Holiday voicemail greetings for your business
A holiday voicemail greeting tells callers three things: that you're closed, when you'll be back, and what to do if it can't wait. Say the reopening day and date instead of 'after the holiday', and keep it under twenty seconds. The greetings below cover the main US holidays, reduced hours, a closure that spans a week, and lines with an emergency option.
Works for any holiday
You've reached Oak Hill Veterinary Supply. We're closed today for the holiday and back on Tuesday, the second, at eight.
Leave your name, number and what you need, and we'll call you back that morning.
Day and date together remove any doubt. 'Back Tuesday' alone leaves callers wondering which Tuesday.
Happy holidays from everyone at Lantern Bookkeeping. The office is closed until Monday, January fifth.
Leave a message and we'll get back to you when we return.
'Happy holidays' covers every tradition in one phrase. Put the warmth first and the facts straight after it.
Thanks for calling Granite State Plumbing. Our office is closed for the holiday.
If you have a burst pipe or no water, call our on-call plumber at 555-0119. For anything else, leave a message and we'll call you back on Friday.
The urgent number goes before the message prompt. Someone standing in water stops listening once they hear a number, so give them the right one.
By holiday
Happy Thanksgiving from Brookside Dental. We're closed Thursday and Friday and back on Monday, December first.
If you have a dental emergency, press 1 for the on-call dentist. Otherwise, leave a message and we'll call you Monday morning.
Thanksgiving closures often run two days. Say both so nobody tries you on Friday.
Thank you for calling Hartwell Law. Our office is closed from December twenty-fourth through January first, and we reopen on Friday, January second, at nine.
If you're a current client with an urgent court matter, press 1 to reach the attorney on call. Everyone else, please leave a message.
A long closure needs both ends of the range. Callers should be able to work out whether you'll be in on the day they need you.
Happy Fourth from Coastal Pool Service. We're off for the holiday and back on the road on Monday, July seventh.
Leave your name, address and the problem with your pool, and we'll schedule you first thing.
Asking for the address turns the message into a job ticket. Your first callback can offer a time instead of asking questions.
You've reached Ridgeline Auto Repair. We're closed Monday for Labor Day and open again Tuesday at seven-thirty.
If you'd like to book a repair, leave your name, number and the make of your car, and we'll call you when we open.
One-day closures need the least explaining. Name the holiday and the reopening time, then get out of the caller's way.
Happy New Year from Sunrise Pediatrics. The office is closed today and reopens tomorrow, January second, at eight.
If your child needs urgent care, hang up and call 911, or press 1 for the on-call nurse.
Put 911 first on any medical line, even on a holiday greeting that's only playing for a day.
Reduced hours and longer closures
Thanks for calling Maple Street Bakery. We're open special holiday hours this week: nine to two on Wednesday and closed Thursday.
To pick up a pie order, leave your name and order number, and we'll confirm your time.
Reduced hours are more confusing than a full closure. Spell out each changed day.
You've reached Clearwater Design Studio. We're closed for the winter break from December twenty-second and back on Monday, January fifth.
We'll return every message that week. For an urgent project question, email the address on your latest invoice.
Point urgent callers to a channel you really will check, and nowhere else.
Thanks for calling Northwind Heating. We're open through the holidays, and we're busier than usual.
Leave your name, number and what's going on, and we'll call you back within two hours.
A seasonal greeting doesn't have to announce a closure. Setting a realistic callback time in peak season is its own kind of holiday message.
When an AI assistant answers over the holiday
Happy holidays from Brookside Dental. You're speaking with our AI assistant. The office is closed until Monday, January fifth.
I can book your next visit now, take a message for the team, or put you through to the on-call dentist for an emergency.
The caller who would have left a voicemail leaves with a booked appointment instead, and the emergency path still exists.
Thanks for calling Granite State Plumbing. This is the AI assistant, and the office is closed for Thanksgiving.
Tell me what's going on, and if it's urgent I'll get the on-call plumber for you. If it can wait, I'll book you a visit for Friday.
Urgent goes to a person, everything else gets a slot. No caller hangs up with only a beep for an answer.
Merry Christmas from Oak Hill Veterinary Supply. You've reached our AI assistant. We're closed today, and I can book a pickup time for Friday or pass a message to the team.
A specific holiday greeting is fine when you know your callers. 'Merry Christmas' suits a local store; 'happy holidays' suits a wider audience.
What every good holiday greeting includes
Each one gives the reopening day and date. 'After the holidays' means different things to different callers. 'Monday, January fifth, at nine' means one thing, and callers who hear it don't try you on the fourth.
Each one names the route for an urgent call before the message prompt. Holidays are when pipes freeze, pets eat things and court deadlines fall on awkward days. Your urgent caller hears the number first, and everyone else carries on to the beep.
Each one asks for the detail that makes the callback quick: an order number, an address, the make of the car. You come back from the break to a list of jobs, not a list of 'please call me' messages.
None of them runs past twenty seconds. Holiday callers are often on a mobile, in a hurry, sometimes in a car. Keep the cheer to one short phrase.
Adapting a holiday greeting to your business
Write the dates in words, the way you'd say them: 'Monday, January fifth', not '1/5'. Recorded numbers in date format are easy to mishear.
Record the greeting a week early and set a reminder to switch it on and off. The most common holiday voicemail mistake is a Thanksgiving message still playing in the second week of December.
Match the warmth to your callers. A law firm or medical office can keep it to 'our office is closed for the holiday'. A bakery or a salon can open with 'happy holidays' and still sound professional.
If you post holiday hours online, say the same hours in the greeting. A website and a voicemail that disagree send callers to whichever one they trust less.
The AI notice in a holiday greeting
How GreetKeeper handles your holiday closures
GreetKeeper has a closure dates setting. Add Thanksgiving, the winter break or July 4th, and GreetKeeper answers as closed on those days with the holiday greeting you wrote. There's nothing to re-record, and nothing to remember to switch back on the first morning after.
On a closed day GreetKeeper still does the work a voicemail can't. It captures the caller's name, number and reason, books the next visit into your calendar, and transfers urgent calls to whoever is on call. The on-call person is texted the caller's details, and the caller gets one text afterwards with the booking confirmation or your booking link.
Each number under your account has its own hours and greeting, so a second location with different holiday hours gets its own. Calls that arrive together are answered at the same time, which matters on the busy days either side of a holiday.
When you're back, every call from the break is waiting as a transcript and a short summary. Robocalls are dropped before the greeting and don't count toward your plan. Plans start at $49 a month for 200 answered calls, with a 14-day free trial, every feature on and no card.
Questions people ask about these greetings
What should a holiday voicemail greeting say?
That you're closed, the day and date you reopen, and what to do if it's urgent. For example: 'We're closed for Thanksgiving and back Monday, December first, at eight. For an emergency, call 555-0119.' Keep it under twenty seconds.
When should I change my voicemail for the holidays?
Switch it on at close of business the day before the closure, and back to your normal greeting before you open. Record it a week early and set two calendar reminders, one for each change.
Should a business say 'happy holidays' or 'merry Christmas' on voicemail?
'Happy holidays' fits every caller and most businesses. A local shop that knows its customers can use 'merry Christmas'. Either way, keep the greeting to one phrase and move on to the reopening date.
How do I handle emergency calls over a holiday closure?
Give the emergency number or the 'press 1' option before the message prompt. Say what counts as urgent in a few words, like 'a burst pipe or no water', so callers know whether to use it.
Hear it answer on a closed day
Your holiday greeting, your reopening date, a caller who wants to book. Two minutes.