Holiday out of office message templates
A holiday out of office is less about you and more about the calendar: the whole office, or the whole country, is off, and some senders won't know it. The message should name the holiday, the dates, and when normal replies resume. This template works for Thanksgiving, Easter, Golden Week, Diwali, a bank holiday weekend, or any public holiday your clients abroad might not share.
;ooo-hol;ooo-hol in any app.Variations
The same message for a different channel or tone. Copy the one that fits.
When you're off for a holiday that colleagues elsewhere aren't taking.
For a single extra day off, where a full message feels heavy.
When to use it
- Public holidays that your clients or colleagues in other countries may not observe.
- Office-wide closures, set on a shared inbox as well as personal ones.
- Long weekends where people might otherwise expect a Monday reply.
What to avoid
- Don't assume everyone knows the holiday. "Closed for Golden Week" means nothing to some readers without dates.
- Don't add holiday greetings for one religion on a message that goes to every client. Keep it to the facts, or use the Christmas template for a seasonal closure.
- Don't forget shared inboxes such as sales@ or support@; they need the closure message too.
The fields in this template
Retext fills these in when the snippet expands. In plain text they become [brackets] to replace by hand.
- Holiday name
{fill:Holiday name} - The holiday as your readers would recognise it, e.g. "Thanksgiving" or "the Easter bank holiday".
- Closing date
{fill:Closing date} - The first day the office is closed.
- Reopening date
{fill:Reopening date} - The first day you're back, with the weekday.
- Emergency contact
{fill:Emergency contact} - A name, email or phone line that's actually monitored during the closure.
Tips
- •Make one per holiday you take every year, with the name already filled in, and keep the dates as fill-ins.
- •If your support team has an emergency line, put it here rather than a person's email: it keeps working even if that person is also off.
- •Pair it with the backorder or shipping-delay templates if your customers order around the holiday.
Works in Gmail, Outlook and every other app
Retext types the snippet wherever your cursor is. To use a different version in one app, give it the same trigger and limit it to that app with per-app snippets. They go by app, not website, so every tab in your browser counts as one app.
Questions
Do I need an out of office for a one-day public holiday?
If you work with people in other countries or time zones, yes. A two-line reply stops them wondering why a quick question went unanswered.
What should a holiday closure message include?
The holiday, the closing and reopening dates, and an emergency contact if you have one. Say whether messages will be answered in order when you're back.
Can I reuse the same message every year?
Yes. Save it with Retext and keep the dates as fill-ins, so each year you only answer the date prompts when you set the reply.
Related templates
Christmas out of office
;ooo-xmasEmail & out of office
Hi, Thanks for your message. Our office is closed from [Closing date] and reopens on [Reopening date]. If something urge…
Out of office message
;ooo-stdEmail & out of office
Hi, Thanks for your email. I'm out of the office until [Return date] and won't be checking email regularly. If it's urge…
Holiday support hours
;cs-hours-holidayCustomer support
Hi [Customer name], A quick note: our support team is on reduced hours from [Start date] to [End date] for [Holiday]. Du…
Type ;ooo-hol, get the whole reply
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