Christmas and New Year 2026-27: 10 Days Off for 3 Leave Days

1. The calendar, day by day

The window starts on Friday 25 December, Christmas Day and a bank holiday in England and Wales. Saturday 26 December is Boxing Day. As it falls on a weekend, the substitute bank holiday is Monday 28 December. Sunday 27 December, Saturday 2 January and Sunday 3 January are weekend days. In between are three working days: Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 December. New Year’s Day 2027 falls on a Friday, and it is a bank holiday.

The table below counts the leave to take. It assumes a Monday-to-Friday working week and the England and Wales bank holidays.

Source: GOV.UK, bank holidays (England and Wales), consulted 18 October 2026. Result: ten days in a row for three days of leave.

This article stays on the end of the year: it does not cover the rest of the 2027 calendar.

2. Why three days, and not two

This is the question most readers ask, and the answer lies in the position of 31 December. With two days of leave (Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30), the break runs from 25 to 30 December, six days. But Thursday 31 stays a working day. New Year’s Day and the weekend then form a second block of three days, from 1 to 3 January. Two blocks mean two gaps, so two departures and two returns to organise. Taking Thursday 31 joins the two blocks: it is the only way to get ten days in one piece.

The table compares the options. The last row is the one this article is about.

Source: calculation from the England and Wales bank holidays on GOV.UK, consulted 18 October 2026.

And in other European countries

Bank holidays change once you travel abroad. In England and Wales, Monday 28 December 2026 is the substitute day for Boxing Day. In Italy, Santo Stefano falls on Saturday 26 December, a national public holiday. The table compares four cases.

Sources: GOV.UK, bank holidays (England and Wales, consulted 18 October 2026); service-public.gouv.fr, sheet F2405 (France, consulted 18 October 2026); Studenti.it (Italy, secondary source, search extract not re-read).

3. Taking leave: what your employer decides

Three days of leave need your employer’s agreement. Check your contract or your holiday policy for the notice period and the approval process before you plan anything.

Three checks come first:

• Company closure. Some employers close over the holiday period. In that case the three days are not needed: the period is already covered.
• Other time balances. Time owed to you, such as time off in lieu, may be usable here, but the conditions depend on your contract and your employer’s policy.
• Notice period. An early request gives your employer time to spread departures across the team.

If the answer is yes, the window is usable. If it is no, the same calendar still helps: the bank holidays and weekends from 25 December to 3 January already give a short break without taking any leave.

4. Where to go in the window

Three styles of trip: ten days in the south (Madeira, Lisbon), a city New Year’s Eve (London, Edinburgh), or a calmer cultural break (Vienna, Prague). The table further down shows the status of each date.

Madeira, the New Year’s Eve fireworks

Full-day tour Fireworks on 31 December

Madeira is preparing a fireworks display on 31 December 2026. According to DNoticias, 8 July 2026, the plan includes 59 launch sites, 57 in Funchal and 2 in Porto Santo, for a planned cost of €1,212,696 excluding VAT. The start time was not published at the date of consultation. The previous edition, on 31 December 2025, went off at midnight, with the show adjusted because of bad weather (Observador). For the full Funchal programme, see Madeira Christmas 2026: Funchal Lights and Fireworks.

Highlights

• The fireworks are watched outdoors, with no ticket to buy according to the regional press
• A full day outside Funchal, to fit in before the 31st so you don’t rush the New Year’s Eve evening
• Ten days leave time to recover on 1 January

Pixidia tip: don’t build your New Year’s Eve around a firing time that has not been published yet. Get to the seafront early, and keep 1 January for resting.

Full-day tour of Madeira’s west coast, in an open-top vehicle Prices and dates shown on Viator

See the tour on Viator

A possible Madeira itinerary

For ten days, the window splits simply. 25 December and the weekend of 26 and 27 December are for arrival and discovering Funchal. On Monday 28 or Tuesday 29, the excursion to the west of the island can take up the day, but departure dates were not checked at the date of writing. On the 31st, the day depends on the fireworks time, still to be confirmed. 1 January suits rest, and 2 and 3 January the return. This plan assumes flights and accommodation are booked as early as possible, before any rise in prices.

Edinburgh, a detailed official programme

2026-2027 tickets not published 29 Dec to 1 Jan Hogmanay

The Hogmanay programme, published on the official event website, starts on 29 December at 6:30 pm with the Torchlight Procession. On 30 December at 6 pm, the Night Afore Party features The Fratellis in Princes Street Gardens. On 31 December at 8 pm, the Street Party and the Underworld concert at Hogmanay in the Gardens take place at the same time. On 1 January, the First Footin’ is a free music trail, with no ticket needed. The 2026-2027 prices are not on the page consulted: the buy button links to the events, without prices.

Highlights

• Three evening events, 29 to 31 December, all announced on the official website
• A free music trail on 1 January, with no ticket to book
• A compact city, suited to a New Year’s Eve as a couple or with friends

Pixidia tip: don’t budget with last edition’s price. The 2026-2027 tickets are not yet listed on the official site: watch the events page.

London, the Thames fireworks and their tickets

£20 to £55 in 2025 Sale announced for 23 Oct 2026 (to be confirmed)

The official plan divides the viewing zone into several colours: blue, pink, white, red, green and orange. The orange zone remains accessible. According to the press, paid zones are sold on Ticketmaster. The Mayor of London’s press release, dated 10 October 2025, gives £20 and £35 for Londoners and £40 and £55 for other visitors, booking fees extra. These are last year’s prices. The press announces the sale for Friday 23 October 2026 at noon: this date still needs confirming on the official ticketing site before any purchase.

Highlights

• Fireworks fired over the Thames, with an orange zone still accessible according to the press release
• Prices that vary by zone and by place of residence
• An urban New Year’s Eve that takes a long time to plan

Pixidia tip: buy only on the official ticketing site, and only once the sale date is confirmed. Prices shown by guides with no date are often from a past edition.

Vienna, New Year’s Eve in the streets and the 1 January concert

Free in 2025/26, according to the press 31 Dec, 2 pm to 2 am Concert on 1 January

The 2025/26 edition of the Silvesterpfad ran on 31 December, from 2 pm to 2 am, at eight central locations: Rathausplatz, Freyung, Am Hof, Graben, Stephansplatz, Kärntner Straße, Neuer Markt and Riesenradplatz (Wien.orf.at). For 2026-2027, the edition is not confirmed at the date of consultation, and the sources on fireworks contradict each other. On 1 January, the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic is, as every year by tradition, shown on a big screen. The 2027 programme was not yet published.

Highlights

• Eight central locations for the street New Year’s Eve in 2025/26
• A New Year’s Day concert, held by tradition, to watch on 1 January
• A calmer atmosphere than London or Edinburgh

Pixidia tip: without a confirmed programme for 2026-2027, plan a fallback for 31 December. The 1 January concert can serve as an anchor for your stay.

Lisbon, a free New Year’s Eve

At Commerce Square (Terreiro do Paço), the 2025/26 edition was free entry from 9:30 pm on 31 December. The fireworks are fired from the Tagus at midnight, and the party ends around 1 am, according to Visit Lisboa. The daily DN detailed the security arrangements for that edition. The 2026/27 programme was not announced at the date of consultation.

Prague, markets until early January

The Old Town markets are announced from 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, from 10 am to 10 pm, according to a travel guide (Prague-trip.com). The city was not consulted directly. The end date varies from one guide to another: confirm it with the tourist office before treating it as settled. No official New Year’s Eve programme was published at the date of consultation.

Strasbourg, the Christmas markets

The Strasbourg Christmas markets are announced to open on Friday 27 November 2026. The closing date and the 2026 opening hours were not published at the date of consultation, and the official site could not be read. The 2025 hours do not apply to this year.

The destinations table

The table combines published dates, tickets and the status of each source. Rows marked with a previous edition or an expected confirmation must not be read as commitments.

Sources: Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, Mayor of London, Visit Lisboa, Wien.orf.at, Prague-trip.com and DNoticias. Pages read on 18 October 2026, except Visit Lisboa, Wien.orf.at and Prague-trip.com (search extracts, not re-read).

5. Trains, flights and budget

For the train, TGV INOUI runs from 13 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, according to a specialist website, a secondary source. The SNCF page could not be consulted at the date of writing. Eurostar tickets went on sale in spring 2026, so the best times may already be gone: compare several slots, including early morning and evening departures.

For flights, several market analyses describe higher air fares in 2026, linked to the price of jet fuel. No published fare for December 2026 was found at the date of consultation, so this article gives no flight price. Compare several dates and several airports, rather than trusting a fare checked in the summer.

For the budget, the window has four items: return transport, accommodation, food and activities. Flights and hotels are not priced here, for lack of a dated source for December 2026. For activities, the only price in the sources is that of London’s 2025 tickets: £20 to £55 depending on zone and place of residence, booking fees extra. That figure does not apply to 2026-2027.

6. Your profile, and the mistakes to avoid

• Families. Check your children’s school dates before you book. Madeira allows a day trip, then the 31 December fireworks, whose time is not yet published.
• Couples. Vienna and Prague mainly offer markets, and Vienna a concert on 1 January. Edinburgh suits those who want the buzz of a New Year’s Eve in the city centre.
• Small budgets. Lisbon (2025/26 edition, free entry) and Vienna, where the Silvesterpfad was announced as free in 2025/26 according to the press. Still check the 2026-2027 edition before you travel.
• First time. Edinburgh publishes a detailed official programme, with a free 1 January.

Three mistakes to avoid

• Counting Boxing Day as a day of leave. It falls on a Saturday, and its substitute is Monday 28 December: that Monday is already a day off, so you need no leave for it.
• Booking before your leave is approved. A company closure cancels the calculation, and a non-refundable ticket becomes a loss.
• Taking a 2025 price for a 2026 price. The London press release consulted dates from October 2025.

What other guides don’t tell you

Four points drawn from official sources and the press, with the date each source was consulted. These are the points where mainstream calendars are often incomplete.

• The substitute bank holiday is Monday 28 December. Boxing Day falls on a Saturday in 2026, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December in England and Wales. GOV.UK, bank holidays (consulted 18 October 2026).
• Madeira has published the number of launch sites, not the time. The regional Portuguese press announces 59 launch sites for 31 December 2026, 57 in Funchal and 2 in Porto Santo, according to a resolution published in the regional official journal. The start time is not given. DNoticias, 8 July 2026 (consulted 18 October 2026).
• In Edinburgh, 1 January is free. The First Footin’ is presented on the official site as a free music trail, with no ticket. The official programme details it, and the Street Party is only one part of it. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, official site (consulted 18 October 2026).
• The published London prices are those of 2025. The Mayor of London’s press release of 10 October 2025 gives £20 to £55 depending on zone and place of residence, booking fees extra. A price published without a date can be taken for a 2026-2027 fare. Mayor of London, press release of 10 October 2025 (consulted 18 October 2026).