Custom oak opening hours sign with a business logo, engraved on FSC-certified oak veneered MDF

Christmas Opening Hours 2026: Templates, Key Dates and How to Tell Customers

For Christmas 2026, the UK bank holidays are Friday 25 December (Christmas Day), Monday 28 December (Boxing Day, moved because 26 December is a Saturday) and Friday 1 January 2027 (New Year's Day). Scotland also has Monday 4 January 2027. Large shops in England, Wales and Scotland must close on Christmas Day unless they are exempt; smaller shops and most other businesses can choose their own Christmas hours.

Below are the key dates, copy-and-paste Christmas opening hours templates for shops, cafés, offices and online businesses, and where to publish your hours so customers actually see them. We are an engraving workshop in Buckley, Flintshire, and we make opening hours signs for shops, cafés and offices.

Christmas and New Year 2026 key dates

Date Day What it is
24 December 2026 Thursday Christmas Eve (not a bank holiday)
25 December 2026 Friday Christmas Day: bank holiday across the UK
26 December 2026 Saturday Boxing Day
28 December 2026 Monday Boxing Day substitute bank holiday across the UK
31 December 2026 Thursday New Year's Eve (not a bank holiday)
1 January 2027 Friday New Year's Day: bank holiday across the UK
4 January 2027 Monday 2 January substitute bank holiday, Scotland only

Two dates catch people out this year. Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December, so "closed Boxing Day" on a notice could mean either day: write the date instead. And 2 January is a bank holiday in Scotland only; in 2027 it falls on a Saturday, so the Scottish holiday moves to Monday 4 January.

Do you have to close on Christmas Day?

Only if you run a large shop.

  • England and Wales: the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 stops shops with more than 280 square metres (about 3,000 square feet) of floor space used for serving customers or displaying goods from opening on Christmas Day. Stockrooms and offices do not count towards the 280 square metres. A few types of shop are exempt, such as shops at airports, railway stations and motorway service areas.
  • Scotland: the Christmas Day and New Year's Day Trading (Scotland) Act 2007 does the same for shops with more than 280 square metres of trading floor area. The Act also lets Scottish Ministers ban large shops from opening on New Year's Day, but after a consultation in 2021 they decided not to.
  • Everyone else: smaller shops, cafés, pubs, restaurants, salons and offices can open on Christmas Day if they choose. There is no Boxing Day trading ban, and in 2026 Boxing Day is a Saturday anyway. Large shops in England and Wales still follow the usual Sunday trading hours on Sunday 27 December.

Northern Ireland has its own shop trading rules, so this section covers England, Wales and Scotland only.

What to put on a Christmas opening hours notice

  1. Every date that changes, with its day name: "Friday 25 December: Closed" is clearer than "Christmas Day: Closed".
  2. Short days as well as closed days: early closing on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve is easy for customers to miss.
  3. The date normal hours return: "Normal hours from Saturday 2 January" answers the question nobody wants to phone about.
  4. How to reach you: an email address, a number for urgent jobs, or your website if people can still order online.
  5. Your last order date, if you post goods: the date a customer must order by to receive it before Christmas.
  6. One time format throughout: 9am to 2pm, or 09:00 to 14:00, but not both.

Christmas opening hours templates

Copy the one closest to your business and change the times. The first two list every day from Christmas Eve until normal hours return; the others are shorter formats for closures, online orders and quick posts.

Shop, salon or showroom

Christmas Opening Hours
Thursday 24 December: 9am to 2pm
Friday 25 December: Closed
Saturday 26 December: 10am to 4pm
Sunday 27 December: Closed
Monday 28 December: Closed
Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December: 10am to 4pm
Thursday 31 December: 10am to 2pm
Friday 1 January: Closed
Normal hours from Saturday 2 January.
Thank you for shopping with us, and Merry Christmas.

Café, pub or restaurant

Festive Opening Times
Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December: 8am to 3pm (last orders 2.30pm)
Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: Closed
Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December: 10am to 4pm
Sunday 27 December: 10am to 3pm
Bank holiday Monday 28 December: 10am to 3pm
New Year's Eve, Thursday 31 December: 8am to 3pm
New Year's Day, Friday 1 January: Closed
Back to normal hours on Saturday 2 January. To book a table, call [number].

Office, trade or B2B supplier closing between Christmas and New Year

Christmas Closure
We close at 1pm on Thursday 24 December and reopen at 9am on Monday 4 January 2027.
Emails and orders received while we are closed will be answered from 4 January.
For urgent [repairs or call-outs], call [number].
Thank you for working with us this year.

In Scotland, 4 January 2027 is a bank holiday, so an office that closes for it too would reopen on Tuesday 5 January.

Online shop or made-to-order business

Christmas Order Dates
Last order date for UK delivery before Christmas: [date]
Our workshop is closed from [date] to [date].
You can still order online while we are closed: orders will be made and dispatched from [date].
Merry Christmas, and thank you for your orders this year.

Work back from Royal Mail's published last posting dates. For Tracked 24 in the UK, Royal Mail's last recommended posting date for Christmas 2026 is Monday 21 December. Take away your own making or dispatch time, and that is your last order date.

Short version for social media, emails and Google posts

We're closed from Friday 25 December to Friday 1 January and back on Saturday 2 January. Merry Christmas, and see you in the New Year.

Bilingual Welsh and English

Oriau Agor y Nadolig / Christmas Opening Hours
Dydd Iau 24 Rhagfyr / Thursday 24 December: 9am hyd 2pm / 9am to 2pm
Dydd Gwener 25 Rhagfyr / Friday 25 December: Ar gau / Closed
Dydd Llun 28 Rhagfyr / Monday 28 December: Ar gau / Closed
Dydd Gwener 1 Ionawr / Friday 1 January: Ar gau / Closed
Oriau arferol o ddydd Sadwrn 2 Ionawr / Normal hours from Saturday 2 January
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda / Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Welsh Government style uses am and pm in Welsh text too (9am hyd 2pm). On Welsh signs you will also see yb (y bore, morning), yp (y prynhawn, afternoon) and yh (yr hwyr, evening). If you are not a Welsh speaker, ask one to check your notice, or use Helo Blod, the Welsh Government's service for businesses, which translates up to 500 words a month into Welsh free of charge. Our guide to Merry Christmas in Welsh has more seasonal greetings, and is bilingual signage legally required in Wales? explains who has to use Welsh and who chooses to.

Where to publish your Christmas hours

  1. Your Google Business Profile. Your hours there appear in Google Search and Maps when people look up your business. Go to Edit profile, then Hours, then Special hours, pick or add each date, set the hours or tick Closed, and save. Google recommends confirming your hours for official holidays even when they match your normal hours, so customers know they are accurate. Special hours cover changes of up to six days in a row; if you are closed for seven days or more, Google's guidance is to mark the business as temporarily closed, then reopen it when you are back.
  2. Your website: a banner on the home page, plus the contact and delivery pages.
  3. Your door and window: put the notice up at the start of December, at eye level beside the door, and leave it up until you have reopened.
  4. Social media: pin the post to the top of your page so it stays visible all month.
  5. Email and phone: an out-of-office reply and a voicemail message with your reopening date.
  6. Any other listing you manage: Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, TripAdvisor or a booking platform.

Reviews and your profile hours work together on Google; our guide to how Google reviews affect local SEO covers the rest of your profile.

Should you engrave your Christmas hours?

No. Christmas dates move every year, so the notice belongs on paper or a chalkboard for a few weeks. What lasts is your everyday hours: a custom opening hours sign engraved in FSC-certified oak veneered MDF shows them all year, with your logo if you want it, and the Christmas notice goes beside it in December.

  • If you close every Christmas, a message without dates, such as "Closed for Christmas, back in the New Year", can come out each December. The Closed for Lunch sign takes your own wording through the Custom Text option.
  • A QR code by the door that links to your Google Business Profile or website lets customers check your latest hours whenever they pass. See our wooden QR code signs.
  • For businesses in Wales, the Ar Agor / Ar Gau open and closed sign reads in Welsh and English all year.

For help choosing between formats, read our guide to open, closed and opening hours signs, or browse all open, closed and opening hours signs.

All items are made to order. Dispatch time is shown at checkout. UK orders via Royal Mail Tracked 24. International via Royal Mail International Tracked.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Boxing Day bank holiday in 2026?
Monday 28 December. Boxing Day itself is Saturday 26 December, so the bank holiday moves to the following Monday in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Is 2 January a bank holiday?
Only in Scotland. In 2027, 2 January is a Saturday, so the Scottish bank holiday is on Monday 4 January.

Can small shops open on Christmas Day?
Yes. The Christmas Day ban applies to shops with more than 280 square metres of sales floor (the area used to serve customers or display goods) in England, Wales and Scotland. Smaller shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants can open if they choose.

When should I put up my Christmas opening hours?
At the start of December, or as soon as you know them. Add them as special hours on your Google Business Profile at the same time.

Do I need to set Christmas hours on Google if they are the same as normal?
Google recommends confirming your hours for official holidays even when they do not change, so customers know they are accurate.

What if I am closed for more than a week?
Google's special hours cover up to six days in a row. For a closure of seven days or more, Google advises marking the business as temporarily closed and reopening it when you are back.

Also see: open, closed and opening hours signs, opening hours sign with stand, Merry Christmas in Welsh and the UK tax rules on Christmas gifts for staff and clients.

Sources

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