# Holiday hours posts: closures and opening times people notice [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/out-of-office-graphic) Nobody reads a holiday hours post closely. They glance at it once, then remember it on the morning they turn up. Here is how to design one that survives the glance, plus the wording, sizes and posting schedule. ## The short version - A holiday hours post should list every day that differs from normal, each with its weekday, date and opening times or the word Closed. - Write dates with the weekday and month in words, such as Thu 24 Dec, because numeric dates are read differently in different countries. - Post holiday hours about a week ahead, repeat them the day before, and keep a copy in a pinned post or story highlight. - Update your opening hours on Google and your website at the same time as your social post, since many people check there first. - Only the changed days belong on the graphic; normal days can be summed up in one line. A good **holiday hours post** shows only the days that change, each with its weekday, date and times, set large enough to read at a glance. Put the closures first, the reduced days second and a single line for when normal hours return. Everything else, the season's greetings and the thank you for the year, can go in the caption. People are checking one thing: can I come in on the day I had in mind. A portrait holiday hours post listing Christmas Eve hours, two closed days and the return date A portrait post at 1080×1350: the title, the changed days and when normal service returns. ## What to put on a holiday hours graphic Start with a list of every date that differs from your normal week, and nothing else. A café open as usual on the 23rd does not need the 23rd on the graphic. The fewer lines there are, the more likely the important one gets read. - **A plain title**: "Holiday hours", "Christmas opening times", "Closed for a week". - **Each changed day** with weekday, date and times, or Closed. - **The return line**: "Normal hours from Monday 4 January". - **Where else to look**: "Online orders stay open" or "Last delivery date 18 Dec" if that matters to your customers. - **Your name or logo**, small, so the post makes sense when it is shared. ## How to write dates and times so nobody turns up to a locked door Most confusion on holiday hours posts comes from ambiguous dates. 01/12 is the first of December in Britain and the twelfth of January in the United States. Write the month in words and include the weekday, because people plan by weekday. ### Easy to misread - 24/12: 9 to 2 - Closed 25th to 1st - Reduced hours over the holidays - Back to normal in the new year ### Clear at a glance - Thu 24 Dec: 9am to 2pm - Fri 25 Dec to Fri 1 Jan: closed - Online orders open throughout - Normal hours from Sat 2 Jan Use the time style your customers use. In Britain and Ireland that is usually 9am to 2pm; across much of Europe it is 09:00 to 14:00. Pick one and use it everywhere, including on the door. ## Closed for the holidays post or reduced hours: two layouts A full closure is one message, so give it one big line. Reduced hours are a timetable, so give them a list. Mixing the two in one centred paragraph is how holiday posts get misread. A portrait post with the single word Closed and the return date Monday 4 January A full closure: one word, one date. Impossible to misread. A portrait post listing Easter weekend opening times day by day Reduced hours across several days read best as a short timetable. Keep the type large. A holiday hours post is read on a phone, often by someone walking, so the day names should be at least as big as you would set a subheading. [Font size for Instagram posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/font-size-for-social-media) has working sizes, and if your background is a gradient, [text on a gradient](https://gradiently.design/guide/text-on-gradient) explains how to keep every line readable where the colour changes. ## Holiday hours post sizes for feed, story and Google Make the feed post first, then a story and a Google Business Profile post from the same design. A printed copy for the window or till is worth the extra minute, because regulars notice the door more than the feed. - Feed post 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350 - Story 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 - Google Business post 1200×900: 1200 × 900 - A4 window poster 2480×3508: 2480 × 3508 Four versions of one message. On the story, keep the dates out of the top and bottom 250 pixels where Instagram's interface sits. The Google post is not a substitute for changing your listed hours. In your Business Profile, add special hours for each changed date, so Search and Maps show the right times. Sizes for the post itself are in [Google Business Profile post size](https://gradiently.design/guide/google-business-post-size), and printed notices are covered in [window poster design](https://gradiently.design/guide/window-signage-design). ## When to post holiday hours 1. **About a week before** Post the feed version and update Google, your website and any booking pages on the same day. 2. **Pin or highlight it** Pin the post to the top of your profile, or save the story to a highlight such as "Hours". [Instagram highlight covers](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-highlight-covers) shows how to make that cover match. 3. **The day before the first change** Repeat it as a story. This is the reminder most people actually see. 4. **On the closed days** If you post at all, keep it to a short story that repeats the return date. 5. **When you reopen** Unpin the post and say you are back. It doubles as a reason to post on a quiet week. ## Making holiday hours look like you Seasonal templates tend to look alike: red, green, a snowflake, a script font. Your regulars will recognise your post faster if it looks like your other posts, with a seasonal word or two rather than a whole costume. Keep your background and fonts, and let the eyebrow say Christmas, Easter or summer. For seasonal post ideas beyond hours, see [Christmas social media posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/christmas-social-media-posts). | Occasion | Title that works | Return line | | --- | --- | --- | | Christmas and New Year | Christmas opening times | Normal hours from Sat 2 Jan | | Bank holiday Monday | Bank holiday hours | Back to usual hours Tuesday | | Summer closure | Closed for a summer break | Open again Mon 17 Aug | | Staff training or refit | Closed for one day | Open as usual Thursday | Plain titles and a specific return line. The return date is the line people screenshot. If you have to do this for several shops or every bank holiday of the year, Gradiently's Designer can take the dates in plain words, write the post in your brand kit's voice, lay it out in your Mark and make the story, Google and window sizes for you. ## FAQ ### When should I post my holiday hours? About a week before the first changed day, with a reminder story the day before. Pin the post or save it to a highlight so it stays easy to find. ### What should a holiday hours post say? Every day that differs from normal, with its weekday, date and times or the word Closed, plus the date normal hours return. ### What size is a holiday hours post for Instagram? 1080×1350 for the feed and 1080×1920 for a story. A Google Business Profile post is 1200×900. ### How do I show holiday hours on Google? Add special hours for each changed date in your Google Business Profile. A Google post helps, but the listed hours are what Search and Maps show. ### How should I write dates on a closure notice? Use the weekday and the month in words, such as Thu 24 Dec, so nobody confuses day and month.