How to Set Christmas Opening Hours on Google and Your Website

To put your Christmas opening hours on Google, open your Business Profile, go to Hours, and add special hours for each date that differs from a normal week. Your regular hours stay as they are. Then put the same dates and times on your website, in one place customers can find. Do it in November, while you still have time to check it.

There's a trap in this year's calendar. Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and that Monday is the date a quick setup misses. The table further down lists every date worth checking.

How do you add Christmas hours to your Google Business Profile?

Through the special hours setting, one date at a time. Google's help page on how to set special hours gives the steps:

1. Open your Business Profile and choose Edit profile, then Hours.
2. Find Special hours in the opening hours section and select Edit.
3. Pick the date. You can confirm a date Google suggests, add your own, or change one you set earlier.
4. Set the hours, or tick Closed if you are shut all day.
5. Save, then move on to the next date.

Two details from the same page catch people out. Special hours only show if the profile is set to open with main hours, so a profile with no regular hours has nothing for them to change. And one set of special hours can't run past 24 hours. If you open late on New Year's Eve and close after midnight, Google says to split it in two: one set ending at midnight, and the next starting at midnight on 1 January.

Which dates need special hours this Christmas?

Every date where your hours differ from an ordinary week, plus the bank holidays even if you open as normal. The bank holidays below come from the UK bank holidays list on gov.uk. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve aren't bank holidays, but so many businesses close early on them that they belong on the list.

Northern Ireland and Scotland have bank holidays of their own at other times of year, but over this stretch the only difference is Scotland's extra Monday. If you're closed on a date Google doesn't suggest, add it as a custom date.

Should you use special hours or mark the business temporarily closed?

It depends how long you're shut. Google's help says special hours cover being closed for up to six days in a row. For seven days or more, it recommends marking the business as temporarily closed instead.

This is where Christmas catches people out. Shutting from Christmas Day until Monday 4 January is ten days in a row, which is past Google's line. A shorter break, say Christmas Day to the bank holiday Monday, stays within special hours.

If you do mark the business temporarily closed, put a reminder in your phone for the day before you reopen. A profile still saying closed in the second week of January turns away exactly the customers you wanted back. The guide on why Google sometimes changes your hours covers what to do if the status or the hours change without you.

How do you show Christmas opening hours on your website?

Put one short notice where your normal hours already sit, usually the contact page and the footer, with every date that differs and the date you're back to normal. Use the same dates and times as your Google profile, word for word if you can. A customer who finds one answer on Google and another on your site will trust neither.

Something like this, with your own times in, does the job:

Those times are only an example. List the dates in order, say when normal hours return, and leave out anything that only applies to a normal week.

Then check the other places your hours live. A booking tool that still takes appointments on the 28th, or a Facebook Page showing your normal week, undoes the work. Change each one the same day you change Google.

What should you do in January?

Take the notice down. Google's special hours apply only to the dates you set, so they lapse on their own, but the notice on your website stays until somebody removes it. A Christmas banner still up in February tells a visitor nobody is looking after the site.

While you're there, have a look at your regular hours on the profile and the site and make sure they still match. January is a sensible time to fix whatever drifted over the year.

Where to go from here

If your profile itself needs sorting first, the guides to fixing your website and getting found start with Google and go from there. If December is your busiest month and you're planning a push, the guide to Small Business Saturday covers the first Saturday of the month.

All of this is easier when your website keeps its hours in one place and you can change them yourself. If yours doesn't, we build the whole site for free, you look round it, and you only pay if you want to keep it: setup from £495, then from £69 a month. Start the form and we'll send you a preview.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to set special hours if I am open as normal over Christmas?

It's worth doing. Google's own help suggests confirming your hours for official holidays even when they are the same as usual, because it tells customers the hours shown are accurate. It's a quick job per date, and it saves a customer guessing.

Will special hours replace my normal hours for good?

No. Google's help describes special hours as the way to change your hours for a short period so that your regular hours stay the same. They apply only to the dates you pick. The one catch is an overnight set: Google says the special hours win over your normal hours for the second day, so add back any hours you still want that day.

My special hours aren't showing. Why?

Check the main setting first. Google's help says the profile needs to be set to open with main hours for special hours to appear. If that is already right, open the special hours again and check the date and the Closed box were saved as you meant.