Utah parents still argue every October over Fall Break (still nicknamed UEA Weekend), Halloween, and Thanksgiving. In 2026, those fights start from a different statute.
Effective May 6, 2026, the Legislature rewrote the default parent-time schedules in Utah Code 81-9-302, 81-9-303, and 81-9-304. Almost every holiday exchange time moved. Columbus Day and Veterans Day dropped off the holiday table. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day now start the evening before. If your decree simply incorporates “the statutory schedule,” those new times may apply. If your decree locks in the old 6:00 p.m. pickup and 7:00 p.m. return, those old times still control until a court modifies the order.
This article maps the fall and winter holidays for calendar year 2026, explains who takes which block in an even-numbered year, and flags the drafting mistakes we see when parents treat a blog chart as a court order.
First question: does the new statute even apply to your order?
Ask three questions before you rearrange Halloween.
1. What does the decree say? A specific time in the order (“Halloween from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.”) beats the current statute. The court enforces the order if it is different than the statute.
2. Does the order say to follow the statute even if it changes later on? Many Utah decrees say parent-time “shall be in accordance with Utah Code 81-9-302” (or the old 30-3-35, 35.1, 35.2, or 35.5). If so, that language usually means to follow the version of the schedule that existed when your order was entered, which may be different than the current statutory schedule. If the language says to follow the Utah Code as amended (or words to that effect), then it may follow the post-May 6, 2026 version of the schedule.
Parents with pre-May 2026 orders often assume the new 5:30 p.m. / 8:30 p.m. times apply automatically. They do not, unless the order incorporates the new statute or a judge modifies it.
What actually changed on May 6, 2026
For the standard and optional schedules covering children ages five through eighteen, some of the big changes the Legislature made include:
– The holiday table no longer lists Columbus Day or Veterans Day. Those dates revert to the regular weekly schedule unless the decree still names them.
– Mother’s Day and Father’s Day now begin the evening before the holiday, not at 9:00 a.m. on the day itself.
The under-five schedule in 81-9-304 uses different end times (generally 7:30 p.m.). Do not apply the five-to-eighteen chart to a toddler order.
Holidays still override the regular weekend rotation. If Fall Break lands on “the other parent’s weekend,” the parent who draws Fall Break keeps the break.
How to read “custodial” and “noncustodial” on the 2026 chart
Utah’s holiday table still uses those labels. They do not mean “the parent the child likes more.” They mean the parent the decree treats as the custodial parent for purposes of the statutory schedule—usually the parent with primary physical custody, or the parent the order designates when the parties share equal time. Your label does not flip each year. Only the holidays assigned to that label flip. 2026 is an even-numbered year. Read the even-year column.
Fall and winter 2026 under the current statutory table
The following assignments assume the court uses 81-9-302 (children five to eighteen) and the decree does not write different times. Confirm the child’s school calendar. “Fall Break” follows the child’s school, not the statewide holiday list.
Fall Break (UEA Weekend)
Begins at school dismissal, or at 5:30 p.m. on the day school dismisses, at the election of the parent who has the holiday. Ends at 8:30 p.m. the evening before school resumes.
2026 (even year): custodial parent.
Halloween
October 31, or the day the local community traditionally celebrates it. Begins at school dismissal, or at 3:00 p.m. if there is no school. Ends at 8:30 p.m. the same day.
2026 (even year): noncustodial parent.
Thanksgiving
Begins at school dismissal for the Thanksgiving break, or at 5:30 p.m. that same day at the receiving parent’s election. Ends at 8:30 p.m. the evening before school resumes. That block usually covers the full multi-day break, not merely Thursday dinner.
2026 (even year): noncustodial parent.
Winter break — first half
Begins at school dismissal, or at 5:30 p.m. the day school lets out. This half includes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The first half ends at the switch time of December 27 at 8:30 p.m.
2026 (even year): custodial parent.
Winter break — second half
Runs from December 27 at 8:30 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. the evening before school resumes. This half includes New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
2026 (even year): noncustodial parent.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
These holidays do not ride the even/odd rotation the same way. Under the 2026 amendments, each of those holidays now starts at 5:30 p.m. the evening before.
If your child is under five, stop. Pull 81-9-304 instead of this chart.
The disputes that actually land in court this fall
Parents rarely fight the statute in the abstract. They fight the edges.
School calendars do not match. Alpine, Canyons, Davis, Granite, Jordan, and charter calendars dismiss on different days. The statute follows the child’s school, not the parent’s employer and not the other child’s district. Write the district name into the parenting plan when the children attend different schools.
“Fall Break” is not Columbus Day. Columbus Day remains a state holiday. It is no longer a statutory parent-time holiday. A parent who plans a long weekend around the second Monday in October, thinking the old chart still applies, will miss the exchange.
Halloween is a single evening, not a weekend. The statutory Halloween block ends at 8:30 p.m. the same night. It does not swallow Friday or Saturday. Parents who want overnight trick-or-treating must bargain for it or prove that the child’s best interest requires a different order (if they do not already have that weekend as part of their regular alternating schedule).
Holiday time overrides the weekend, then the weekend resumes. When Thanksgiving swallows a regular weekend, the parent who “lost” that weekend does not automatically receive a makeup weekend unless the order says so.
The receiving parent elects school dismissal or 5:30 p.m. That election belongs to the parent who has the holiday, not the parent who currently has the child. Put the election in writing before the dismissal bell.
Equal-custody orders still need a holiday algorithm. Joint physical custody does not erase the holiday table. If the decree never names a “custodial” parent for holiday purposes, the parties will argue about the label every October. Competent drafting assigns the holidays or adopts a specific even/odd matrix.
Older decrees, new times, and the modification problem
A 2018 decree that says “Thanksgiving from 6:00 p.m. Wednesday until 7:00 p.m. Sunday” still means 6:00 and 7:00. The 2026 amendments do not silently rewrite that sentence.
A parent who wants the new 5:30 / 8:30 times, or who wants Fall Break written to a particular school calendar, must modify the order unless the other parent agrees. Utah Code 81-9-208 still requires a change in circumstances for parent-time modifications—new school hours, a move, a work-shift change, or another fact the court can hang findings on.
Do not “self-help” the new times. Showing up at 5:30 p.m. when the decree says 6:00 p.m. creates an enforcement problem, not a helpful precedent.
Practical checklist for the next ninety days
– Pull the controlling decree and highlight every holiday time.
– Compare those times to 81-9-302 as amended May 6, 2026.
– Print the child’s 2026–2027 school calendar and mark dismissal days for Fall Break, Thanksgiving, and winter break.
– Confirm who the decree treats as the custodial parent for holiday purposes.
– Put Halloween and Thanksgiving exchanges in writing at least two weeks ahead.
– If the order is silent, outdated, or unworkable, consult counsel before the first disputed exchange—not after someone withholds the child.
Talk to a Utah family-law trial lawyer before the calendar takes over
Holiday parent-time looks simple on a chart and becomes expensive when a parent treats the chart as optional. Wiser & Wiser handles custody and parent-time cases throughout Utah, including enforcement, modification, and the drafting that keeps families out of the commissioner calendar in October.
If your order still speaks in 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. language, if you share equal time and never named a holiday algorithm, or if the other parent has already announced a different Fall Break plan, call us at 855-254-2600 or Contact Us here. Bring the decree and the school calendar. We will tell you what the order actually requires in 2026.
This article discusses Utah law for general information. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Parent-time outcomes turn on the text of your order, the child’s school calendar, and findings a court can support.
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