Christmas and Boxing Day in Europe - 2024

Wow, thats pretty general.

A lot is going to be closed 24, 25 and 26; but a lot is going to be open. You just have to plan for it. That means researchiing the heck out of every option. Here there will be restaurants open all those days, the bath houses will be open and a few of the skating rinks. Some of the museums will be open the 26th (unless thats a Monday), river cruises will be running. But 24 by noon until the moringing of the 26th most of the shopping will be closed except groceries and convenience stores .... pretty much like the US

In the Netherlands, everything you might need as a tourist will be open and up and running all thru Christmas. Public transport continues to operate, museums stay open especially in Amsterdam, shops and supermarkets stay open and so do restaurants and bars.
Some smaller shops may close earlier or open a bit later, but that’s about it.
Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Christmas in The Netherlands. We definitely do. Schools, offices, etc. are closed, people get together with family and friends to celebrate, go to church etc. We just don’t shut down the entire country.

26 December is a Thursday so the bath houses in Budapest will be open.

You are going to want to confine yourselves to major tourist destination cities, and even then accept things will be closed. The 26th is a Federal Holiday in Germany, that means even the trains and other public transport will be impacted. Taxis will be scarce. Museums run by the State (Deutsches Museum, Munich, for example) will be closed. Many private museums, like the BMW and Porsche Museums, because of the weird placement of the 25th in the middle of the week, are actually closing Sunday and/or Monday that week and taking a long holiday. Supermarkets will be open, but with holiday schedules, and I expect all the smaller Backeri and Metzgeri will be shuttered.

Thanks very much for your replies!