01/12/2026
Here's something worth knowing as you plan your year: with just 11 strategic PTO days, you could have 41 full days off in 2026.
Not a gimmick. Just smart planning and a calendar that happens to work beautifully in your favor this year.
We've been helping international professionals transition to Paris for over 30 years, and one pattern is consistent: the people who thrive are the ones who learned to design rest into their lives, not squeeze it in around the edges.
So let's map this out properly.
👇 Here's your month-by-month blueprint:
📅 JANUARY: Begin as You Mean to Continue
New Year's Break
New Year's Day is Thursday, Jan 1
✅ Take Friday, Jan 2 off
🎉 Get 4 days off (Jan 1-4)
MLK Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, Jan 19
✅ Take Friday, Jan 16 off
🎉 Get 4 days off (Jan 16-19)
January Total: 2 PTO days = 8 days off
💝 FEBRUARY: Winter's Quiet Luxury
Presidents' Day
Presidents' Day is Monday, Feb 16
✅ Take Friday, Feb 13 off
🎉 Get 4 days off (Feb 13-16)
Perfect timing for Valentine's weekend, four days instead of two completely changes the experience.
February Total: 1 PTO day = 4 days off
🌸 MAY: Spring in Full Bloom
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is Monday, May 25
✅ Take Friday, May 22 off
🎉 Get 4 days off (May 22-25)
Late May in Paris? When everything comes alive. The light changes, terraces fill up, markets overflow with early summer produce.
May Total: 1 PTO day = 4 days off
☀️ JULY: Midsummer Ease
Independence Day
July 4th falls on Saturday
✅ Take Monday, July 6 off
🎉 Get 4 days off (July 4-7)
Long summer evenings. Dinner that stretches to midnight. The kind of weekend where time feels elastic.
July Total: 1 PTO day = 4 days off
🍂 SEPTEMBER: The Season's Last Light
Labor Day
Labor Day is Monday, Sept 7
✅ Take Friday, Sept 4 off
🎉 Get 4 days off (Sept 4-7)
That golden late-summer glow before fall schedules ramp up. Four days to catch your breath.
September Total: 1 PTO day = 4 days off
🦃 NOVEMBER: Thanksgiving, Unhurried
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov 26
✅ Take Wednesday, Nov 25 & Friday, Nov 27 off
🎉 Get 5 days off (Nov 25-29)
The difference between surviving Thanksgiving and actually enjoying it. Time with the people who matter, without the usual frenzy.
November Total: 2 PTO days = 5 days off
🎄 DECEMBER: The Crown Jewel
Christmas to New Year's
Christmas is Friday, Dec 25
New Year's Day 2027 is Friday, Jan 1
✅ Take Monday Dec 21 through Thursday Dec 24 off (4 days)
🎉 Get 12 CONSECUTIVE DAYS off (Dec 19-30)
Twelve days. Imagine the holidays in Paris with that kind of time. Or anywhere, really. The point is: you're not rushing. You're actually present for the whole arc of it.
December Total: 4 PTO days = 12 days off
📊 The Complete Picture
Month PTO Days Total Days Off
January 2 8
February 1 4
May 1 4
July 1 4
September 1 4
November 2 5
December 4 12
TOTAL 11 41
Eleven days of leave. Forty-one days of living well.
💭 Why This Actually Matters
This isn't about optimization or life hacking. It's about having enough room in your life to notice what matters.
With this kind of spaciousness built into your year, you can:
✨ Read without that nagging feeling you should be doing something else
✨ Travel in a way that feels restorative
✨ Be genuinely present when friends visit or family gathers
✨ Explore properly, whether that's a new city or simply a slower Tuesday
✨ Remember what it feels like to not be perpetually catching up
🗼 The Paris Perspective
For those of you relocating to Paris or already calling it home:
Paris reveals itself slowly. It's not a city you conquer in a long weekend. It's a place that rewards presence.
When you have this kind of time built into your year:
🥐 Settling in becomes a pleasure, not a race
You can find your neighborhood café, your preferred boulangerie, your quiet corner of the Luxembourg Gardens without feeling rushed.
🚄 Weekend escapes become genuinely restorative
Provence, Burgundy, Loire Valley, Normandy—you have time to enjoy them properly instead of speed-touring.
👥 When friends visit, you can share the Paris you love
Not just monuments and museums, but the rhythm of life here. Market mornings, long dinners, aimless walks.
🌿 You're present for the seasons as they unfold
Spring gardens, summer twilights, autumn markets, winter's quiet elegance.
✅ What to Do Right Now
Open your calendar
Block these dates (not tentatively properly)
Inform your team you'll be out those days
Protect this time like it matters (because it does)
If you're in a position where you can't take this much time off, that's information worth having. Either the role isn't sustainable, or boundaries need work. Both are solvable problems, but you have to see them first.
🌟 The Difference It Makes
We've watched clients do this year after year. The ones who protect their time like this don't burn out. They don't quietly resent their work. They don't arrive at December wondering where the year went.
They show up rested. They make better decisions. They're more creative, more patient, more present. Not because they're superhuman, but because they gave themselves enough space to be human.
The 2026 calendar is handing you this opportunity with unusual generosity. All you have to do is accept it.
💬 Your Turn
How are you planning your 2026 time off? Comment below with which break you're most excited about!
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📥 Ready to Plan Your Paris Life?
Whether you're relocating to Paris or planning an extended stay, we help make the transition as graceful as the life you're building here.
Explore our Paris services: www.peacefullyproductivepeople.com
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