Call it a holiday gift to federal employees. President Clinton will sign an executive order today declaring Dec. 26 - the Friday after Christmas - a holiday, White House officials said Monday.

Every year since 1952, presidents have given government workers an extra day off when Christmas Day falls on a Thursday. The last such extra holiday came in 1986, when Ronald Reagan was president.

“We thought it was a good idea to get it done earlier than sometimes in the past, so that both workers and agencies could plan ahead,” a White House official with Clinton in Vancouver, British Columbia, said.

Most years, federal employees celebrate 10 holidays.

Unless workers have made arrangements with their supervisors, officials said, they will be expected to report to work this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.