When to Start Posting Your Seasonal Content. Halloween, Christmas and More.

Post highlights

• Begin Halloween content 6–8 weeks before 31 October.

• Christmas peaks early. Start core content 10–12 weeks out, with teasers in September.

• SEO needs the longest runway. Paid and email can be layered closer to the date.

• Refresh what worked last year, then add fresh hooks and creatives.

• Tie everything to a clear social media strategy so channels reinforce each other.

Why timing matters

Seasonal content works best when you give platforms time to index, audiences time to engage, and your creative room to iterate. Search engines reward pages that have settled and accrued signals. Social algorithms respond to consistent momentum. Email benefits from warming your list rather than blasting a single, last-minute send.

A practical timeline by season

Halloween

Start publishing pillar pieces 6–8 weeks before 31 October. Think guides, checklists and landing pages. Follow with how-tos, costume or décor ideas, and short video from late September. The first two weeks of October are your social sprint with daily snackable posts and Stories.

Black Friday and Cyber Week

Lay foundations 8–10 weeks ahead. Publish comparison pages, gift guides and FAQs in September. Use mid-November for deal previews, waitlists and onsite banners. Have day-of assets ready in multiple variants so you can rotate quickly.

Christmas

Christmas discovery starts early. Launch your cornerstone content 10–12 weeks out, then drip new pieces through October and November. Gift guides should ladder from broad to niche, for example “for gamers”, “for commuters”, “under £25”. Consider staging shipping-cut-off reminders in the final 10 days.

New Year and January sales

Schedule planning content the week after Christmas. Post goal-setting guides, habit trackers and “reset” themes from Boxing Day to the first week of January. If you sell subscriptions, lean into annual plan incentives.

Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Easter and Summer

Four to six weeks is enough for most short-lead seasonal moments. For travel and summer campaigns, begin in May and scale through June as intent builds.

Channel lead times that actually work

• SEO

  Aim to publish 8–12 weeks before the peak. Repurpose last year’s pages by updating images, dates, internal links and FAQs. For a deeper dive on the logic behind seasonal planning, see HubSpot’s guide to seasonal marketing

• Social

  Teasers 4–6 weeks out, ramping to daily short-form in the two weeks before the event. Align formats to platform culture and your overarching social media strategy

• Email

  Warm-up sequence 2–3 weeks out, early-access list 1 week out, then a final 48-hour push. Always have a clear post-event follow-up.

• Paid

  Use prospecting early for learning and creative testing, then switch to retargeting and offer-led creatives during the peak window.

Make last year’s winners work harder

Look at analytics to locate pages and posts that spiked last season. Update titles and intros, refresh examples, add 2025 imagery, and tighten CTAs. Incorporate search questions you missed, and expand comparison tables. This helps you keep equity while signalling relevance.

Brief, build, buffer

Create a mini production calendar for each season. Include who owns copy, design and approvals. Bake in a two-round feedback buffer. Label assets clearly with season and version so you can find them next year. For trend spotting and consumer behaviour cues, Think with Google’s holiday shopping insights is a helpful starting point.

Quick checklist

• Publish cornerstone content 8–12 weeks out for big seasons.

• Stack supporting posts 2–6 weeks out.

• Schedule daily social in the final two weeks.

• Prepare email flows and last-minute paid variants.

• Refresh evergreen pages instead of starting from scratch.

• Measure, document, and templatise for next year.

How far in advance should I start Halloween content?

Six to eight weeks is a safe window. That gives SEO time to settle and leaves room for social and email to build momentum.

When should I publish Christmas gift guides?

Early October for core guides, with niche versions through November. Add shipping-cut-off reminders in December.

Do I need separate landing pages for each season?

Yes if intent differs. Keep URLs stable year to year so you retain equity, then refresh the content and date.

What if I am late?

Prioritise high-impact formats. Update last year’s top page, run retargeting, and ship a tight email sequence. Short-form video can still land within days of the event.

How do I measure success?

Track assisted conversions, not just last-click. Monitor ranking lift, engagement rate, opt-ins and revenue during the peak window. Save your notes and asset links to speed up next season.