Set up festive booking types without pre-orders

Run Christmas lunches and parties as their own booking types, with deposits if you want them, and no pre-order menu attached.

1 min read · Updated 21 October 2026

In short: create a festive booking type with its own times and charges, and clear its Menus so no pre-order menu is offered.

Choose your venue

Ordering

Bookings

Landing Page

Booking Types

Special Dates

Reviews

where to find it

Create the booking type

To reuse a type instead, click its copy icon in the list, then Edit on the "[copy]" row it makes.

Under Basics, check Active is on, and add a name, Description and Header image.
Set Party sizes, Timing, and the Bookable Times you run it.
Add a deposit or cancellation charge under Charges and policies if you want one.
If you see Menus, clear any menus in it.
Click Save, top right.

New booking type

Copy from defaults

ActiveOn

Menuscleared

Save

clear its menus

In Bookings › Special Dates, click New special date, choose Modify a booking type and pick the dates.

Copy from defaults adds your Main Settings menus, and a copy keeps the menus of the type you copied.
Deposits and cancellation charges need Stripe, or Square if you take payments through Square.
With Square, a deposit comes off the bill only when the booking is marked Seated.
Turning off a menu's Pre-ordering in Ordering › Menus stops it everywhere, so clear the type's Menus instead. To offer pre-orders, see set up pre-orders.
Without pre-orders, guests can give choices in their booking note, or you can use an enquiry for large parties.