How to Approaching Betting on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Other NFL Holiday Games
Written by: Eddie Griffin
Published: Mon Sep 14, 2026, 7:48 am ET
Read Time: 12 minutes
Football has long been part of the holiday experience for millions of NFL fans. Thanksgiving has one of the league's richest traditions, while Christmas has become an increasingly prominent part of the schedule. The NFL has also expanded its holiday footprint with games on Black Friday and other dates around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
For bettors, NFL holiday games provide familiar NFL betting opportunities in a different setting. You can still bet on point spreads, moneylines, totals, props, parlays, and other markets at the top NFL betting sites, but their place on the calendar can introduce additional factors to consider.
Short rest and altered preparation schedules can affect some teams, while weather becomes increasingly relevant as the season moves through November and December. Holiday games can also carry significant playoff implications, particularly around Christmas.
Those factors are worth considering, but betting on NFL holiday games doesn't need to be entirely serious. Thanksgiving and Christmas football are major viewing occasions, and there is nothing wrong with making a smaller wager just to have something extra to follow while enjoying the games with family and friends.
This guide covers the NFL holiday games on the 2026 schedule and what to consider when handicapping and betting on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other festive dates.
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NFL Holiday Games
Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two holidays most closely associated with NFL regular-season football, but the league's holiday schedule has expanded beyond the games played on those dates.
Thanksgiving week now stretches across multiple days, while Christmas scheduling varies depending on where Dec. 25 falls on the calendar. For bettors, those differences can create unusual rest and preparation windows, while the late-season timing of holiday games can also bring injuries, weather, and playoff positioning into greater focus.
2026 NFL Holiday Games Schedule
The 2026 NFL schedule features 10 games on or directly around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.
Thanksgiving week opens with the league's inaugural Thanksgiving Eve game on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The traditional Thanksgiving Day tripleheader follows on Thursday, with the NFL's fourth Black Friday game closing the five-game stretch on Nov. 27.
Christmas week features a Christmas Eve game on Thursday, Dec. 24 and three Christmas Day matchups on Friday, Dec. 25. One week later, Baltimore visits Cincinnati for an AFC North matchup on New Year's Eve.
| Date | Occasion | Matchup | Kickoff (ET) |
| Nov. 25 | Thanksgiving Eve | Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams | 8:00 p.m. |
| Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving | Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions | 1:00 p.m. |
| Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving | Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys | 4:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving | Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills | 8:20 p.m. |
| Nov. 27 | Black Friday | Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers | 3:00 p.m. |
| Dec. 24 | Christmas Eve | Houston Texans at Philadelphia Eagles | 8:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 25 | Christmas | Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears | 1:00 p.m. |
| Dec. 25 | Christmas | Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos | 4:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 25 | Christmas | Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks | 8:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | New Year's Eve | Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals | 8:15 p.m. |
The 2026 slate shows how varied NFL holiday scheduling can be. Along with the traditional Thanksgiving games in Detroit and Dallas, the schedule includes games on Thanksgiving Eve, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve.
NFL Thanksgiving Games
NFL football on Thanksgiving dates back to the league's earliest years, but the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys turned the holiday into an annual showcase.
Detroit began its Thanksgiving tradition in 1934 and has hosted annually since 1945. Dallas joined the tradition in 1966 and has played on Thanksgiving in every season since then except 1975 and 1977.
The modern Thanksgiving schedule consists of three games. Detroit traditionally hosts the early game, Dallas hosts in the late-afternoon window, and a rotating matchup fills the night slot.
In 2026, all three Thanksgiving games are rivalry games. The Lions host the Bears and the Cowboys host the Eagles in two huge divisional matchups, and the day closes out with an AFC rivalry showdown between former NFL MVP winners as Josh Allen and the Bills host Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
The holiday footprint now extends beyond Thursday. Black Friday football debuted in 2023, and the 2026 schedule introduces the first NFL game on Thanksgiving Eve. Together with the traditional tripleheader, that creates five standalone games across three consecutive days and some new scheduling variables for bettors to evaluate.
NFL Christmas Games
Christmas football doesn't have the same uninterrupted tradition as Thanksgiving. For much of NFL history, games on Dec. 25 depended largely on where Christmas fell within the league's normal weekly schedule, but Christmas Day has become a regular showcase in recent years.
Three NFL holiday games are scheduled for Christmas Day in 2026. Two of those three matchups are rivalry matchups, and all six teams harbor serious Super Bowl aspirations for this season.
Given that those matchups will take place in Week 16, stakes could be even more heightened. By that point, division titles, playoff seeding, or homefield advantage could all be at stake.
Other NFL Holiday Games
The NFL's expansion around Thanksgiving and Christmas has created additional holiday-related betting opportunities. Black Friday has become a regular standalone window immediately after Thanksgiving, while Thanksgiving Eve joins the schedule for the first time in 2026.
Christmas Eve can also feature NFL action, as it will for the matchup between the Texans and Eagles. New Year's Eve, which will feature a Thursday night game this year, and New Year's Day can intersect with the NFL schedule as well.
These games don't carry the same traditions as Thanksgiving or Christmas, and the dates will vary from season to season. For bettors, the important question isn't whether a game has a holiday label, but whether its placement on the calendar creates circumstances that should influence the handicap.
How to Handicap and Bet on NFL Holiday Games
The fundamentals of handicapping an NFL game don't change because it is played on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or another holiday. Start with the teams, matchup, injuries, statistics, and available NFL odds just as you would for any other game.
From there, consider whether the holiday schedule introduces anything that deserves additional weight. Rest and preparation, weather and playing conditions, and the stakes surrounding the matchup can all matter, but their importance will differ from game to game.
Evaluate Rest, Preparation, and the Surrounding Schedule
Playing outside the usual Sunday routine can change how much time a team has to recover and prepare. Thanksgiving provides the most familiar example, as teams that played the previous Sunday have only a few days before taking the field again.
But don't assume every NFL holiday game creates the same disadvantage. Check when both teams last played, whether they traveled, and whether either side had a bye or additional rest beforehand. One team may enter the matchup with a significantly different preparation window from its opponent.
Analyzing the NFL schedule as a whole can also help identify unusual sequences of rest, travel, and recovery before and after a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday matchup.
Injuries belong in that evaluation. NFL injury reports can take on additional importance during shortened weeks because questionable players have less time to recover before kickoff.
Instead of treating a short week as an automatic negative, determine how the schedule actually affects each team and whether it creates a meaningful advantage or disadvantage.
Account for Weather and Playing Conditions
Weather deserves particular attention when handicapping NFL holiday games because Thanksgiving and Christmas fall late in the season. Outdoor matchups in late November and December can bring wind, rain, snow, cold temperatures, or difficult field conditions.
Consider how those conditions interact with the teams involved rather than handicapping weather in isolation. Wind may affect passing and kicking more than temperature, while precipitation and poor footing can influence ball security, play calling, and how effectively certain personnel can be used.
The venue matters too. Detroit and Dallas play their traditional Thanksgiving games indoors, which takes weather out of the equation. Other holiday matchups can have a very different outlook.
The 2026 Christmas Day slate is a good example. Games are scheduled for Chicago, Denver, and Seattle, all outdoors in late December. That doesn't mean weather will affect any of those matchups, but the forecast will be worth monitoring as kickoff approaches.
Because conditions can change as kickoff approaches, weather is one of several factors to consider when deciding when to place your bets. For that reason, understanding how weather can impact betting can be useful.
Understand Potential High Stakes
NFL holiday games are played late enough in the season for the NFL playoff picture to become increasingly important. By Thanksgiving, division and wild-card races are taking shape. By Christmas, teams may have only a few opportunities remaining to secure a playoff berth, win a division, improve their seeding, or avoid elimination.
But be careful about reducing the handicap to which team "needs it more." A must-win situation doesn't guarantee that a team will win or cover, and sportsbooks know when a matchup carries major playoff implications.
Instead, use the NFL standings as another layer of context. Consider what is actually at stake for both teams and whether those circumstances could influence personnel availability, late-game decisions, aggressiveness, or other aspects of the matchup.
Some holiday games will have minimal postseason implications. Don't manufacture additional significance simply because a game occupies a standalone national window. Understand the stakes, then determine whether they meaningfully affect your handicap.
Have Some Fun with Your Holiday Bets
Not every bet you make on Thanksgiving or Christmas has to be your strongest wager of the week. NFL holiday games are part of the occasion, and you may simply want something extra to follow while watching with family and friends.
There is nothing wrong with making a smaller moneyline, point spread, or over/under wager primarily for entertainment. Maybe an NFL prop bet gives you something specific to follow, or perhaps you put together a small same-game parlay for one or more of the day's games.
Just distinguish those bets from wagers you are making because you believe you have identified genuine value. If you are betting mostly for fun, size the wager accordingly. A holiday doesn't turn a long-shot parlay into a better bet, and a full day of games isn't a reason to chase an earlier loss.
There is room for both approaches. Handicap the bets that deserve serious consideration, and if a small wager makes an NFL holiday game more entertaining, enjoy it without letting the bet become more important than the occasion.
Conclusion
NFL holiday games bring together two things many fans enjoy: football and the chance to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other festive dates watching the NFL with family and friends.
From a betting perspective, the fundamentals don't change. Start with the matchup and available odds, then determine whether the circumstances surrounding the holiday game add meaningful context to your handicap.
Don't assume a short week automatically hurts a team, that December weather will affect every outdoor game, or that the team with more at stake is destined to win. Evaluate each matchup on its own merits.
And don't lose sight of the occasion. Whether you're making a carefully researched wager or a small prop bet just to have something extra to follow, betting on NFL holiday games should add to your enjoyment of the football—not take away from the holiday.
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