Holiday Voicemail Greeting for Business: Examples

A holiday voicemail greeting for business needs three facts: that you are closed, the exact day you reopen, and what callers can do until then, from leaving a message to calling an on-call number. A seasonal wish is optional and should never push the greeting past 30 seconds. Below are 12 ready-to-record examples for a Christmas-to-New-Year closure, single public holidays, reduced holiday hours and an inclusive "holiday season" version, plus advice on saying dates so that callers in other countries don't misread them. Loomira is an AI phone assistant for small and mid-sized businesses that is hosted in the EU and keeps answering calls while your office is closed for the holidays. If you prefer a recorded greeting, every text below can be adjusted in our free voicemail greeting generator.

What should a holiday voicemail greeting include?

A holiday voicemail greeting is a temporary business greeting for the days when the business is closed, or on reduced hours, because of public holidays such as Christmas and New Year. It states the closure, the reopening day and any urgent-contact option, and it may end with a short seasonal wish.

Check every draft against this list:

• Business name first, so callers know they have the right number.
• The reopening day with weekday and month: "we're back on Monday 4 January". That one sentence matters more than the closure dates.
• An urgent option, or a clear statement that there is none. Callers with a real problem need to know whether to wait or look elsewhere.
• What to leave: name, number and a short message.

Switch the greeting on when you close on your last working day, then call your own number to check it. On the morning you reopen, switch back before the first call; a Christmas greeting heard in mid-January suggests nobody is minding the phone. Update your website and online listings too, so callers see the same dates everywhere. For a summer closure or personal leave, our out-of-office voicemail examples fit better.

Which examples work for a Christmas-to-New-Year closure?

This is the most common case: the office closes for the days between Christmas and New Year. Give the reopening day, keep the wish short, and add an on-call number only if someone will actually answer it.

If you run a medical practice, care service or another business where a caller could be in danger, the holiday greeting must also say where to get help while you are closed and name the emergency number for life-threatening situations: 112 throughout the EU, 999 in the UK or 911 in the US. Your professional body can tell you what else the greeting must contain.

Which examples work for a single public holiday?

For a one-off closure, name the date rather than saying "today", because many people switch the greeting on the evening before. Naming the holiday helps callers from other regions understand why you are closed.

Which examples work for reduced holiday hours?

If you stay open with fewer hours, the greeting has a different job: it must tell callers when they can reach someone, not just when you are back to normal. For shops and wholesalers, the order cut-off is often the most important line.

How do I word an inclusive "season's greetings" message?

Think about who calls you. "Merry Christmas" is natural for many businesses, but if your callers come from different backgrounds or countries, a neutral wish fits everyone: a restful break, the holiday season, the year ahead. "Happy holidays" is common in the US; "season's greetings" or "best wishes for the new year" work well elsewhere. Skipping the wish altogether is also fine and keeps the greeting shorter.

How do I say dates so international callers don't misread them?

Say the weekday, the day and the month: "Monday 4 January" or "Monday, January 4th" are both unambiguous. Avoid "the 4th" on its own, "after the holidays", "early in the new year" and "closed until", which leaves callers unsure whether that day is included. In writing, on your website or in an email auto-reply, use the month name: 04/01 means 4 January to most European readers and April 1 to most American ones.

If many callers speak another language, a bilingual greeting is worth the extra seconds. Give the same essentials in both halves and say the date the way each language does.

Public holidays differ by country and region: what should you check?

Before you record, check which days apply where your business and your callers are. The UK's official bank holiday list is published separately for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: Scotland has a bank holiday on 2 January that England and Wales don't, and when a bank holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute weekday, normally the following Monday, takes its place. In the US, the federal holidays listed by the Office of Personnel Management are set by law for federal employees, so check which days your own business, customers and suppliers actually observe. Across Europe, each country has its own calendar, and some add regional holidays.

Three practical checks: name the holiday if callers elsewhere may not know it, confirm your reopening day after any substitute day, and make sure everyone on the team knows the dates before the greeting goes live.

When an AI answers instead of voicemail

During a long closure, a recording collects messages that wait days for a reply. An AI phone assistant can answer common questions, take requests in detail and flag urgent ones while the team is off:

In the EU, the disclosure in the second sentence is not optional: Art. 50 of the EU AI Act requires that people are told when they are interacting with an AI system, and the obligation has applied since 2 August 2026. Our page on AI transparency shows how Loomira makes that announcement.

With Loomira's AI answering machine, the assistant takes holiday calls, records each caller's name, number and request, and sends you a written summary, so the first morning back starts with a clear list instead of a full voicemail box. It cannot make decisions only your team can make; it makes sure every request is waiting for them.