Plan a company holiday shutdown,and still have someone on call when it breaks.
A holiday shutdown is when the whole company closes for a stretch, usually between Christmas and New Year, sometimes for a week in summer. Everyone gets the same days off, nobody comes back to a pile of messages from colleagues who kept working, and the planning question shrinks to one: who covers what can't stop?
For 2026, a common shutdown runs from Thursday December 24 to Friday January 1, 2027, with people back on Monday January 4. Here's how I'd plan one for a software company of ten to a hundred people.
Step 1
Pick the dates and announce them early
Announce a winter shutdown by the start of October, so people can book flights around it. The usual shape is from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day. In 2026 that's Thursday December 24 to Friday January 1, which is seven weekdays, of which two are federal holidays (Christmas Day and New Year's Day). Add Wednesday December 23 if you want people to be able to travel.
Count the working days you're closing, not just the calendar days. On the working days page you can see December 2026 has 22 working days after Christmas, so a shutdown from December 24 takes six of them.
Step 2
Decide whether the shutdown costs PTO
There are three common choices: the shutdown is extra paid time off on top of PTO, it uses PTO (people must save days for it), or it's a mix, like the company covering the holidays and people using PTO for the days in between.
Extra paid days are the most generous and the simplest to explain. If the shutdown uses PTO, say so when you announce it, and work out what happens for people who don't have enough days saved, especially new hires. Rules on paying out or carrying over PTO vary by state, so check with whoever runs payroll before you write the policy.
Step 3
Keep a small on-call crew for what can't stop
A shutdown doesn't stop production systems or payment processors. List what needs cover (infrastructure, payments, security, a support inbox with a promised response time) and name one person and a backup for each, for each part of the shutdown.
Split the shutdown into short shifts so nobody gives up the whole break, rotate who covers from year to year, and pay it back with a day off in January. Check every shift against that person's own plans: an on-call shift on someone's flight day is a gap you won't notice until it pages.
Step 4
Tell customers and set expectations
Put the dates on your status page and in your support auto-reply by mid-December. Say what's still covered (outages, security, billing problems) and when everything else gets an answer. A clear message stops most of the “is anyone there?” emails.
Pause automated emails that promise a quick reply, and move any deadlines that would fall during the shutdown.
Step 5
Plan the first week back
Monday January 4 is when everything lands at once. Keep it light: no releases on the first day, a short meeting to go through anything that came up during the shutdown, and the code freeze lifting on a set day and time rather than whenever someone remembers.
What makes a shutdown work
Put it on the calendar everyone uses
Add the shutdown as one company-wide period, not as a holiday in each person's calendar.
Ask about the days around it
People stretch a shutdown with a day or two before and after. Ask, so December 22 and January 4 don't surprise you.
One page for on-call
Who covers what, each day, with phone numbers. Pin it where the on-call person will look at 2 AM.
Freeze before you close
No release in the last three working days before the shutdown. Bugs from a December 22 release become someone's Christmas.
Think about summer too
Some companies close for a week around the Fourth of July as well. The same plan works.
Thank the people who covered
Name them in the first company meeting of the year, and give them first pick next time.
Everyone off is easy.The few people still on are the hard part.
Announcing a shutdown takes one email. Keeping the on-call crew straight as plans change in December takes more. Here's a shutdown on a Forgot board: it's live, so try moving a vacation onto someone's on-call week.
One band for the whole company
The shutdown is a company holiday on the board: everyone sees it, and it counts as a day off like a weekend.
On-call next to people's own plans
Shifts and vacations are on the same rows, and a shift that lands on someone's time off gets a warning.
Coverage by area
Tag who covers payments, infrastructure and support, and the board names any day nobody covering an area is in.
- The office closure is a band across everyone
- On-call shifts sit next to vacations and holidays
- A shift that lands on someone's own time off gets a warning
- The summary names days an area has nobody covering it
Plan the shutdown and the people still on call.
Forgot keeps everyone's time off, on-call shifts and public holidays on one timeline, with the shutdown across the top and a warning when a shift lands on someone's own time off.
- Company holidays as one band across the team
- On-call that warns when it lands on time off
- See who covers what, and when nobody does
- Your team sends dates without signing up
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Questions
What is a company holiday shutdown?
A stretch of days when the whole company closes, usually between Christmas and New Year, so everyone is off at the same time. A few people usually stay on call for systems and customers that can't wait.
Do employees have to use PTO for a holiday shutdown?
It depends on the company. Some treat it as extra paid time off, some require people to use PTO, and some cover the holidays and ask people to use PTO for the days in between. Rules on PTO vary by state, so check before you write the policy.
When should a company announce a holiday shutdown?
By early October for a December shutdown, so people can book travel around it. Repeat it in November and the week before.
What are common holiday shutdown dates for 2026?
Thursday December 24, 2026 to Friday January 1, 2027, with everyone back on Monday January 4. Some companies start on Wednesday December 23 to give people a travel day.
Who works during a holiday shutdown?
A small on-call crew for what can't stop: production infrastructure, payments, security and any support with a promised response time. Usually one person and a backup per area, in short shifts, rotated each year.