In most Dutch workplaces, the end-of-year greeting travels by several channels at once: a card left on a desk before the kerstvakantie begins, a final line in an email before the out-of-office switches on, a message on Teams or Slack, or a WhatsApp to the colleague you actually talk to every day. The channel matters far less than the wording, and in a country where directness is a professional virtue, a greeting that is specific and genuine lands better than one that reads as a standard template.

Choose the tone before the words: warm for the people you work alongside, polished for clients and senior contacts, lightly humorous only where you already share the joke. Keep the reader in mind too. CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek / Statistics Netherlands) data shows that around 54% of people in the Netherlands identify as non-religious, while approximately 43% identify as Christian in some form. That mix matters when you pick between "Prettige kerstdagen", "Fijne feestdagen" and a simple "Season's greetings" in English-language correspondence.

Christmas messages for colleagues

For mixed teams, a "Season's greetings" or "Fijne feestdagen" version works for everyone, whatever they celebrate.

1. Merry Christmas, [Name]. Thank you for all the support this year, especially when the deadlines got tight. Enjoy a proper break over the kerstvakantie.
2. Season's greetings to you and yours. It has been a real pleasure working alongside you this year, and I am looking forward to more of the same in 2027.
3. Fijne feestdagen, [Name]. Whatever you celebrate, I hope the break brings good food, good company and zero notifications.
4. Have a brilliant Christmas. Same time next year for a rematch on the team quiz? I have already started revising.
5. Warm wishes for the festive season. Thanks for making Monday mornings noticeably more bearable.
6. Warmste wensen, [Name]. I could not have got [project] over the line without you, and I will not forget it.

Christmas messages for your manager

Keep the register a notch more formal. Debrett's advises against signing a card to your manager with "love" and kisses; a "with best wishes" style sign-off is the safer choice. The end of the year is also when performance and salary conversations tend to start, so before yours begins, take a moment to check what others in a comparable role in the Netherlands actually earn.

1. Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a restful break. Thank you for your support and guidance this year; I have learned a great deal. With best wishes, [Name]
2. Season's greetings, [Name]. Thank you for backing me on [project] and for always making time when I needed a second opinion.
3. Merry Christmas and all the best for 2027. I really appreciated the trust you gave me this year, and I am looking forward to what comes next.
4. Fijne feestdagen. I hope you manage to switch off completely, and I promise not to email you until the New Year.
5. Thank you for a year of clear direction and good humour. Wishing you and your family a peaceful Christmas.

Christmas messages for your team (if you lead one)

Your message may be the one that counts most. Research by Reward Gateway | Edenred (vendor survey, January 2025) found that managerial recognition is the single biggest driver of feeling appreciated at work, yet only 66% of employees surveyed said they feel recognised by their manager. A specific year-end note from the person who leads the team carries weight that a generic group-chat message simply does not.

1. Thank you, everyone, for an outstanding year. [Achievement] happened because of you, and I am proud of how we got there together. Have a wonderful break.
2. Season's greetings, team. Please log off, leave the inbox alone and come back in January rested. Consider that an instruction.
3. Merry Christmas to the best team in the building. Yes, I am biased, but the results back me up.
4. [Name], thank you for the way you handled [moment] this year. It made a real difference to all of us. Enjoy the holidays.
5. Whatever you are celebrating this season, I hope it is restful. Thank you for your hard work, your patience and the impressive quantity of stroopwafels.

Christmas messages for clients and partners

If your office closes over the break, say clearly when you are back. Debrett's recommends giving a specific return date in your out-of-office message. In the Netherlands, the statutory public holidays over the Christmas period in 2026 are Eerste Kerstdag (Christmas Day) on Friday 25 December and Tweede Kerstdag on Saturday 26 December 2026, with Nieuwjaarsdag (New Year's Day) on Friday 1 January 2027. Because Tweede Kerstdag falls on a Saturday in 2026, check your collective labour agreement (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst, CAO) or employment contract to confirm whether a substitute day on Monday 28 December applies: unlike in the UK, the Netherlands has no automatic statutory substitute-day rule, so entitlement depends on the CAO covering your sector. Around 75-80% of Dutch workers are covered by a sectoral CAO, and many include provisions for such situations.

1. Season's greetings from all of us at [Company]. Thank you for your partnership this year; we look forward to working with you in 2027.
2. Wishing you a prettige kerstperiode and a successful New Year. It has been a pleasure working with you on [project].
3. Thank you for your trust and your business this year. Our office closes on [date] and reopens on [date]; until then, we wish you a restful break.
4. Fijne feestdagen, [Name]. Working with your team has been one of the highlights of our year, and we are grateful for it.
5. With warm wishes for the festive season and every success in the year ahead. Met vriendelijke groet, [Name]

Remote colleagues, Christmas shifts and anyone having a hard year

Not everyone will be at home over the holidays. FNV (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging), the Netherlands' largest union federation with around one million members, consistently highlights that workers in healthcare, care homes, public transport and essential retail carry on through the kerstvakantie so that others can rest. If you are on the rota yourself, your entitlement to any toeslagen (shift premiums or holiday supplements) for working on public holidays should be set out in your CAO or in your contract under Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, Titel 10 (the employment chapter of the Dutch Civil Code). Check what it adds to your net pay before the shift; the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) publishes guidance on how holiday premiums are taxed.

For a colleague who is grieving, bereavement organisation Stichting Rouw and international guidance from Cruse Bereavement Support both suggest mentioning the person who died rather than stepping around them, and saying that this Christmas might feel "different" rather than "difficult". A few lines are enough.

1. Merry Christmas from all of us, [Name]. You are very much part of this team, even from a different city or time zone. We will raise a glass to you at the team dinner.
2. Thank you for working over Christmas so the rest of us can switch off. I hope the shift is calm and the break afterwards is a long one.
3. Thinking of you this Christmas, [Name]. I know it might feel different this year, and if you would like to talk, or just grab a coffee in January, I am around.
4. Thinking of you and of [their name] this Christmas. No need to reply; just know we are here.
5. Season's greetings from your old desk neighbour. The office is not the same without you, and I hope the new role is everything you wanted.
6. Wishing you a peaceful break, whatever shape it takes this year. If the days feel long, my phone is on.

If a colleague's departure has you thinking about your own next step, the quieter days between Christmas and New Year are a good moment to update your CV and browse open vacancies.

How to make it personal

• Use their name and one shared moment. Etiquette expert William Hanson told woman&home that leaving names off a card reads as plain rude. Add one specific memory from the year: it takes thirty seconds and makes the message feel like it was written for that person, not generated for a list.
• Keep it short and send it on time. Three sentences is plenty. For printed cards sent within the Netherlands, PostNL recommends posting standard letters at least two to three working days before the recipient needs them; aim to post by around Monday 22 December 2026 at the latest for Eerste Kerstdag delivery.
• Check which holiday they celebrate. CBS data shows the Netherlands is a religiously diverse country, with a majority having no religious affiliation. If a colleague observes Chanukah, which runs from sundown on Friday 4 December to nightfall on Saturday 12 December 2026, a message that week will land better than one timed to Christmas. When unsure, a simple "fijne feestdagen" or "Season's greetings" is always the right default.
• Keep the jokes safe. Under the Arbeidsomstandighedenwet (Working Conditions Act), Dutch employers are required to have a policy covering psychosociale arbeidsbelasting (PSA), which includes protecting workers from intimidation and harassment at work. The Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie (NLA, the Dutch labour inspectorate) enforces compliance. What some call banter in a group chat or on Slack can still constitute harassment under this framework, and the NLA can investigate complaints. Steer festive humour away from anyone's sex, religion, age or appearance, in group chats and direct messages alike.

If you have a job interview lined up for January, ask how the team marks the end of the year and recognises people's contributions: the answer tells you a great deal about the culture you would be joining. Until then, pick a message, add a name and send it before the break.