Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026
Thanksgiving in two homes.
How custody orders usually split Thanksgiving: alternating years, the Wednesday-to-Sunday break, the Tuesday before and the Friday after. And how to put yours into Quilt so both parents see the same long weekend.
30 days free for two homes. Free under one roof.
Thanksgiving is the holiday that trips up more co-parents than any other. It is a Thursday, so it drags a long weekend behind it; school is out from Wednesday, sometimes from the Tuesday; and both families want the same meal on the same day. Most orders handle it in one of four ways.
Whichever way yours reads, the point of putting it in Quilt is that nobody has to re-read the order in November. The calendar shows whose house each day is, the hand-off time sits on the day, and the kids see it on their own page.
The ways orders usually split it
Alternating years
One parent has Thanksgiving in even years, the other in odd years. Usually the whole break goes with the holiday: from school letting out on Wednesday (or Tuesday) until Sunday evening.
In QuiltHolidays → add "Thanksgiving". Starts: Wednesday before Thanksgiving (or the Tuesday). Ends: Sunday after Thanksgiving, with the time you hand back. Even years to one parent, odd years to the other. Quilt flips it each year by itself and draws the break in that parent's colour.
Splitting the day
One parent has the kids from Wednesday after school until Thursday mid-afternoon; the other from mid-afternoon through the weekend. Next year it swaps. Common when both families live close and both host a meal.
In QuiltTwo rules. "Thanksgiving, first half": Starts Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Ends Thanksgiving Day at 3:00 pm. "Thanksgiving, second half": Starts Thanksgiving Day at 3:00 pm, Ends Sunday after Thanksgiving, with even and odd years the other way round. The day shows both colours with the hand-off marked, and the reminder goes to both phones.
The Thursday-to-Sunday break
The order treats Thanksgiving as a four-day block: Thursday morning to Sunday evening. The regular rotation carries on around it, and the Wednesday stays with whoever has that week.
In QuiltHolidays → add "Thanksgiving". Starts: Thanksgiving Day, with a morning time. Ends: Sunday after Thanksgiving, with the evening hand-off. Quilt keeps the regular schedule on either side and shows the Sunday hand-off back.
Tuesday before, Friday after
Some orders name the exchange days instead of the holiday: the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Friday after are each a defined day with their own parent, which keeps school pick-up and the drive to grandparents predictable.
In QuiltQuilt's Thanksgiving rule starts on the Tuesday before and ends on the Friday after unless you change it. Set the time at each end and who has even and odd years; both exchange days land on the right dates every year. For a Friday of its own, add a second rule that starts Friday after Thanksgiving and ends the following Monday.
The week itself
- ·Put the travel on the calendar, not just the holiday: a Wednesday drive to grandparents is an activity with a time, and the other parent sees it.
- ·If the school has a half day on Wednesday, load the school calendar under School. The early release shows on the day and the hand-off can be set from it.
- ·Ask for a change early. A request in Quilt lands on both calendars the moment it is accepted, with the answer kept in the record. November texts get lost.
- ·The kids' page shows whose house Thanksgiving is and how long until the switch, so nobody has to ask twice.
Questions parents ask
Does Thanksgiving override the regular schedule?
In almost every order, yes: holiday time comes first, and the regular rotation picks up again afterward without "making up" the lost days. Quilt draws it the same way: the holiday block sits on top and the regular pattern continues around it.
What if our order says "Thanksgiving" but not how long?
Most parents read it as the four-day weekend, Thursday through Sunday, and agree on it in writing once. Put that agreement in Quilt as the break's start and end, and it is what both of you see from then on.
What about the Friday after, for shopping or the other family's dinner?
That is exactly what the "Friday after Thanksgiving" option is for. Give it to the parent who does not have Thursday and you have a fair split of the weekend without rewriting the order.
Can the kids see whose house it is?
Yes. Their own page shows whose house tonight and the next switch, with the holiday named. No account, nothing to remember.
Put it on both calendars once.
Build the schedule first, account last. Holidays, school breaks and hand-off times come with it, and the other parent gets an invitation when you are ready.