What goes on a holiday hours sign
A holiday hours sign answers one question for someone standing at your door: are you open, and when are you open again? So it lists every day your hours differ from normal, each with its weekday and its date, and nothing else competes with that list. The weekday matters more than people expect: “December 24” makes a customer count on their fingers, “Thursday, December 24” does not.
This maker starts from the real calendar. The weekdays are worked out from the dates, never typed in, so a sign for 2026 says Friday for Christmas Day and a sign for next year will say Saturday. Under the list it adds one line computed from your choices: regular hours resume on the day after the last day you changed.
Christmas and New Year 2026 at a glance
| Day | US sign starts with | UK sign starts with |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, December 24 | 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM | 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM |
| Friday, December 25 | Closed | Closed (bank holiday) |
| Saturday, December 26 | not listed | Closed (Boxing Day) |
| Monday, December 28 | not listed | Closed (substitute bank holiday) |
| Thursday, December 31 | 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM | 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM |
| Friday, January 1, 2027 | Closed | Closed (bank holiday) |
These are starting points, not rules: every row can be changed, removed or added to. Thanksgiving 2026 is Thursday, November 26; the Thanksgiving sign starts with Wednesday, November 25 as a short day and Thursday closed.
A “Closed for Thanksgiving” sign
Choose Thanksgiving and tap Closed for Thanksgiving under the heading. The sign then carries that heading above Wednesday, November 25 as a short day and Thursday, November 26 as Closed, and underneath, the day regular hours come back. Closed on Black Friday as well? Add a day: it adds Friday, November 27, set it to Closed, and the last line moves to Saturday, November 28 by itself. For Christmas the same row of headings offers Christmas Hours and Closed for Christmas.
Printing it so it reads through glass
- Print at actual size (“100 %”) on plain US Letter or A4; one sign per page.
- Landscape suits a wide door panel, portrait a narrow one. The type grows when there are fewer days, so keep the list to the days that really differ.
- Tape it inside the glass at eye height, facing out. A second copy by the register catches the people who are already inside.
- The colors are deep enough to stay readable on a printer running low on ink; Classic prints in black only.
The same hours everywhere
People check your hours on their phone before they check your door. The text version under the download button lists exactly what the sign says, one day per line, ready to paste into an email to customers, a post on your website or the special hours of your Google listing. If the hours change, change the sign here and print and paste again, so the door and the screen never disagree.
For the rest of the paperwork around the holidays, the timesheet calculator totals the short days on a printed time card, and the invoice generator makes the last bills of the year.
Questions
What should a holiday hours sign say?
Every day your hours differ from normal, each with its weekday and date, then the day regular hours come back. Customers read a door sign in two seconds, so one line per day works best: Thursday, December 24: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM; Friday, December 25: Closed. This maker writes the weekdays for you and adds the 'Regular hours resume' line from the last day you changed.
Which days are UK bank holidays this Christmas?
In England and Wales, Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday and Boxing Day a Saturday, so the bank holidays are Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December (the substitute day for Boxing Day) and Friday 1 January 2027. Choose UK and the sign starts with those days, plus Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as short days you can change.
Which days does the US Christmas sign start with?
Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, 2026 and New Year's Eve, Thursday, December 31 as short days (9:00 AM to 2:00 PM), and Christmas Day, Friday, December 25 and New Year's Day, Friday, January 1, 2027 as closed. Change any of them, remove them, or add a day such as Saturday, December 26.
When should I put the sign up?
As soon as your hours are settled, so regulars see it on more than one visit before the holidays. Put the same hours on your website and your Google listing at the same time: copy the text version under the download button, it lists the same days in the same words.
How do I make a "Closed for Thanksgiving" sign?
Choose Thanksgiving, then tap Closed for Thanksgiving under the heading. Thursday, November 26, 2026 is already set to Closed and Wednesday, November 25 to a short day; remove the Wednesday line if you keep your normal hours, or add Friday, November 27 if you close for Black Friday too, and the sign moves the line about regular hours to Saturday.
Can I use it for closures that are not holidays?
Yes. Choose Other days and add the dates: an inventory day, a staff party, a week of vacation. Change the heading to say what it is, for example Closed for Inventory.
What paper and size does it print on?
US Letter or A4, portrait or landscape, one sign per page with a double border. The text size follows the number of days, so a short list prints large enough to read through a glass door.
Is anything uploaded from this page?
No. The sign is laid out and turned into a PDF inside your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere and there is no account. Your business name is remembered in this browser for next time; clearing your browser data removes it.