RichardM, Do what your father did is of course the simplest solution. But, it doesn’t help when your circumstances change. E.g. moving to EY where the minhag is like the Bet Yosef or the Gr”a who both paskened Tfilin should not be worn on Chol Hamoed.
(I think I’m out of here now, as we’re just going in circles now, albeit this is a fascinating subject.)