What's different about Christmas Day? (Special dates)

Add Christmas, a bank holiday, a busy night or a day you close once, then change only what's different about it — its hours, online times or set sittings, limits, length, what guests pay and more.

Settings → Bookings → Special dates (/dashboard/settings/special-dates) is the one place for the dates that aren't like the rest — Christmas Day, a bank holiday, a busy night, a day you're closed. You add a date once, as one day or several days in a row, and then change only what's different about it. Owners, Admins and Managers can open it.

Which wins: "A special date beats your day-and-time rules, which beat your everyday rules."

The five parts of this guide

Special dates are for the days that aren't like the rest. Each part below is its own guide:

• How do I add a special date? — adding a date (one day or several in a row) and the step-by-step window, setting what's different about it, the rest of a date's card, plans and your team, and a Christmas Day example from start to finish.
• How do I set a special date's hours, limits and who can book online? — a date's opening hours, online times and set sittings, when it opens for booking, how many and how long, who can book online and what they see, and blocking a room.
• How do I set what guests pay and pre-order on a special date? — what guests pay on the date — a deposit, pay in full, the rest of the payment, paying at the venue, a card to hold and money back if they cancel — and a date's own pre-order menu, one per guest.
• How do I use a special date again next year? — when a date is over, Use again with last year's rules, and Repeat every year.
• Which rule wins on a special date, and what are day-and-time rules? — when two special dates overlap, day-and-time rules (online bookings at certain times of every week), the same rules on other pages, how a special date beats your everyday settings, and when a date's rule doesn't seem to apply.

Related: How do I add a special date? · How do I set a special date's hours, limits and who can book online? · How do I set what guests pay and pre-order on a special date? · How do I use a special date again next year? · Which rule wins on a special date, and what are day-and-time rules? · How do I check which rules apply to a booking? · Where are my booking rules? (Booking rules at a glance) · How do I set holiday hours, seasonal hours and closures? · When can guests book? · How many guests can book at once? · How do I take deposits only on busy days or special dates?