How to Handle Halloween as Separated Parents

Halloween is just around the corner and even though trick or treating is still a little up in the air for some, chances are you’re still planning to do something special with the children. The pandemic has caused children to miss out on a lot of things and the fun and creativity of Halloween is one thing that parents want to try and capture this year.

If you’re separated or divorced and are co-parenting children, then it’s likely that you would still love to be a part of your child’s Halloween memories.

When most parents are agreeing upon with whom the children will live and what level of contact there should be with the absent parent, they often just focus on family-oriented holidays like Summer and Christmas. However, other holidays can be just as important for children and Halloween is a big favourite celebration for many children. It’s a good opportunity for parents to spend quality, fun time with their children, dressing up, parties and trick-or-treating. 

Most child arrangements can be ironed out by discussing them ahead of time and being flexible. Options can include:

• Specifying every other year as a day the child spends with the parent for Halloween.
• Dividing each Halloween evening between both households, with a swap in the middle of trick-or-treating hours. However, this can be emotionally exhausting for your child, and logistically difficult if the parents don’t live very close to each other. Remember to agree the child’s costume in advance to avoid unnecessary upset.
• Sharing different types of events that are more important to you than the other parent. One parent could always have Halloween and the other Bonfire Night for example.

Halloween is also one of the celebrations that has a relatively short period where parents can spend the day and night with their children. Once children reach their early teens, they often show no interest in spending Halloween with the family.

What if you can’t reach an agreement?

When events are not planned for or provided for in a parenting plan, dealing with who spends time with the children during Halloween and other seasonal events can lead to disputes.

If you need help resolving child arrangements, talk to your Sinclair Law Solicitor for options and ways to resolve your parental disputes to ensure that you both spend the quality time you would like to spend with your children whilst providing for their best interests. 

Complete the form opposite to request a free 30 minute case review.

Angela Hardman, Family Law Solicitor