Printable School Holiday Planner: Plan Any Holiday, Any Length

Any start date, any end date

School holidays vary enormously — a half-term might be five days, while a summer break can stretch to seven weeks or more. Rather than offering fixed templates that only cover common holiday lengths, Paper Maker lets you set any start and end date you need. The planner generates exactly the right number of days, laid out in full-week rows, so nothing is wasted and nothing is missing.

This flexibility makes it equally useful for parents planning a family staycation, teachers preparing holiday activity sheets, or childcare providers keeping track of a mixed group of children all with different term dates.

A school holiday planner laid out in full-week rows — weekends are highlighted in grey.

Highlight weekends — or keep them plain

Weekdays and weekends often call for different plans during the school holidays. Paper Maker gives you the option to highlight the Saturday and Sunday columns so they stand out visually from the rest of the week, making it easy to spot at a glance which days are free for day trips, family visits, or a lie-in.

If you would prefer a clean, uniform look — perhaps for a holiday club that runs seven days a week — you can simply turn the weekend highlighting off. The planner will display all seven days in an identical style.

Customise colours and line weights

Like all Paper Maker tools, the school holiday planner gives you full control over the appearance of the page:

• Line colour — choose any colour for the grid lines and cell borders. A soft blue or green keeps things calm; a bold black gives a traditional planner feel.
• Text colour — pick the colour used for the day names and date labels so the planner matches your preferred style.
• Line weight — adjust how thick or thin the cell borders are, from a barely visible hairline to a bold rule that makes each day cell easy to identify at a glance.

Rainbow colour option

For something a bit more fun — especially for children — the school holiday planner also supports the rainbow colour option. With rainbow selected, each week row takes on a different hue as the gradient sweeps down the page, turning the planner into a vibrant, eye-catching activity sheet. It is a great choice for keeping kids engaged with the planning process over a long summer holiday.

Rainbow school holiday planner — each week row transitions through the colour spectrum.

Who is the school holiday planner for?

• Parents — plan childcare, day trips, and activities across every day of the holiday so nothing gets forgotten.
• Children — give kids their own planner so they can count down the days, note their favourite activities, and feel involved in the holiday plans.
• Teachers — send pupils home with a planner tailored to the exact dates of the upcoming holiday, ready to fill in with reading goals or summer activities.
• Holiday clubs & childcare providers — generate attendance or activity planners that match the precise dates your setting is open, without paying for a generic template that does not fit.

How to create your planner

1. Open the School Holiday Planner page in Paper Maker.
2. Set your start date and end date to match your school holiday — any length from a few days to the whole summer.
3. Choose whether to highlight weekends or keep all days the same.
4. Pick your line and text colours, line weight, and optionally select the rainbow colour option.
5. Click Download PDF — no account needed, no watermark.

Create your school holiday planner for free

The school holiday planner is completely free to use. Set your dates, choose your style, and download your PDF directly in your browser — no sign-up required, no watermark, no cost.