What's open and closed on Christmas Eve?
December 24 isn't a holiday for most of this list — it's a short day, and a lopsided one. Deliveries run everywhere: UPS delivers every service, FedEx delivers on a modified schedule, and the mail is delivered on one of the heaviest days of its year. Sending is the half that stops. UPS takes no Ground pickup at all and collects Air only where it was arranged in advance, FedEx modifies Ground pickups and empties drop boxes early in some areas, and post office lobbies often close earlier than their posted hours.
The markets keep a half day: stocks open at 9:30am ET and close at 1pm ET, with the bond market running an hour longer, to 2pm ET. Banks are open, though plenty of branches trim the afternoon. Federal offices are the changeable one — December 24 isn't one of the eleven federal holidays, so the default is a normal workday, but offices close when Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, and presidents have several times granted the day by executive order. Schools are on winter break, and a minority of state DMVs close; your state's page here has its list.
| Year | Falls on | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday, December 24, 2026 | Same day |
| 2027 | Friday, December 24, 2027 | Same day |
| Who | Status |
|---|---|
| UPS | Delivering, not collecting — every service delivers on December 24, but there's no Ground pickup and Air pickup runs only where it was arranged with UPS in advance. |
| FedEx | Delivering on a modified schedule — deliveries run and it's a heavy day, while Ground pickups are modified and drop boxes are collected early in some areas. |
| Mail & the Post Office | Open — carriers run full routes on one of the busiest delivery days of the year, though many post office lobbies close early and last collection times move up. |
| Banks | Open — Christmas Eve isn't a Federal Reserve holiday, so deposits post and wires move; some branches close early, so call before an end-of-day errand. |
| The Stock Market | Open until 1pm ET — a shortened session when December 24 is a trading day, and a full closure in the years when Christmas falls on a Saturday and the exchanges take that Friday. |
| The Bond Market | Open until 2pm ET — an early close on SIFMA's recommendation, an hour after stocks stop, and a full closure in the years when Christmas falls on a Saturday. |
| Federal Offices | Usually open — Christmas Eve isn't one of the eleven federal holidays, though offices close when Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, and a president can grant the day for a particular year by executive order. |
| Schools | Closed — December 24 sits inside winter break in nearly every district; the date to check is the last school day before the break, which is often an early dismissal. |
Questions people ask
Can I ship a package on Christmas Eve?
It's the hard direction. UPS takes no Ground pickup that day and collects Air only where it was arranged in advance, FedEx runs modified Ground pickups with early drop-box collection in some areas, and post office windows often close early. Deliveries, going the other way, run for every service.
What time does the stock market close on Christmas Eve?
1pm ET when December 24 is a trading day, with the bond market closing at 2pm ET. In years when Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the exchanges close that Friday — December 24 — outright, so there's no half session at all.
Does trash pickup change on Christmas Eve?
Collection changes generally start with the holiday itself rather than the day before, so December 24 is usually a normal route and the slide begins with Christmas Day. Some haulers do take Christmas Eve, and only your city or hauler's December notice settles it.