The Holiday Marketing Calendar, Explained

Planning is half the battle when it comes to creating marketing campaigns for your business. Creating a plan for each month around a theme or a holiday is a fantastic way to keep your business moving forward. It can be a struggle to come up with marketing ideas every day, but using a holiday marketing plan will keep you organized and looking forward to the next holiday.

Getting a marketing calendar is an excellent way to plan different ad campaigns for your upcoming year. We would like to help get you started with your 2024 online marketing calendar. We have the months listed below and several major holidays in each month to help get you started. We’ve included all the major holidays as well as smaller ones that your target audience may find interesting.

Keep reading to get a better idea of what holidays your target audience celebrates, and then start formulating a marketing strategy. We’ve also included a marketing calendar template that you can download for easier planning.

The Marketing Calendar: All the Dates You Should Know

Creating a marketing calendar with the dates that you need to market to your customers is an excellent method for getting your business organized. It isn’t just about decorating your storefront or running a special giveaway. Whether you decide to use an email strategy, social media marketing tools, or make use of traditional ad campaigns, having a holiday schedule will keep you focused.

Keep reading to get a closer look at all the possible holidays you can use to market to your customers. Start at the beginning of the year, or begin where you are, but most importantly, get started.

Holidays in January:

•       New Year’s Day (1st)
•       Clean Off Your Desk Day (Second Monday of January)
•       Get to Know Your Customers Day (Third Thursday of January)
•       Science Fiction Day (2nd)
•       National Sticker Day (13th)
•       National Hat Day (15th)
•       Martin Luther King Jr. Day (3rd Monday of January)
•       Chinese New Year’s (22nd)
•       National Pie Day (23rd)
•       National Spouse’s Day (26th)

January is a fantastic month for marketing. Some wonderful themes to work with include the fact it is National Mentoring Month and using the fresh start of a New Year to build healthy habits. Making sure to have a plan that includes something about a fresh start is an important part of the New Year for your business. You can also utilize marketing for MLK Day, as well as National Spouse’s Day.

While it is common to advertise for New Year’s Day, remember to address the other smaller holidays as well, such as Science Fiction Day or National Hat Day. Both can be opportunities to capture clients you wouldn’t normally market to.

Holidays in February:

•       Groundhog Day (2nd)
•       Grammy Awards (5th)
•       National Pizza Day (9th)
•       Chinese New Year (1st 2 weeks)
•       Superbowl Sunday (Second Sunday)
•       Safer Internet Day (second Tuesday)
•       Valentine’s Day (14th)
•       Random Acts of Kindness Day (17th)
•       Love Your Pet Day (20th)
•       President’s Day (Third Monday)
•       Mardi Gras (Last Week)
•       Ash Wednesday (46 days before Easter)
•       Black History Month
•       LGBT History Month

One of the traditionally big February holidays is Valentine’s Day. However, February offers many other holidays you can build marketing campaigns around. Of course, publishing interesting and engaging content for the Grammy Awards is a sound marketing idea, as is Superbowl Sunday. Both offer the opportunity to entertain your friends with food, drinks, and laughter.

You also shouldn’t forget about marketing for Black History Month all month long as well as the Chinese New Year for the first couple weeks of the month.

Holidays in March:

•       World Wildlife Day (3rd)
•       National Dress Day (6th)
•       National Employee Appreciation Day (first Friday)
•       National Day of Unplugging (first Friday)
•       Daylight Savings (second Sunday)
•       International Women’s Day (8th)
•       The Oscars (12th)
•       Pi Day (14th)
•       St. Patrick’s Day (17th)
•       First Day of Spring (20th)
•       American Diabetes Association Alert Day (4th Tuesday)
•       Earth Hour Day (Last Saturday)
•       Women’s History Month

As we get closer to spring, there are more ways to include a wider variety of holidays in your marketing plan. March themes are spring, St. Patrick’s Day, and Women’s History Month. Take the opportunity to introduce your client base to important women in history, healthy eating for diabetics, or some local wildlife.

Plan your marketing and your customers will be happy you did. This kind of planning will give you an edge over your competition and help you keep organized throughout the year.

Holidays in April:

•       April Fool’s Day (1st)
•       World Autism Awareness (2nd)
•       National Pet Day (11th)
•       Emancipation Day (16th)
•       National Garden Month
•       National Tea Day (21st)
•       Earth Day (22nd)
•       Arbor Day (Last Friday)
•       National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day (Fourth Thursday)
•       Denim Day (Last Wednesday)
•       Easter (31st)

April marketing plans can cover quite a bit of ground. From lighthearted jokes for April Fool’s Day to all the things that go along with Easter, there is plenty of opportunity for marketing in the Spring. For instance, you can send text messages to remind your leads and customers of the coming Easter holidays, along with special promotions you may have.

Regardless of whether you are looking at email marketing, content marketing, text marketing campaigns, or more traditional advertising, a plan is the best way to keep you motivated and on track.

Holidays in May:

•       Star Wars Day (4th)
•       Cinco de Mayo (5th)
•       World Asthma Day (First Tuesday)
•       National Teacher Appreciation Day (First Tuesday of the first full week)
•       Space Day (First Friday)
•       Mother’s Day (12th)
•       World Cocktail Day (13th)
•       National Biscuit Day (13th)
•       May Day (Second Sunday)
•       National Receptionist Day (Second Wednesday)
•       Endangered Species Day (Third Friday)
•       Memorial Day (Last Monday)
•       Heat Awareness Day (Last Friday)
•       Mental Health Awareness Month

When May arrives, your holiday marketing plans should be well underway. Some big May holidays that every business likes to make sure they hit are, of course, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. But if you aren’t advertising to your customers on other key holidays this month, you’ll be missing out on some potentially significant holiday revenue.

Make sure to market to the educational community as well on National Teacher Appreciation Day. And with the growing importance of mental health around the world, don’t forget to speak to the fact it is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Holidays in June:

•       National Cancer Survivors Day (First Sunday)
•       Neurodiversity Pride Day (16th)
•       Juneteenth (19th)
•       Take Your Dog to Work Day (First Friday after Juneteenth)
•       Summer Solstice (20th)
•       World Music Day (21st)
•       Midsummer’s Day (21st)
•       Global Day of Parents (28th)
•       Father’s Day (Third Sunday)
•       Pride Month (entire month)

June’s marketing plans should encompass advertising for Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and Pride Month. These June holidays are widely celebrated, and marketing materials like emails, social media posts, SMS messages, and blog posts centered around these days are likely to appeal to customers.

But don’t forget that others will want to celebrate the fact that there is a Summer Solstice and a day, especially for taking your dog to work.

Holidays in July:

•       Canada Day (1st)
•       Independence Day (4th)
•       Bastille Day (14th)
•       Tour De France (20th)
•       International Day of Friendship (30th)

July is an important month for marketing for several reasons. Independence Day, or the 4th of July, is a major federal holiday that is celebrated by many Americans. If you own a dealership or a similar business, you can offer discounts or special deals to customers who drop by your store on this day. You can even launch themed campaigns a couple of weeks early to remind customers of the holiday.

Holidays in August:

•       International Cat Day (8th)
•       Book Lover’s Day (9th)
•       Senior Citizen’s Day (21st)
•       World Photography Day (26th)
•       National Dog Day (26th)
•       National Marshmallow Toasting Day (30th)

August can be a bit more relaxed when it comes to national holidays in America. It is the quiet before the holiday season is in full swing. Make sure your marketing strategy considers the fact that you have the National Days for both cats and dogs in August. You can create more fun, lighthearted content to appeal to animal lovers.

Your marketing strategy can also highlight the fact that it is back-to-school season, with your campaigns focusing on reminding parents to get their kids ready.

Holidays in September:

•       Labor Day (First Monday)
•       National Grandparents Day (First Sunday after Labor Day)
•       Stand Up to Cancer Day (Second Friday)
•       Oktoberfest (19th)
•       International Day of Peace (21st)
•       First Day of Fall (23rd)
•       World Tourism Day (27th)
•       National Women’s Health and Fitness Day (Last Wednesday)
•       Hispanic Heritage Month (month)

Get ready to kick off your holiday marketing strategy when September hits. You will want to market to those ready to celebrate the fact it is finally fall. You should also not forget to advertise for Labor Day, another major federal holiday celebrated by many.

Holidays in October:

•       World Vegetarian Day (1st)
•       International Coffee Day (1st)
•       World Habitat Day (First Monday)
•       World Smile Day (First Friday)
•       World Mental Health Day (10th)
•       World Sight Day (Second Thursday)
•       World Food Day (16th)
•       Halloween (31st)
•       Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October puts you in line for all the major holidays of the Christmas season but don’t forget to market to the holidays for this month. Common themes used by marketers this time of year include fall, Halloween, and the fact it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can also work email marketing campaigns around small yet fun October holidays like International Coffee Day and World Smile Day.

Holidays in November:

•       World Vegan Day (1st)
•       Stress Awareness Day (First Wednesday)
•       Daylight Savings Ends (First Sunday)
•       Veteran’s Day (11th)
•       National Entrepreneurs Day (Third Tuesday)
•       Thanksgiving (Fourth Thursday)
•       Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving)
•       Cyber Monday (Monday after Thanksgiving)
•       Small Business Saturday (Last Saturday)
•       Men’s Health Awareness Month

November is the preamble to the Christmas season. There are plenty of marketing opportunities available this month. You can start with marketing for the vegan audience as well as Thanksgiving, as both holidays provide the opportunity to talk about food. Cyber Monday can also be considered a free-shipping day, which many ecommerce businesses capitalize on.

Holidays in December:

•       Hanukkah (7th-15th)
•       Winter Solstice (21)
•       National Salesperson Day (second Friday)
•       Christmas Eve (24th)
•       Christmas (25th)
•       Boxing Day (26th)
•       New Year’s Eve (31st)

December allows for the most marketing opportunities out of any month in the calendar. Out of all the seasonal holidays, Christmas Day allows for plenty of marketing potential and is always the leader for winter holidays.

If you have a retail or service-based business, you can also launch Christmas campaigns as early as November and send content such as gift guides to your leads and clients. You can also get ready for this big shopping season by integrating tools and technology that make the sales journey as smooth as possible. This is particularly true for big-ticket purchases like cars, jewelry, and mattresses.

When marketing for December, don’t forget to advertise for holidays other than Christmas and New Year’s Day. Depending on your customers’ demographics, you can also create marketing campaigns around Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Diwali, for instance.

Holiday Marketing Calendar Template

Podium has holiday marketing calendar texting templates and more available for several industries below.

• Holiday marketing template for jewelry stores
• Holiday marketing template for med spas
• Holiday marketing template for furniture stores
• Holiday marketing template for new car dealers
• Holiday marketing template for HVAC businesses

You can also check out this Google calendar which lists holidays in a monthly view.