In observance of the holiday email

Closing your office for a holiday? Good call, we all deserve a break every now and then. But, what about your customers? They may not just assume you’ll be closed and might even need help while your team is out.

The reality is, business never stops. That’s why it pays to be proactive and inform your customers when you won’t be available well in advance. This gesture sends the right message – that you care about your customers. And it’s also a great opportunity to re-engage them.

To save you time and help you strike the right tone, we built nine “Office closed for holidays” email templates for multiple scenarios. Customize these samples when needed.

Tips to send office closed emails

• Choose the right tone. The appropriate tone depends on the holiday. If you’re closing for Christmas or New Year’s, it’s safe to assume your customers expect you to be festive and maybe even humorous. Conversely, if you’re closed for Veterans’ day, your email should strike a more serious chord. Use our templates and double-check your tone before you hit send.
• Be inclusive. This is especially true for religious occasions. Don’t assume all your customers celebrate the same holidays. They may take the day off (e.g. Thanksgiving is an official holiday in the U.S.), but customs differ – especially if you have international customers. Extend your wishes, but make sure you consider customers from all backgrounds.
• Don’t leave customers hanging. Just because your office is out, that doesn’t mean your customers should be left helpless. Companies sometimes ask a few employees to work over the holidays, so if that’s the case, inform your customers who they should speak with and how (e.g. live chat). If none of your colleagues are online, there are other options such as directing customers to your site’s chatbot or linking to useful content (e.g. knowledge base articles) in your email.

There’s no substitute for human interaction, but a chatbot can hold the fort whenever your team is out or finds itself swamped. See more about the use cases of a chatbot in your industry.

How to use our templates

Any words included in brackets are placeholder text you can replace with whatever makes the most sense for your business (or remove altogether if it doesn’t apply to you). Sentences separated with ‘/’ are alternatives you can use in different situations.

Feel free to modify these templates, as well as mix and match language from multiple templates to create the one that best fits your business and the situation at hand. Insert a touch of personality where you can, too.

1. ‘Office closed’ reminder for public holidays

This email template can be used for all public holidays. Look below for templates specific to the long holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Reminder: We'll be closed for [Public Holiday]

Hi [Customer Name],

Our business will be celebrating [Public Holiday] this month, so we will be out of office on [Thursday, 26].

For this reason, we [won’t be available to respond to any messages / we’ll be slower to respond than usual]. You can check out our [Help Desk] if you have any questions, but rest assured we’ll get back to you as soon as we return.

Thanks for your understanding,

[The Acme Team]

2. Physical store closed for holidays

Reminder: We'll be closed for [Public Holiday]

Hi [Customer Name],

Our store will be closed [on Thursday 26 and Friday 27] when we’ll be celebrating [Thanksgiving] with friends and family. Our e-shop, though, will be up and running as usual, so you can still browse our new [seasonal products]!

If you have any questions, check out our Help Center [or message ‘ShopBot’ from our website to get information about products, your order status, and more].

We’ll answer all outstanding messages once we get back.

Thank you and enjoy your weekend,

[The Acme Team]

Download as .DOCX Copy

Related: 6 Ways to Prepare Your Team for Delighting Customers During High Volume Holiday Shopping

3. Office closed message for the holiday season

Greetings from [Company Name]: We'll close for the holidays

Season greetings, [Customer Name]!

We wanted to let you know in advance that many of us will be taking days off throughout the December holiday season to spend some time on ourselves and with our families and friends. Our office will be closed on [December 25 to January 2].

During this period, we may take longer than usual to reply to your messages. If you have a query, feel free to check out our [Help Center] while we work through our support tickets.

We’ll be back up to speed on [January 2nd] and will take care of any outstanding issues then.

Happy holidays!

[The Acme Team]

Download as .DOCX Copy

4. Office closed message for the holiday season in the 2020 pandemic

Greetings from [Company Name]: We'll close for the holidays

Season greetings, [Customer Name]!

It’s been a hard year with the pandemic causing widespread disruption, so this holiday season is a great opportunity to try to restore our mental and physical strength. Most of us will be taking days off toward the end of December and our office will be closed on [December 25].

During this period, we may take longer than usual to reply to your messages. If you have any questions while we’re out, feel free to browse our [Help Center].

We’ll be back up to speed on [January 2nd] and will take care of any outstanding issues then.

We wish you happy holidays and may the New Year find us all healthier and safer,

[The Acme Team]

Download as .DOCX Copy

5. Office closed message for Thanksgiving

Hi [Customer Name], we're closed for Thanksgiving

Hi, [Customer Name]!

Our office will be closed on Thursday and Friday in order for us to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays.

During this period, we won’t be available via live chat, but we will be checking our emails. If you have an urgent issue, please send us an email with the word “Urgent” at the beginning of the subject line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Alternatively, check out our [Help Center] for frequently asked questions and issues.

Happy Thanksgiving,

[The Acme Team]

Download as .DOCX Copy

6. Office closed for impromptu days off

Especially during the pandemic, some companies have taken time off to allow their employees a much-needed day of relaxation. If your company is planning this, customize this template to send to your customers. You can also customize this message as an automated response on the day off.

[Customer Name], we'll be taking a day off this month

Hi [Customer Name],

Our company decided to take a short break to rest and rejuvenate ourselves – we will be closed on [Friday, June 29] to allow ourselves a long weekend. This will help us all come back with even greater motivation to continue providing high-quality experiences to our customers.

During this break, we won’t be available as normal via live chat or email [– but we will be checking our messages for emergencies].

[Alternatively, if you need us on that Friday or over that weekend, we’ll have turned on our loyal chatbot to help you. You can find the bot on our website or app, and ask any questions you may have.]

Thanks for your understanding,

[The Acme Team]

Download as .DOCX Copy

7. Automated holiday message to customer emails

Hi [Customer Name], we're closed for [Public Holiday]

Hello and thanks for reaching out.

We’re currently out of office for [Public Holiday] so we might not see your message until [the day after tomorrow].

But, don’t worry – your message won’t get lost. And we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

In the meantime, you can check out our [Help Center] if you have any questions about our [product/service/company] or see if [Bob, The Bot] can answer them for you. Just go to our homepage and message [Bob] in the pop-up window.

Take care,

[The Acme team]

Download as .DOCX Copy

8. Personal Out Of Office message (informal)

This is a template you can send when you’re taking time off as an employee, rather than when offices are closed altogether. This is a good opportunity to use a touch of personality and humor, if you want.

I'm out and about...

Hi, sorry I missed you!

I’m currently [traveling to a land far, far away / trying to improve my basketball game / playing with my baby niece / etc.] and I won’t be checking my email. I will return to work rested and refreshed on [January 3rd].

[I’ll get back to you as soon as possible after I’m back / Feel free to reach out to my colleague Mariah Peters, who is filling in for me, at , if there’s an emergency].

Take care,

[Your Name]

Download as .DOCX Copy

9. Personal Out Of Office message (formal)

I'm currently out of the office.

Hello and thanks for your message.

I’m currently out of the office on a short vacation and will return to work on [January 3rd]. I won’t have consistent email access, so I may not be able to answer my emails until I get back.

If you need help with an urgent issue, feel free to reach out to my colleague Mariah Peters, who is filling in for me, at .

Thanks for your understanding,

[Your Name]

Download as .DOCX Copy

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