Christmas print timeline – your guide to preparing for the festive season

If you start your Christmas planning early enough it will be a successful festive season. It sounds like it’s a while off right now, but trust us you’ll blink and suddenly all the Christmas trees will be up. So here’s your early gift, a blog post dedicated to getting you through the next few months, stuffed full of print creativity and advice. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a new business finding your feet, this handy christmas print timeline will help you get organised for the holidays.

September

When this month arrives, you certainly know about it. Everyone is back at work and school, the shops are full of coats and scarves, and pumpkin spiced lattes are all the rage. Everyone is beginning their winter hibernation, yet your retail revenue is just beginning to warm up. It’s time to hit the books and look at what products sold well in the run up to Christmas last year, as well as what your new big hitters will be. Do a little bit of competitor research to make sure what you are going to offer is still relevant, exciting and on-point.

It’s a great time to start planning your calendars. We’ve got some handy tools to help with uploading artwork, so your clients can be gifted a lovely desktop calendar in time before they head for the Christmas break. Draft up a client list you want to send the ultimate classic Christmas product, the humble greeting card to, and start thinking about what design you’d like.

Finally, September is the perfect month for beginning to organise the office party. Stock up on party invites, and look into purchasing some products such as posters and banners from our Events Collection, which really is an organisers best friend.

October

The autumnal hues are well upon us by October. Retailers are busy pushing out their Christmas collections by now, so it’s time to invest in some look books displaying your trophy products that will be the bestsellers. Catalogues need strong images and a quality feel to get noticed amongst all the festive marketing material flying around. For retailers or enterprises wanting to get a visual message out there, a perfect bound landscape brochure does the job.

Speaking of retail, we have a dedicated Retail Collection with all the points of sale you could ask for. We’re talking strut cards, display boards, posters and much more. A pop of personalisation is a great way to promote your business through customer’s carrier bags, so add a sticker on the side for a subtle sales technique, or go all out and create customised wrapping paper for the gift giver and receiver to revel in.

November

Now we’ve got Halloween out of the way, November is where you really start to push your products, so if you haven’t already, get them on the shelves and/or online. Use social media to create a bit of a buzz, and look at getting leaflets and flyers out there to demonstrate your seasonal discounts and deals. With Black Friday taking place on the 25^th, you’ll want to give customers enough time to window shop before getting stuck into the sale.

It’s also the perfect time to turn your artwork into a promotional wall decoration or a feature wall design. With permanent, removable and repositionable self-adhesive options, make sure your yuletide message sticks.

December

Before you kick back in front of a roaring fire with a glass of eggnog, remember that the first two weeks are going to be crucial, when those last minute print jobs are needed. Order more stickers and labels for last minute discount deals, some gorgeous envelope liners for a luxury take on Christmas cards, and don’t forget mini cards. These mighty multifunctional cards can be used as a present tag or to display product details.

Just before you enjoy the holidays, make sure all your Christmas cards and gifts have gone out and been received. Finally, make sure you have all your print needs sorted for what will inevitably be a hectic New Year and January sale, but for now, enjoy some time off – you’ve earned it!

Got any tips to help other creatives and small business owners ace their Christmas print or stay organised? Leave a comment in the box below and share up—it’s the season of giving! Why not download our timeline in a handy PDF format? Just click here!