2 closures published by Target, one of them made permanent in a dated letter from the chief executive.
Target holiday hours are unusual on this site because the closures have an author. Every store shuts on Thanksgiving Day and on 25 December, both stated in the company's own holiday fact sheet. The Thanksgiving closure began as a pandemic measure and was made permanent on 22 November 2021, when chief executive Brian Cornell told staff the shops would stay closed on future Thanksgivings. Everything else is set store by store.
What you need
9 itemsHow to check the hours near you
Treat the two closures as permanent
Every store shuts on Thanksgiving Day and again on 25 December, and the company states both in its own holiday material. Neither is a decision taken store by store.
Note that one of them has a date attached
Most retail closures appear as anonymous policy. This one was announced on 22 November 2021 by Brian Cornell, who told staff the stores would remain closed on future Thanksgivings as well.
Use find a store for every other day
The help centre answers the hours question in one line: hours vary by store, so check your local Target on the find a store page. That is the honest routing for a chain of this size.
Check the eve, which nobody publishes
Christmas Eve closing times are not stated nationally and they move earlier than people expect. That figure appears only on the store page, and often only in the last few days.
Remember that concessions follow the store
A coffee counter, a pharmacy partner or any other concession inside the building cannot trade while the building is shut. A closure covers everything under the roof.
If something goes wrong
The store was shut on Thanksgiving
- Cause
- Every store closes that day under a permanent policy
- Fix
- Plan around it each year. The decision dates from 22 November 2021 and has not been reversed.
It closed earlier than expected on Christmas Eve
- Cause
- No national closing time is published for the eve
- Fix
- Check find a store on the morning of the 24th. That entry is the only place the figure appears.
A guide listed chain-wide daily hours
- Cause
- The company itself says hours vary by store
- Fix
- Ignore any national table of opening times. Only the store page carries a figure tied to an address.
The counter inside the store was closed
- Cause
- A concession cannot trade while the building is locked
- Fix
- Treat the store closure as covering everything inside it, including any partner operating under its own brand.
Black Friday hours were different from last year
- Cause
- Those hours are announced separately for each season
- Fix
- Look for the current announcement rather than assuming a repeat, then confirm on the store page.
Two nearby stores kept different hours
- Cause
- Format and market shape the daily timetable even under one owner
- Fix
- Compare both entries in find a store. A small-format store often runs a shorter day than a full one.
What’s fixed, and what actually varies
One company runs every store, so a national closure is enforceable here in a way it is not at a franchised chain.
Fixed
- Every store is closed on Thanksgiving Day
- Every store is closed on Christmas Day, 25 December
- The Thanksgiving closure was made permanent on 22 November 2021
- A small share of staff work that day and receive holiday pay
- The help centre routes hours questions to the find a store page
- Target is company-operated and franchises nothing
Varies
- Daily opening and closing hours, which differ by store
- Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve closing times
- Black Friday opening, announced separately each year
- Easter and New Year's Day trading at individual stores
- Whether a concession inside the store keeps the store's own hours
- Small-format and campus stores, which run shorter days
For the two closed days, nothing needs checking. For everything else, open find a store and read the entry for your address, because the company's own help centre says plainly that hours vary by store. On 24 December, read it again the same morning.
How Target compares
Two big-box retailers and a grocer, all company-owned, and all publishing a different amount.
| Chain | Closures published | How they were announced | Daily hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Thanksgiving and 25 December | A fact sheet and a dated staff letter | Vary by store |
| Walmart | Thanksgiving and 25 December | A help centre notice each year | Vary, with department clocks |
| Chipotle | None | Not announced | About 10:45 to 11 at night |
Owning every site is what makes a national closure enforceable rather than aspirational.
Target and Walmart close on the same two days, and only Target attaches a named person and a date to the decision. Chipotle owns its estate as completely as either and publishes no closure at all.
A closure with a name and a date on it
Retail closures normally arrive as policy from nowhere. This one has a signature.
Shops had already stayed shut on Thanksgiving Day through the pandemic period, and on 22 November 2021 the chief executive, Brian Cornell, told staff the arrangement was permanent, saying the stores would stay closed on future Thanksgivings too. The company noted that a small share of the workforce would still work that day and would receive holiday pay for it. Christmas Day joins Thanksgiving in the company's own holiday fact sheet, which states that stores are closed on 25 December.
That is where the certainty stops, and the company is straightforward about it. Asked about holiday hours, the help centre answers that hours vary by store and points readers at the find a store page. No chain-wide opening time is published anywhere, which makes any national table of daily hours somebody's invention.
Ownership is what makes even this much possible. Target Corporation runs its stores from Minneapolis, Minnesota and franchises nothing, so a decision about Thanksgiving is a decision about every building, taken once. A franchised chain cannot do that, which is why the restaurant pages in this family end at an app instead of at a policy.
One gap is worth flagging, because it is the same gap at every retailer here. Christmas Eve has no published closing time. Shops close early that afternoon and the figure lands on the store page late, sometimes within a day or two. Anyone with a last errand on 24 December should check that entry the same morning rather than trusting the hours they remember.
Questions people ask
Is Target open on Thanksgiving?
Not at any store. The closure became permanent on 22 November 2021, when Brian Cornell told staff the stores would stay shut on future Thanksgivings.
Is Target open on Christmas Day?
Every store is closed on 25 December, stated in the company's own holiday fact sheet alongside the Thanksgiving closure.
What time does Target close on Christmas Eve?
Earlier than usual, though no national time is published. The find a store entry for your address is the only place that figure appears.
Does Target publish daily opening hours?
Only per store. Its help centre states that hours vary by store and directs readers to find a store, which rules out any chain-wide table.
Do staff work on the closed days?
A small share do, and the company says they receive holiday pay. A closure to customers is not a closure to every function in the business.
Are Target stores franchised?
No. The company operates its stores from Minneapolis, Minnesota and franchises nothing, which is what makes a single national closure enforceable.
Is this page an official Target holiday hours list?
No. It reports the company's published closures and its own routing advice. The find a store page holds the times that apply to a specific store.
Can this site tell me whether my local Target is open?
No. Nothing here connects to a store. Use find a store, and check it again on the morning of an eve rather than the week before.