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Holiday out of office messages

Holiday closure

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SubjectOffice closed, reopening Tuesday, October 13

Our office is closed for the public holiday from Monday, October 12 and reopens on Tuesday, October 13. We will reply when the office reopens. For urgent matters, write to at .

Professional · short · 1 of 2

Also for your time off

Where does it go?

Senders who are still at work on a public holiday want the day you reopen, plus somewhere to go if it cannot wait: "Our office is closed for the public holiday from October 6 and reopens on October 14. We will reply when the office reopens. For urgent matters, write to Priya Nair at priya.nair@yourcompany.com."

Senders from other countries may not share your holiday, so the reopening date matters more than the holiday's name, and humor is fine as long as the duty contact for real emergencies is stated.

Next US holidays

Pick the holiday below and the reply comes with the right closure and reopening dates for the next time it falls, including the observed weekday when it lands on a weekend. Each holiday page has its own replies, because a Memorial Day message and a Fourth of July message should not sound the same.

All 12 replies on this page

Type your details in the writer and every reply below fills itself in.

Professional 4

Our office is closed for the public holiday from [Away from] and reopens on [Back on]. We will reply when the office reopens. For urgent matters, write to [Who covers] at [Their email].
Short
[Your name] and the rest of the team are off for the holiday and back on [Back on]. Thank you for your email; if this is urgent, [Who covers] ([Their email]) is on call.
Short
Thank you for contacting us. The office is closed for the public holiday between [Away from] and [Back on], and emails received during the closure will be handled in order when we reopen on [Back on]. If your request cannot wait until then, email [Who covers] at [Their email], who is monitoring urgent messages. We appreciate your patience and will respond promptly on our return.
Longer
This is an automated response. Our team is observing the national holiday and will return to work on [Back on]; I will read and respond to your message that day. In the meantime, [Who covers] is the duty contact ([Their email]) for anything that affects a live order, system or deadline. All other correspondence will be dealt with after the holiday.
Longer

Warm 4

We are closed for the holiday from [Away from] and back on [Back on], ready to pick up where we left off. Thanks for writing; until then, [Who covers] at [Their email] can help with anything urgent.
Short
I am taking the public holiday off along with the rest of the office, and will be back on [Back on]. Need something sooner? [Who covers] ([Their email]) has agreed to cover.
Short
The office is closed for the public holiday from [Away from] to [Back on], and I am spending it away from email. Thank you for your message; I will reply when we reopen on [Back on], and if your question is pressing, [Who covers] is keeping an eye on things; write to them at [Their email]. I hope the long weekend is a good one on your side too.
Longer
We reopen on [Back on], when I will work through my inbox and come back to you; until then the office is closed for the holiday. If there is something that really cannot wait, [Who covers] is covering and will be glad to help at [Their email]. Enjoy the day off if you have one, and I will speak to you soon.
Longer

Funny 4

Closed for the public holiday until [Back on], and the only thing working today is this auto reply. [Who covers] at [Their email] is on duty for real emergencies.
Short
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice
It is a public holiday, so the whole team has downed tools until [Back on]. If your matter cannot wait for us to reopen, [Who covers] ([Their email]) drew the short straw and is covering.
Short
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice
You have emailed us on a public holiday, which is admirable dedication. The office is closed from [Away from] and reopens on [Back on], when I will reply with a clear head and possibly leftovers. If something genuinely cannot wait, [Who covers] at [Their email] is holding the fort and would love to hear from you. Otherwise, see you on [Back on].
Longer
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice
Welcome to my inbox, which is observing the holiday more strictly than I am. We are closed between [Away from] and [Back on], and I am under firm instructions not to look at email, so your message will be read on [Back on]. For anything urgent, [Who covers] is the designated grown-up and answers at [Their email]. Thank you for your patience, and have a good one.
Longer
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice

What to leave out

"Back after the holidays". Nobody knows which day that is; write the date the office reopens.
Religious greetings to a list that includes people who do not celebrate; "enjoy the long weekend" travels further.
A shared mailbox that nobody checks. If the duty contact is a team address, say what hours it is watched.
The assumption that the sender is also off. International clients and suppliers may be at work and waiting.
Promises about reduced service you cannot keep; if the warehouse ships anyway, say so, and if it does not, say that.

Filling it in

Enter the first closed day and the reopening day, then the duty contact for emergencies. If the whole company uses one wording, pick professional and paste it into the shared template; if it is only your inbox, warm or funny fits a long weekend. Set the reply to end on the reopening morning.

Questions people ask

How do you say the office will be closed for a holiday?

Say it plainly and give the day it reopens: we are closed for the holiday and open again on the fourteenth. The reopening date is the fact senders need, since many of them are in countries where it is an ordinary working day. Add a duty contact for real emergencies and say what hours that contact is watched if it is a shared address. Skip the holiday's name if your senders may not share it.

What is a good out of office message for the Christmas or Thanksgiving holidays?

The same three facts as any closure, with the reopening day doing the most work: nobody knows which day after the holidays means. Keep the greeting neutral unless you know every sender celebrates; enjoy the long weekend travels further than a religious wish. Warm and funny tones suit a long weekend and an inbox of colleagues; the professional tone suits the company-wide template that goes to clients.

How do you say happy holidays professionally in an auto reply?

Put the information first and the greeting last, and keep the greeting to one neutral clause, such as hoping they get a break too. Professional here means the sender can find the reopening day and the duty contact in the first two lines without reading past a seasonal flourish. If your company has an agreed holiday wording, use that and add nothing; if it is only your inbox, the warm tone on this page strikes the balance.