It would probably have been sensible to write a piece about agreeing arrangements for the festive season in September, or maybe even August. Deciding then how children divide their time when they are off school and celebrations for Christmas or Hanukah, builds in enough time to apply to the court to resolve matters if all else fails. In reality, things do not pan out in that way, and it is in November that people’s thoughts start to turn to the practicalities of how to divide the holidays and it is not too late to try to grapple with the arrangements if they are still undecided. But if you do not have time for a court application and cannot agree the arrangements, how can you tackle this?