Christmas and New Year opening hours for takeaways: a 2026 checklist

The weeks around Christmas are some of the hardest to run in a takeaway. Some nights are slower than a wet Tuesday and others are busier than a Friday. Customers check Google for your hours, find out-of-date ones, and either turn up to a shut door or don't order at all.

This checklist covers the 2026–27 holiday dates, where your hours need updating (there are more places than you might think), how to use pre-orders without overloading the kitchen, and the legal points worth a quick check.

The dates: Christmas 2026 and New Year 2027

From GOV.UK's official bank holiday list:

Two things stand out this year. Christmas Day and New Year's Day both fall on a Friday, normally the busiest night of the week. And Boxing Day is on Saturday, with the bank holiday on Monday 28 December, so many customers have a long weekend off and are ordering at unusual times.

Step 1: Decide your hours, and write them down once

Before you touch any screen, make one table: every date from 21 December to 4 January, with open or closed, collection hours, and delivery hours. Collection and delivery often differ. You might take collection until 10pm but stop delivering at 9pm when drivers are scarce.

Things to factor in:

• Supplier deliveries. When is your last delivery before Christmas, and the first after? Your menu on 27 December may be shorter than usual.
• Staff availability. Agree it now, not on 23 December.
• Driver cover. If you deliver yourself, how many drivers do you have each night?
• Late opening. In England and Wales, supplying hot food or drink to the public between 11pm and 5am is "late night refreshment" under the Licensing Act 2003 and needs a premises licence that covers those hours. If you plan to open past 11pm on New Year's Eve, check your licence. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own licensing rules, so check with your council.

Step 2: Update your hours everywhere customers look

This is where most shops slip. Update every one of these, then check each from a customer's point of view on your phone:

Google Business Profile (special hours). In your profile, go to Edit profile → Hours → Special hours → Edit, add each date, and set the hours or mark it closed. Google suggests confirming hours for official holidays even if they're unchanged, so customers can see the hours have been checked. Special hours are for short changes of up to six days in a row. You can add more than one set of hours for a date, for example lunch and evening.

Your own ordering page. In Chefzi, mark a holiday date closed, or set one opening window for that date. That covers collection and delivery, so customers cannot order for a time you are shut. Weekly collection and delivery hours can still differ.

Each delivery app. Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo all have their own partner tools. Set holiday hours in each separately, because they don't update from Google or from your own site.

Your website (if it shows hours separately from the ordering page), your Facebook and Instagram profiles, and a sign in the window for anyone who walks past.

Your phone message. If you take phone orders, record a holiday message with the dates.

Step 3: Use pre-orders to flatten the peaks

Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are prime pre-order nights. People plan these evenings and are happy to order early if they can choose a time.

How to set them up well:

1. Open pre-orders a few days ahead and say so on Google posts, social media and in the window.
2. Set a lead time so a 7pm order can't be placed at 6:55pm on your busiest night.
3. Watch the order list. Chefzi does not cap how many orders share a time. Pause ordering when the kitchen is full.
4. Simplify the menu for peak nights. Fewer, faster dishes keep tickets moving. Mark slow dishes sold out for those nights. Sold out does not delete the dish. There is no switch to hide a whole category.
5. Print the orders for each requested time so the pass can plan batches.

On Chefzi, customers can request a collection or delivery time. You set a lead time for collection and one for delivery, and how many days ahead an order can be booked. The closing time for that service is the cut-off, unless you allow orders outside hours. There is no separate cut-off and no cap on orders per time. The kitchen app rings until someone accepts the order with a prep time. When it's too busy, reject with a reason rather than accepting an order you can't deliver on time.

Step 4: Shrink delivery to what you can actually cover

Holiday traffic, fewer drivers and cold weather all slow deliveries. For the busiest nights:

• Tighten delivery. There is no switch to pause one zone. Take the furthest zone off the list you save, or raise its minimum. You can turn delivery off for the night and leave collection on.
• Lengthen delivery times shown at checkout so customers aren't let down.
• Prefer collection. Collection orders don't need a driver, so promote them on peak nights.

If you're on Just Eat, remember its UK terms include a price promise covering delivery charges and minimum orders (clause 7.18). If you change fees or minimums on your own page, keep them in line with Just Eat. Read delivery fees and minimum orders for more detail.

Step 5: Seasonal specials need allergen information too

A Christmas special is still food sold at a distance. The Food Standards Agency says that when food is sold online or by phone, allergen information must be provided before the purchase is completed (in writing on the website or menu, or verbally by phone) and when the food is delivered (for example allergen stickers or an enclosed menu). Before any new dish goes on the menu:

• Check every ingredient against the 14 allergens, especially any new sauce, stuffing or dessert.
• Update the dish description and your allergen information.
• Brief the staff who answer the phone.

Step 6: The quiet days

Not every day is busy. 27 to 30 December can be slow for some shops and busy for others, depending on the area. Two low-effort ideas:

• Post your hours on Google as an update and check that the special hours appear on your profile.
• Tell your own customers. If people ordered on your own page and agreed to hear from you, a short message with your holiday hours is useful. Use only contact details you're allowed to use under UK GDPR and PECR.

Printable checklist

• Holiday hours table agreed (21 Dec – 4 Jan)
• Licence covers any opening after 11pm (England & Wales)
• Google special hours set for every date, including unchanged ones
• Ordering page holiday closure, or one opening window, set for each date
• Just Eat / Uber Eats / Deliveroo hours set separately
• Website, social profiles, window sign and phone message updated
• Pre-orders open with lead time set for peak nights
• Peak-night menu trimmed; slow dishes marked sold out
• Furthest zone removed from the saved list, or its minimum raised; delivery can be turned off while collection stays open
• Allergen info done for every seasonal dish
• Supplier and staff rotas confirmed
• Hours checked from a customer's phone on Google, your page and each app

Questions

Sources

Accessed 19 October 2026.

• Bank holiday dates 2026–27, including substitute days
• Google Business Profile special hours steps; up to six days in a row; confirm holiday hours even if unchanged
• Late night refreshment: hot food or drink, 11pm–5am, England & Wales
• Distance-selling allergen information at two stages; the 14 allergens
• Just Eat price promise (clause 7.18)

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