Daycare holiday closures — what to plan for.

Most US daycares close about 10 to 14 days per year for holidays and staff training, and they still bill you for those days. Knowing which dates are likely to be closed, how billing usually works, and how to handle backup care for the trickier dates is the difference between a smooth calendar year and three frantic weeks.

The closures most centers honor

Roughly 90 percent of licensed US daycare centers close on the major federal holidays. The standard list:

Faith-based and parochial centers typically add observances tied to their tradition. For more on those programs, see our Christian daycare, Catholic daycare, Jewish preschool, and Islamic daycare primers.

The closures parents do not always see coming

Five closures cause most of the parent surprises every year:

• Staff development days. One to five days per year, often the week before Labor Day or in late February. Required for staff training credit-hours under most state licensing rules.
• Day after Thanksgiving. About half of centers close, half stay open with reduced staff.
• The week between Christmas and New Year. Many independent and faith-based centers close the entire week. Large chains usually stay open with reduced hours.
• Election Day (federal, even-year November). A growing minority of centers now close.
• Day after a hard storm. Many centers reopen a day later than their school-district neighbor, because staff often live further away.

The last category overlaps with the snow-day policy, which is worth reading separately.

How billing works on closure days

Three patterns are standard:

• No credit. Tuition is a flat monthly or weekly figure that bakes in expected closures. This is the most common arrangement at full-time programs.
• Pro-rated billing. A few centers bill by day attended; closures simply do not bill. Common at drop-in or part-time programs.
• Credits for extended closures. Some centers offer a credit if they close for more than five consecutive days for reasons not in the enrollment contract (most often weather or facility issues).

The closure list and billing rule should be in your enrollment contract. If it is not, request it in writing before signing. Our deposit and fees primer covers the broader contract terms.

Backup care for closed days

Most working parents need backup care for at least three of the closure dates in a typical year. The dates that are hardest to cover are the day after Thanksgiving, the week between Christmas and New Year, and a school-age summer staff-development week.

Common backup options:

• Employer-sponsored backup care. Bright Horizons Back-Up Care and Care.com Backup are the two largest networks. Costs $0 to $25 per day if your employer subsidizes; $75 to $200 if you pay full price.
• Drop-in childcare centers. Available in most metros; expect $80 to $150 per day. Our drop-in vs regular daycare guide explains the trade-offs.
• Family or trusted sitters. Free or low-cost; requires advance planning.
• Time off. Especially common for the Christmas-to-New-Year week, where many parents use saved vacation days.

For families navigating a workplace that does not offer leave or backup care, see our back to work after baby guide.

Religious holidays and cultural observances

Public daycares cannot privilege one tradition over another, so most secular centers do not close for non-federal religious holidays. Many do close for Good Friday, which has historic carve-outs in some states. Jewish high holidays, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and the Lunar New Year are increasingly observed at programs in metros with large communities, especially in New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

If a religious observance matters to your family, ask before enrollment whether your child can be absent without penalty and whether tuition adjusts. The answer is usually no on tuition but yes on absence.

Questions to ask before signing

• May I see the full annual closure calendar in writing?
• Is tuition pro-rated for closure days?
• What is your policy if you close for more than a week unexpectedly?
• Are there staff training days I should plan around?
• What is your snow-day or storm policy? (See our snow-day policy guide.)
• Do you observe Election Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day, or other days not on the federal list?

Bottom line

Expect 10 to 14 closure days per year, get the calendar in writing before you enroll, and build a backup plan for the three or four dates that are hardest to cover. For the broader pillar, see daycare logistics. The related vacation credit and summer schedule guides are useful companions.