Holiday Calendar 2026: Download the Free Template (Excel and Google Sheets)
Here we show you how to choose the right vacation calendar for your company, offer you a free template for download, and explain how you can simplify vacation planning within your team.
3 Tips for the Company Holiday Calendar in 2026
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Digital over paper: Say goodbye to the traditional paper calendar that moves from desk to desk. Such methods are prone to errors and lack clarity.
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Accessible to all employees: The vacation calendar should be visible to the entire team. This way, everyone can immediately see all planned vacations and coordinate their own days more effectively.
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Using templates: An Excel vacation list is a practical starting point. A tool with integrated vacation approval greatly simplifies planning – especially if you can stay directly in Outlook or Teams.
Holiday Calendar 2026: Free Excel Template for Download
Here you can download our free vacation list as an Excel template for the year 2026. The file is already prepared so that you only need to enter the names of the employees and the public holidays of your federal state as required.
Vacation Calendar 2026 Excel Download Vacation Calendar 2026 Google Sheets Download
Important Notes on Using the Template:
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Access rights: The file should be shared with the entire team so that everyone can enter their vacation time independently.
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No Protected View: Ensure the file is editable. Otherwise, staff cannot make changes.
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**Compare vacation calendars: **A vacation calendar in Excel is a good starting point. However, there are options that are much less prone to errors. We will also show you these in this article.
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Tips for vacation planning in Microsoft Outlook and Teams
To inform your team about your vacation in Microsoft365, first check if Teams and Outlook are synchronized. Otherwise, you will need to enter the days in both programs separately.
Vacation as absence in Microsoft Teams:
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Status Indicator: Set your status to 'away' to inform colleagues about your vacation.
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Team calendar: Current vacation days can be made visible in the team calendar.
Out of Office in Microsoft Outlook:
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Calendar entries: Schedule your vacation for yourself or, with the appropriate permissions, for your colleagues.
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Out-of-office messages during vacation: Set up automatic email replies.
Complete holiday calendar without leaving Microsoft Outlook
The vacation and absence management tool absentify can integrate your entire team** for free into Microsoft365**. This way, everyone can see each other's vacation times and add their own entries without having to leave Outlook or Teams.
Absentify also offers many features that turn vacation entries into a clear plan for each team member:
Define types of absences
Create a list of all conceivable types of absence: vacation, sabbatical, further education, maternity leave, parental leave, etc.
Absence quotas within your teams
Determine the maximum number of colleagues that can be on vacation at the same time and approve absences first. Divide your team into different departments, set minimum staffing levels, and receive alerts for overlaps.
Set working hours
Create individual work schedules for each team member that are visible in both personal and team calendars.
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Holiday Calendar – Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
About the author
Anna Keller
Content manager at absentify
As a blog author at absentify, Anna Keller explains how companies can efficiently manage absences, vacations, and working hours. In her articles, she combines HR practice with Microsoft 365 tips for Outlook and Teams and provides templates, step-by-step instructions, and software comparisons for modern, digital processes.
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