends schedule.
Each of those opens as a full-year calendar you can print. On the calendar page press Print year and the season comes out as one landscape page, four months across, each parent in their own colour with the exchange days marked. That is the printable custody calendar that goes on the fridge or into a parenting plan, and your browser's print dialog can save the same page as a PDF. Nothing to download, no account, and you can print it again whenever the rotation changes.
Questions
Is Christmas 2026 on a weekday?
Christmas Eve 2026 is a Thursday, Christmas Day a Friday and Boxing Day a Saturday.
When is Easter 2027?
Good Friday is March 26 and Easter Sunday is March 28, 2027. The long weekend in the calendar runs Thu Mar 25 to Sun Mar 28 nights, so the children go back on Easter Monday, March 29.
How do odd and even years work in a holiday contact schedule?
One parent has the holiday in even-numbered years (2026) and the other in odd-numbered years (2027). Because Christmas and Easter fall in different years, that single rule gives each parent one of the two big holidays every season.
Is there a printable 2026-27 custody calendar?
Yes, and it is the same calendar. Open any of the splits and press Print year: the whole year prints as one landscape page, four months across, each parent in their own colour with the exchange days marked. Your browser's print dialog can save that page as a PDF.
What about the school holidays and half terms?
Term dates differ by school, so give the calendar your dates as a span and choose split (half each, swapping each year) or alternate (the whole break, every other year).
Is this legal advice?
No. It lays out the schedule you describe. Your parenting plan or court order decides who has each holiday.
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