Christmas closure message for your business phone: scripts, dates and whether to divert

A good Christmas closure message for a business phone is short and exact. It gives the business name, the dates you are closed, the day you are back, and one thing for the caller to do. Aim for under 25 seconds. Record it in early December, then ring your own number from another phone to check it plays.

Your voicemail is the last thing many customers hear from you before the break. It’s also the first thing they hear when they ring in the week you reopen, looking for a quote or a booking. Get it right and December enquiries wait for you. Get it wrong and they ring the next business on the list.

What are the actual dates to put in the message?

Use the calendar, not “over the Christmas period”. People plan around real days.

For 2026–27:

Date	Day	What to know
25 Dec 2026	Friday	Christmas Day, a public holiday everywhere
26 Dec 2026	Saturday	Boxing Day, falls on a weekend
28 Dec 2026	Monday	The substitute holiday in most states, with state differences
1 Jan 2027	Friday	New Year’s Day, a public holiday everywhere

Because Boxing Day lands on a Saturday, the substitute Monday is where states differ. Some add part-day holidays on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve as well. Check your own state on the Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2026 public holidays and 2027 public holidays pages before you record.

A public holiday isn’t an order to close. It’s about your staff’s entitlements. Whether you trade is your call, but whichever you choose, say it plainly on the message.

For comparison, our own line follows Victorian holidays: closed 25 December, 28 December and 1 January, otherwise staffed Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Melbourne time. If you’re ringing from Perth or Darwin, the call times by state and the best time to call planner do the time-zone maths for you.

What should the message say, word for word?

Pick the version that matches how you’ll actually run the break. These are starting points. Change the names, dates and numbers.

You’re fully closed, and everything waits:

“G’day, you’ve reached [Business name]. We’re closed from the end of the day on [Thursday 24 December] and back on [Monday 4 January]. Leave your name, number and a few words about the job, and we’ll ring you back on our first morning. Merry Christmas, and thanks for your business.”

Illustrative example only.

You’re closed but there’s an urgent contact:

“You’ve reached [Business name]. We’re closed until [Monday 4 January]. If it’s a genuine emergency, like [a burst pipe / a broken-down refrigeration unit], ring [number], slowly: [number]. Otherwise leave a message and we’ll call you back on the fourth.”

Illustrative example only.

You’re trading on reduced days:

“Thanks for calling [Business name]. Over the break we’re open [Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December, 9 till 2]. We’re closed [Friday 25, Monday 28 December and Friday 1 January]. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we’re open.”

Illustrative example only.

Four edits that lift any of them

1. One action only. “Leave a message” or “text this number”, not both.
2. Promise a day, not a time. “We’ll ring you on the fourth” is easier to keep than “within the hour”.
3. Say the number twice only if it’s urgent. Otherwise people can see it on their phone.
4. Skip the long jingle. Most callers drop out after the first ten seconds.

Should I divert my calls or leave voicemail?

Diverting sends calls to another number, usually your mobile or an answering service. Voicemail takes a recorded message. The test is simple: will a human really answer?

Option	Best for	Watch out for
Voicemail only	Full closures, offices, retail	Callers need a firm call-back date
Divert to your mobile	Emergency trades, one-person businesses	You’re now on call, and you’ll answer at the beach
Divert to an answering service	Busy inbound lines, clinics, trades	Brief them on prices, hours and what counts as urgent
Divert only when unanswered	Part-closed weeks	Set the ring time so it doesn’t ring out for ages

Most carriers let you divert only unanswered calls. On Telstra mobiles, the call-forwarding steps include sending unanswered calls to MessageBank, with a choice of ring time. Other carriers do something similar. Whichever you use, set it up in the first week of December, not the afternoon you close.

If you’re weighing up whether to pay for cover long term, our guide on a receptionist or answering service works through the cash-flow side.

What can go wrong when you test it?

Test every path. Ring from a different phone and check these.

• The message is the old one. Last year’s “back on 6 January” still plays.
• The voicemail box is full. Nothing records, and callers hear a dead end.
• The divert loops. The diverted-to mobile is off, or it forwards back to the business line.
• The mailbox is private. Nobody has the PIN and it won’t be checked.
• Business hours say open. The website, Google profile and message all give the same dates.

Match the message to your website and Google Business Profile so that someone who checks all three gets one story.

Is there a scam angle to a closure message?

A little. A recording that names the person who “handles payments” or announces an owner’s mobile gives a stranger free detail. Keep it generic. Scammers like quiet periods, and Scamwatch’s news and alerts regularly warn about impersonation ahead of the holiday trading rush.

Agree one internal rule before the break: any change to a supplier’s or customer’s bank details gets confirmed by ringing a number you already hold, never one from the email asking for the change.

How do the phones tie into your cash flow?

This is the bit that most closure guides miss. The phone is where the cash gets collected and booked.

Before the break:

• Ring late payers in the first two weeks of December. Chasing an unpaid invoice by phone covers the script. Agree a payment date and confirm it in writing.
• Ask customers with big January jobs for the deposit before you close.
• Tell regular clients your reopening date so they book ahead.

In the first week back:

• Ring everyone who left a message, in the order they left it.
• Work a short call list of quotes you sent in December.
• Ring clients who went quiet. The quiet-month call list shows how to do it without sounding desperate.

Write that call list before you shut up shop. In January you’ll be tired.

A worked example (not a real business): a small electrical contractor sends 12 quotes in December. Six get a “we’ll let you know”. Over the break, three ring and hear a clear message promising a call on the first Monday back. On that Monday the contractor rings those three first, then the six. Even a couple of wins pay for the fifteen minutes of recording.

If the break leaves a hole in January, because wages, rent and supplier accounts continue while customers come back slowly, a quick conversation about finance before you close is much easier than one in the middle of it. Ring and talk it through when the list is done.

Who should record it, and when?

Record it yourself, or have the person customers already know do it. A warm, ordinary voice beats a stiff one, and it takes a couple of takes. Do it at a quiet time, away from the workshop radio, and speak a little slower than feels natural. Phone speakers flatten everything.

Put a date in the diary now: the first week of December to record and test, and the last working day to switch it on. If several people share the business line, name one person responsible for switching the message on before they leave and off again on the first morning back. Otherwise customers hear “we’re closed” for a week into January.

Ready to put your January cash on a firmer footing?

Setting up a phone message is one of those jobs that feels small and protects a lot of work. If the same check made you wonder how January will be funded, we can talk it through with you. Tell us what you’ve got coming in and going out, and a specialist can tell you what may be possible.

Here’s how it works. Enquiring takes about a minute, and your credit file isn’t touched just for asking. We don’t pass your details around a pile of lenders, so your phone stays quiet. A real person looks at your situation and rings you. To help us match you with the right option first time, please fill the form in accurately.

See if you qualify →