Build a Holiday Internal Communication Plan in 1 Hour (Without Burning Out)

Every November, internal communicators hit the same pressure cycle. Leaders want “just one more” holiday email. HR pushes PTO reminders. IT announces freezes. Every region has its own sensitivities. Without a clear holiday internal communication plan, everything becomes noisy, rushed, and hard to manage.

Employees tune out. Important details get buried. You spend December chasing approvals instead of driving clarity.

This guide shows you how to build a fast, practical holiday internal communication plan in about an hour using structure you can reuse every year.

What a simple holiday internal communication plan includes

A useful holiday internal communication plan answers five questions:

1. What needs to be communicated

2. To whom

3. When messages should land

4. Where they should show up

5. How you’ll measure visibility and understanding

If your process can’t answer these, you don’t have a plan. You have a backlog.

Holiday internal communication plan checklist

Use this to turn scattered requests into an organized plan:

• Inventory of all holiday messages

• Clear priorities (Critical, Important, Optional)

• Defined audiences by role, region, or segment

• Channel selection based on behavior, not habit

• A simple calendar without overload days

• Manager scripts or talking points

• Inclusion and cultural review

• Measurement plan for critical messages

If you can check all of these, you’re ahead of most teams by December 1.

Build your holiday internal communication plan in 1 hour

Step 1 (15 minutes): Collect and triage requests

List every holiday-related communication request: leader messages, events, PTO reminders, benefits deadlines, IT freezes, year-end operations.

Add three columns:

• Priority

• Audience

• Owner

Push back on “nice-to-have for everyone” items. That’s where message overload begins.

Step 2 (15 minutes): Map audiences and channels

Avoid the default “all staff email.” Segment by:

• Deskless workers

• Corporate teams

• Managers

• Regions

• Functions

Match channels: email for detail, mobile for urgency, intranet for reference, digital signage for frontline, and manager toolkits for nuance.

A strong holiday internal communication plan seldom sends the same message to everyone.

Step 3 (15 minutes): Build a realistic holiday calendar

Capture send dates, audiences, channels, owners, and status.

Then enforce guardrails:

• One non-critical mass message per audience per day

• No new campaigns in the final business days of the year

• Respect regional holidays and workloads

Tools like Cerkl Broadcast and others help by showing all messages scheduled for each audience so overlapping sends are easy to spot and fix.

Step 4 (15 minutes): Finalize templates and talk tracks

Most delays come from rewriting content.

Standardize:

• One primary CEO holiday note

• One manager script

• PTO and office-closure boilerplate

• IT and HR operational copy

Once templates are locked, stakeholders fill in blanks instead of creating new content.

Holiday internal communication plan templates

CEO holiday message template

Subject: Thank you for this year

Hi everyone,

As we head into the holiday season, I want to say a simple thank you.

This year, you [name 1–2 concrete achievements]. None of that happens without your work and your ideas.

For many, this season is a chance to recharge. For others, it’s a busy period. However you spend it, I hope you get a moment to rest.

A few practical notes:

• [Office closure or PTO updates]

• [Support or operations changes]

• [Link to intranet holiday hub]

Thank you again for everything you’ve done. I’m proud of what we’ve built together.

[Leader name]

Manager team-meeting script

Team, you’ve seen a few holiday and year-end messages come through. Here’s what matters most for us:

1. Schedules and coverage

2. Support and escalation details

3. Recognition for specific achievements

If anything in the company updates is unclear, bring it to me.

Before and after: what a holiday internal communication plan fixes

Before: A global company sent every holiday message as an all-staff email. Frontline teams didn’t read them. Regions made their own versions. IT updates got buried. Help desks were flooded with repeat questions.

After: With a structured holiday internal communication plan:

• One CEO holiday message, localized where needed

• Frontline updates delivered via mobile and signage

• Bundled IT and HR operations updates

• Manager toolkits with summaries and scripts

Result: fewer messages, higher engagement, and fewer duplicate questions.

Quick diagnostic: is your holiday internal communication plan working?

Answer these honestly:

• Can you name the top three holiday messages in order of importance?

• Do you know who needs each message and through which channels?

• Can employees find holiday information easily in one place?

• Are frontline workers receiving information in formats that work for them?

• Do leaders and managers know their role?

• Can you measure performance on critical communications?

Two or more “no” answers means you’re still reactive.

Where personalization and automation help

A strong holiday internal communication plan reduces work, not adds to it. The leverage points:

• Personalized content based on role, shift, location, language

• Multi-channel orchestration across email, mobile, intranet, signage

• Smart scheduling to prevent message overload

• Reusable annual templates

Platforms like Cerkl Broadcast and others support this level of control and visibility, helping a small comms team run a clean, predictable holiday experience without late-night scrambles.

FAQ: holiday internal communication plan basics

What should a holiday internal communication plan include?

A prioritized message list, defined audiences, chosen channels, a send calendar, clear owners, and a single source of truth for employees.

How early should planning start?

Draft by late October. Lock key messages and templates by early November.

How do I keep holiday communications inclusive?

Focus on appreciation, rest, and operational clarity. Check with regions on tone and timing and avoid assumptions about celebrations.

Thanks to our sponsor:

Cerkl Broadcast – the #1 platform for Internal Communicators from email to mobile.