P PrintCalendars
Late December – Early January

Winter Break Planning Calendars

The big one: two to three weeks of closure that always covers Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Pick a school year

2020-2021 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 21 – Jan 8, 2021
K–5 6–8 9–12
2021-2022 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 20 – Jan 7, 2022
K–5 6–8 9–12
2022-2023 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 19 – Jan 6, 2023
K–5 6–8 9–12
2023-2024 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 18 – Jan 5, 2024
K–5 6–8 9–12
2024-2025 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 23 – Jan 3, 2025
K–5 6–8 9–12
2025-2026 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 22 – Jan 2, 2026
K–5 6–8 9–12
2026-2027 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 21 – Jan 8, 2027
K–5 6–8 9–12
2027-2028 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 20 – Jan 7, 2028
K–5 6–8 9–12
2028-2029 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 18 – Jan 5, 2029
K–5 6–8 9–12
2029-2030 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 17 – Jan 4, 2030
K–5 6–8 9–12
2030-2031 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 23 – Jan 3, 2031
K–5 6–8 9–12
2031-2032 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 22 – Jan 2, 2032
K–5 6–8 9–12
2032-2033 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 20 – Jan 7, 2033
K–5 6–8 9–12
2033-2034 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 19 – Jan 6, 2034
K–5 6–8 9–12
2034-2035 Academic Year
School year
Window: Dec 18 – Jan 5, 2035
K–5 6–8 9–12

About Winter Break

Winter break consistently begins on the Friday or Monday before Christmas Eve and runs through the first weekday after New Year's Day. The exact length is usually two full calendar weeks, occasionally extended to two-and-a-half or three weeks at universities. The midpoint of the break always sits in the federal holiday corridor that includes Christmas Day (Dec 25) and New Year's Day (Jan 1).

Every K–12 district and university in the United States closes for winter break in some form. The variation is in length and start date, not in whether the break exists. Print the December and January monthly calendars together to plan winter break: the school-closure stretch will span the back half of December and the first weekdays of January, with both federal holidays clearly amber-shaded.

Federal holidays typically inside the Winter Break window

  • Christmas Day — federal holiday observed during this break window in most years.
  • New Year's Day — federal holiday observed during this break window in most years.

Printing tips for letter-size paper

To plan a specific school year's Winter Break, open the year-specific page above and print the relevant monthly grid in portrait orientation on US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) paper at 100% scale. The federal holidays in the window are pre-shaded; mark your district's actual closure days by hand for a personal planning sheet.