A Kentucky custody holiday schedule usually starts from the sample guidelines in Appendix C of the Family Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. That model assigns specific holidays and hours to each parent and alternates them year by year. Your court can adopt Appendix C as-is, modify it, or use a local version, and parents are always free to write their own schedule into an agreed order. Appendix C is the closest thing Kentucky has to a statewide default.
What the Appendix C Model Says
Appendix C assigns holidays for the first full year after divorce or custody proceedings are filed, then flips the whole schedule the following year and keeps alternating from there. In year one, the non-residential parent gets:
- New Year’s Day and Fourth of July, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Memorial Day and Labor Day. If the holiday Monday follows that parent’s regular weekend, they keep the children through 6:00 p.m. on the holiday. Otherwise the holiday alternates like the others.
- Thanksgiving, from 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out through 3:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
- Christmas/Winter Break, from 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out through noon on December 25.
Any holiday time not assigned to the non-residential parent stays with the residential parent. After year one, the whole schedule reverses.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix C Sample Parenting Time Guidelines
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Don’t Alternate
These two days are fixed. The child spends Mother’s Day with the mother and Father’s Day with the father, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., regardless of whose weekend it is or what the rest of the schedule says.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix C Sample Parenting Time Guidelines
Fall Break and Spring Break
In year one, both breaks go to the residential parent, from 6:00 p.m. the day school ends through 6:00 p.m. the following Friday. If a break runs longer than a week, the residential parent takes the first half and the other parent takes the second. Like holidays, these alternate every year after that.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix C Sample Parenting Time Guidelines
Summer Break
Summer works differently. The non-residential parent gets at least two separate two-week blocks. Both parents should exchange their preferred dates before the school year ends or at least 60 days before the requested time. If a child has to attend summer school to advance, the parenting schedule can’t interfere with it.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix C Sample Parenting Time Guidelines
The Child’s Birthday
Both parents get some birthday time. If the birthday falls on a day the child is already with you, the other parent has the child from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. If the birthday is on a day the child is not with the non-residential parent, that parent gets the same three-hour window.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix C Sample Parenting Time Guidelines
Holidays the Model Skips
Appendix C does not address Easter, Halloween, or religious holidays specific to your family. If any of those matter, they need to be written into your own order. Silence in the model means the day follows the regular weekly rotation, not a holiday rule.
The Holiday Schedule Beats the Regular Rotation
When a holiday falls on what would otherwise be the other parent’s day under the weekly schedule, the holiday schedule controls. If it’s your Thanksgiving under the holiday plan but that Thursday belongs to the other parent in the regular rotation, you still get the child for Thanksgiving.2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix B Standard Visitation Guidelines – 1st Judicial Circuit
Appendix C also handles the Monday-holiday overlap directly. If a Monday holiday sits right after a parent’s regular weekend, that parent keeps the children through 6:00 p.m. on the holiday instead of returning them Sunday evening.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix C Sample Parenting Time Guidelines
Local Circuits Do Things Differently
Appendix C is a sample, not a mandate. Judicial circuits publish their own holiday guidelines, and the specifics can vary in ways that matter.
The 1st Judicial Circuit numbers six holidays and assigns odd-numbered ones to the custodial parent in odd years and even-numbered ones to the non-custodial parent, reversing in even years. Its holiday hours run 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. rather than the 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. window in Appendix C.2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix B Standard Visitation Guidelines – 1st Judicial Circuit
The 6th Judicial Circuit in Daviess County splits Thanksgiving into two segments so each parent gets part of the long weekend every year. It also treats Halloween as a designated holiday with its own 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. parenting block, which Appendix C leaves out entirely.3New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Appendix 2 – 2025 Holiday Co-Parenting Guidelines – 6th Judicial Circuit
Always check the rules for your specific county or judicial circuit before assuming Appendix C applies to you. Holiday hours, the list of covered holidays, and how Christmas break is divided are all things that can differ locally.
Common Ways Parents Actually Divide Holidays
Alternating years is the backbone of the Appendix C model, but Kentucky agreements combine several approaches:
- Alternating years, where one parent gets Thanksgiving in even years and the other in odd years. This is the default in most Kentucky model schedules.
- Splitting the day. Christmas Eve to one parent and Christmas Day to the other is common. Thanksgiving might split at a set hour, with one parent covering the morning and the other the afternoon meal.
- Fixed assignment, where certain days always go to the same parent. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are the clearest example and stay fixed even under Appendix C. Families sometimes fix religious or cultural holidays the same way.
Most Kentucky parenting plans mix these methods: alternating for the big holidays, fixed assignments for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and day-splitting for Christmas when children are young and neither parent wants to miss the morning.
If the Other Parent Won’t Follow the Schedule
A custody order is a court order. Kentucky’s parenting guidelines say neither parent should deny the child access to the other parent or threaten to, and visitation cannot be withheld because the other parent is behind on child support. Support and visitation are separate obligations.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Court Rules – Parenting Guidelines
The proper remedy for a violation is going back to court and asking for enforcement. The court can hold the violating parent in contempt, with possible fines or jail in serious cases, and can award makeup parenting time to the parent who lost their scheduled holiday. When a visit can’t happen for a legitimate reason like illness, the guidelines call for a substitute visit as quickly as possible. One limit worth knowing: weekend visitation missed because of a parent’s scheduled summer vacation block is not subject to makeup time. That exception is specific to summer, not to holiday denials.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Court Rules – Parenting Guidelines
A parent who routinely undermines the other’s holiday time also weakens their own position in any future custody dispute. One of the factors Kentucky judges weigh under KRS 403.270 is whether a parent is likely to allow the child frequent and meaningful contact with the other parent. Courts notice patterns.5Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 403.270 – Custodial Issues
Changing an Existing Holiday Schedule
Kids grow up, jobs change, families move. Kentucky allows modification, but the standard depends on what you’re trying to change and how long the current order has been in place.
For a custody decree, KRS 403.340 generally bars a motion to modify within the first two years unless the child’s current environment seriously endangers their physical, mental, or emotional health. After two years, you have to show that circumstances have changed since the original order and that the modification serves the child’s best interests.6Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 403.340 – Modification of Custody Decree
Visitation is easier to modify. Under KRS 403.320 a court can modify visitation whenever doing so serves the child’s best interests, though it cannot restrict a parent’s visitation rights unless visitation would seriously endanger the child.7Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 403.320 – Visitation of Minor Child
If both parents agree to adjust the holiday schedule, courts usually approve the change without much scrutiny. The contested modifications are the ones that require real evidence.
When parents can’t work it out and the case isn’t yet in front of a judge, mediation is the standard next step, and many Kentucky counties require it before trial. One exception: if there’s been a finding of domestic violence, the court cannot order mediation unless the victim asks for it, the request is voluntary, and the court finds mediation is a realistic alternative to a protective order.8Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 403.036 – Mediation Not to Be Ordered Unless Conditions Are Met
What to Put in Your Own Schedule
The best holiday schedules are the ones detailed enough that neither parent has to guess. A few things worth spelling out:
- Transportation. Say who picks up and who drops off for each exchange. Many plans give the pickup to the parent whose time is starting, which discourages stalling.
- Notice deadlines. Appendix C requires 60 days’ notice for summer vacation blocks. Consider similar lead-time requirements for any holiday involving travel.
- Right of first refusal. Some Kentucky plans require the parent with custody time to offer the other parent the chance to watch the children before hiring a babysitter. This matters more during holidays because schedules are irregular. To be enforceable it has to be written into the agreement with clear time thresholds.
- Holidays Appendix C skips. If Easter, Halloween, or religious holidays matter to your family, add them with specific hours. The 6th Judicial Circuit’s inclusion of Halloween shows Kentucky courts recognize the gap.
Vague language creates arguments. Specific times and dates prevent them.