Can You Get a New Front Door Before the Holidays?

Yes, if you order in time. A custom-built Knockety front door takes about 5 weeks from order to your door, and a Quick Ship door arrives in about 1 week. For Christmas 2026, that means ordering a custom door by about November 13. For Thanksgiving on November 26, a custom door ordered now will arrive after the holiday, so a Quick Ship door is the way to have a new one up in time.

Here is how the timing works, when to order for each holiday, and what to do if your date is already too close.

How long a new front door takes

Custom-built doors take about 5 weeks: 4 weeks to build in Houston, then about 1 week in delivery. Quick Ship doors, hardware and samples arrive in about 1 week.

Those 5 weeks are counted to your door, not to the day it leaves the shop. Your order goes into the production queue in Houston. A wood door starts in millwork and a fiberglass door in the CNC area, where it is cut to size and its bore holes are machined. It is then finished, glazed and sealed if it has glass, and prehung in its frame if you ordered it that way. The last week is freight. Delivery is free, curbside, by freight truck with a liftgate, anywhere in the continental U.S. You are responsible for moving the door from the curb to your entry, and doors usually weigh 100 pounds or more, so plan for two people.

What the price covers is in what a custom front door costs. When the date is tight, get the measurements right first: follow how to measure for a custom front door, because every custom door is built to the size and swing you order.

When to order for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026

Those dates are worked back from our standard lead times with about a week left for installation. They are estimates, not delivery promises. If you are cutting it close, call a design rep at 713-400-6616 before you order and ask where the queue stands.

If your date is too close

Choose a Quick Ship door. Quick Ship doors are already built, prehung and finished, so they arrive in about a week. As of October 2026 there are two, both the 4 Lite SDL Mahogany Door at $3,185: one in Canyon Brown and one in Charcoal. They come in one size, in-swing only: the door is 37.5 x 82 inches and the full prehung unit is 38.25 x 82.5 inches. Ask a design rep to confirm it fits your opening before you order.

Or order now and install after the holidays. Nothing changes at your house until the door arrives, so a custom door ordered in November is built while you host and can go in whenever you are ready after the holidays.

Decide over the holidays, with the real thing in hand. Real finish samples arrive in about a week, and you can preview our doors on a photo of your own entry for free in about a minute, which is an easy thing to pass around the table.

Installing a front door in winter

It can be done any time of year. The house is only open while the old door is out and the new prehung unit goes in, so pick a dry, mild day, have everything on site first, and keep the opening covered if the job runs long. Before installing, inspect the door: you have 30 days from receipt to report a problem, and once a door is installed it is treated as accepted. In the Greater Houston area, installation is free; a rep confirms your zip code. Elsewhere, read what to check when hiring an installer, or whether to install it yourself.

Order it prehung unless you are hanging the door yourself. A slab arrives without its frame, jambs, sill or weatherstripping, and it is the most common expensive mistake when a deadline is tight.

Before the guests arrive

Whether the door is new or not, a few hours at the entry goes a long way in the weeks you are hosting:

• Seal the drafts before the cold sets in, so the entry is not the coldest spot in the house.
• Decorate the door, and hang the wreath without damaging the finish, especially on a new door.
• Plan the rest of the entry with our holiday curb appeal ideas and getting the house ready for Thanksgiving guests.

Browse every style on our front doors page, or start with Quick Ship if the date matters most.