If you work all year round - how do you divide up the holidays?

[Taswama]

So if both you and your partner work (or you are a single parent), how do you decide which holidays to take time off, which ones to send the kids to holiday club, which ones to go away?
Is it this the same ones every year or does it change?
How much in advance do you book trips?

We normally have a few days at home in Feb and at Easter each with no overlap or only 1 day, all of May half term off and have been away every year for about 5 years, mostly Cornwall. In the summer we have 1 week early on (2nd or 3rd week) and then the BH week off. Only one of these is away. This is to avoid kids having 4 straight weeks at holiday club. October is split and Christmas 1 week at home or visiting relatives.
I think we might have left it too late this year to find anywhere in Cornwall for May.

Feb and Easter - split time, sometimes a day per week in holiday club.
May half term - Always abroad together (we get two weeks)
Summer - Take a week together, then some ad hoc days, holiday club
Oct - Always off together and often away in the Lakes (DS’ birthday is usually that week)
Xmas - I’m usually off, DH has to work a few days (in NHS)

We both work 4 days per week, so only have to find 3 days cover each week he’s off. With no family nearby, that’s really helped us cover what we need to.

PS we book hols early. May as soon as Easyjet flights are out (Sept before), August was booked in Jan and I’ve recently booked out October break as we want a specific apartment.

I don't get school holidays off but I do work part time, which helps as I only need to find childcare for three days rather than a whole week.

Typically:
Childcare in the Feb half term and Oct half term, one week of the Easter holidays and some of the summer holidays
Week away in Easter (skiing) and May half term (somewhere in the UK)
One or two weeks away in the summer
Christmas holidays at home - we usually manage to cover it without childcare

Christmas - I have company shutdown from christmas eve to after New Year. Dh/I will take a day or two extra either end, but split.
Feb half term - don't usually have time off
Easter - a few days each separately
May half - try to have it together
Summer - someone takes time off at the beginning, time together round an event weekend typically half way through, holiday towards the end normally, scattered separate days
October half term- depends, but usually separate days

Summer is easier for holiday club and things to do, wheras other holidays its odd days so we try to mix things up. It also depends on work - I travel for work and sometimes holidays coincide with trips. Then we might send ds to PGL which is pricey but means there is a solid week of childcare sorted.

Our plans are very fluid, and we rarely book things far in advance

I get school holidays off. My dh doesnt and he usually takes the odd days the children have off that I don't. We always have the last week of august off, and this year he took the full two weeks off at christmas. He is also taking the full two weeks at easter because we are going away.

3 children, 2 school age.

I work PT and I'm off:
1 week Easter
1 week may half term
2 weeks summer
1 week Oct half term
1 week Xmas

I have a few extra weeks of AL which I accrued when on ML.

I am tacking on my leave onto the bank holidays in April, May and early Sept.

DP (self employed so doesn't get paid if he doesn't work) just did Feb half term and will do a week in summer.

Luckily we have help with childcare so no need for holiday clubs.

Feb half term - holiday club (didn’t want to take time off while the weather is miserable).

Easter - 1 week holiday club, 1 week off

May half term - split days between us so I take two days leave then DH does the other two days. Hoping for nice weather for a few days out!

Summer - first week off (me), week off together (going on holiday), holiday club for four weeks, then last week off (DH).

Oct half term - split between us again.

Xmas - DH’s work shuts down between Xmas and New Year, so I’ll take the first week off and he’ll cover the rest.

We use leave/flexi days to on holiday club weeks so DD only goes in for three or four days a week.

I’m a single parent but my ex works shifts and so has random days off during the holidays . I work 4 days a week so just have to cover the other 4 days a week .

I get between Christmas and new year off . Then have another 6 weeks holiday . This year I took a day off Feb half term , will take a week off at Easter , maybe a couple of days May half term, 2 weeks off at summer and a couple days Oct half term .

Any days not covered by me or their dad they go to childminder or my parents sometimes have them for a couple of days .

Yes it would definitely be easier if one or both of us worked 3 or 4 days per week. I work 4.5 days spread over 5 days so in theory I can just take 1/2 days leave and work four full days to have a day off during the week but it doesn’t normally work out like that.
We each take odd days off in the summer unpaid so the dc are not in holiday club or home alone (ds1 will be 13 by then) for a whole week.
Ds2 is also autistic and we’ve only found one holiday club run by a private school which can cope with him and he is ok with. They only run Easter, summer and 1 week at Christmas so that really limits our options.

We both work full time. My husband works contract so any time off is unpaid. We are lucky to have grandparents who will help out up to 2 days a week and I buy extra days holiday from work.

Although we are doing it differently this year we normally:
October... Normally a day or 2 off.
Husband is off between Christmas and NY. I should be off for 4 days but often swap days to cover school hols before Christmas eve or after NY day.
I take a day off for Feb half term only if have any over from previous year.
Take 2 dates off at Easter, husband takes one different day off. For us it's only a week.
Both take 2 weeks 9days off for May half term for family holiday.. we normally go away 10-11 days after BH as our school gets 2 weeks.

Summer is hardest.. 6 weeks that my parents will cover 2 days a week of. Parents may have for day or do wrap around for things that are 10-3 or alike. We often have 1 short trip away together (say 2 days off work) and then I normally cover another 4 or so days and husband does 2. We swap the activities about so do different things.. And they generally never do a full week of childcare or activities.
Summer is a real juggle

I'm single but ex is involved.

My job has mostly set holidays, but they fall in the school holidays anyway. I only work Monday to Thursday so all Fridays are covered.

I get May half term off, then the a week of the summer holidays and the whole of the Christmas holidays, plus bank holidays. I then get 2 weeks that I can choose but we aren't allowed any time off from October to Christmas. So I usually book a week at Easter and another week in the summer.

My ex won't book any time off specially for the school holidays 🙄 but his job involves weekends and unsociable hours so it often falls that he has days off midweek anyway. He will do whatever days he is off in the holidays. He is doing 2 days over Easter and I'm off the second week so I only have 2 days to sort childcare for.

My mum who still works full time takes a week of her AL in the summer holidays to help me out, she's an angel.

Rest of the time it's favours from family/friends and holiday club.

Unfortunately neither set of grandparents are close to just do one day a week. One set will come and stay and look after them for 3 days in the summer.

We don't have a 'holiday' habit so we can play things by ear, instead. Sometimes there are specific events to travel for, a family gathering or Christmas.

Dh and I both work ft but I work compressed hours over 4 days (have Fridays off) and he’s self employed (no paid leave). I also get in addition to my 28 days of AL plus bank holidays about an extra 2-3 weeks of closure days (paid) over Christmas and Easter (I work for a university).

Over summer and half term we do 3 days of holiday club (it’s only open 3 days) then I have Fridays off anyway (because I work long hours the other days). Dh and I roughly share the other day in the week and sick days 50/50 depending on who is more busy with work at any time. So often dh takes off Monday, holiday club Tuesday to Thursday and I’m off Friday.

Over Easter dh is busy and I have 1 week off paid anyway so I do that plus holiday club. We are usually both off over Christmas, give or take depending on school holidays. It’s roughly 50/50 especially for sick days, but I may do slightly more of the extra days in school holidays because I get paid leave and I otherwise work long hours and travel so dh has much more time with them during term time.

In terms of holidays: We tend to a few weekend trips a year, which don’t require much planning. Dd and I tend to have a holiday abroad each year just the 2 of us (it’s easier taking just her as ds is too little). We have a family holiday in the UK but it’s usually only a long weekend. We don’t tend to do like a 2 week holiday as it’s hard with dh’s business (not to mention my work as there is only so much coverage and I’d end up needing to work a bit on holiday).