It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but getting good December newsletter ideas can be stressful for a marketer.
Email engagement can drop during holiday shopping, parties, and long vacations, meaning you must work much harder to achieve your email marketing goals.
Then there’s also the year-end pressure to close strong 😕
In this blog post, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of December newsletter ideas so your editorial calendar is full all month. Think of it like an email newsletter marketing advent calendar!
Table of Contents
16 Dazzling December Newsletter Ideas for Better Conversion
Let’s get started!
1. Recommend safety standards for World Food Service Safety Month
December begins World Food Service Safety Month, an occasion established in 1994. The National Restaurant Association created this awareness period to ensure food service establishments follow the latest safety standards. If not, they’re encouraged to revise their processes.
If you’re in the hospitality sector, you shouldn’t miss this monthlong opportunity to help your food service staff present the highest-quality dishes to customers safely and efficiently. You can create a newsletter revising your current standards, introducing new ones, and offering tips and guidelines.
2. Honor Human Rights Week
Human Rights Week begins the second week of the month, culminating in Human Rights Day on December 10th.
Whether you acknowledge the entire week or just the day, you can underscore our current rights and help your audience fight for more global rights no matter your industry.
Whether it’s through donations, writing their local senators, or other forms of activism, give your audience options for spreading awareness.
Even something as simple as posting on social media or participating in a local event can have a positive impact if people become more aware of current human rights issues.
Also, International Human Solidarity Day is observed on December 20.
Read also: 2024 Done Right: Creative January Newsletter Ideas
3. Go green on World Pollution Prevention Day
Did you know that more than 35% of United States residents live in areas of high particle or ozone pollution? That’s nearly 120 million people!
Stats like these can put a knot in your stomach, right?
It’s upsetting how much pollution affects nations, big and small. That’s what World Pollution Prevention Day on December 2nd is all about. It’s an excellent opportunity to share stats and data about pollution and launch initiatives for reducing it.
As the newsletter example above shows, you don’t need an overly complex layout or design for the occasion. Keeping your information straightforward and streamlined allows the message to flow more strongly.
4. Get on the nice list for Santa’s List Day
Are you on the nice list? Find out on December 4th, which is Santa’s List Day. This precursor to Christmas doesn’t only have to be a kids’ holiday. You can get your customers off the naughty list by offering an early yuletide sale.
Read also: 10 Fall Newsletter Ideas You’ll Love [+Tips, Examples]
5. Launch a contest for Wear Brown Shoes Day
It’s best to keep contests easy in December, considering your audience usually has a full social calendar and is busy with shopping, wrapping, and decorating.
That’s why Wear Brown Shoes Day is the perfect occasion to acknowledge. This December 4th holiday is easy-peasy, as most people have at least one pair of brown shoes in their closet.
So, how do you make it a contest? Simple! Ask your audience to share pictures of themselves wearing brown shoes, send the images through email, or post on social media using a hashtag you select.
Then, in a future newsletter, showcase the funkiest, most eye-catching pairs of shoes, declaring a winner. You can put up several photos to vote to determine the fan favorite.
Your prize should ideally be related to your products or services, but gift cards and cash are always appreciated.
6. Relax on Bathtub Party Day
Are you having a holiday party in your bathtub this December? You should be on the 6th of December for Bathtub Party Day.
Since the origins of this occasion are all about relaxing in the bath, now is the perfect time to unveil a flash sale on bath and body products. If your business falls under this category, you must take advantage of the chance to promote it.
Keep the sales period short, like 12 to 24 hours, as you’ll surely have more sales planned for your audience as December rolls on.
Read also: 18 Amazing April Newsletter Ideas for 2024
7. Pay homage on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
December 7th is a day that will live in infamy, as it’s Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
This isn’t an occasion for flashy emails or sales. Instead, you should keep your email message short and somber, acknowledging the day and its historical implications.
The example above is a bit more involved than your email has to be, but if you have someone within your company who served, they can write a forward like this.
8. Give a gift on White Elephant Day
White Elephant Day is a gift-swapping event where people strive to find the top present in the pile. You can help them by offering the best gift of all: a sale!
A White Elephant-themed sale doesn’t have to be steep, maybe 20% or 30% off. The goal is to give your audience a reason to shop your products and services before Christmas officially comes.
Most of your competitors will spend December focusing on the holidays later in the month, so if you unveil a White Elephant Sale early, you will stand out and get business.
Read also: 21 June Newsletter Ideas To Boost Your Business
9. Hold a contest in Time for Gingerbread House Day
Gingerbread houses are synonymous with this time of year, so why not usher in the spirit of the holiday in time for Gingerbread House Day on December 12th?
That’s enough time for your customers to build their best edible cookie creations.
The above graphic is a good style to emulate. It’s bright and colorful yet informative, telling your audience what they need to know if they want to participate.
Your contest might require your audience to upload images or videos of their gingerbread homes to your social media or a special email address just for the contest. You can send a follow-up email announcing the winner just in time for the holidays.
10. Sell some flowers on Poinsettia Day
Poinsettias are also synonymous with the holidays. Greenhouses, plant nurseries, and gardening supply stores should capitalize on Poinsettia Day, also on December 12th, as it’s a great opportunity to make some sales of this holiday flower.
You might discount your stock for a day or offer a flash sale on poinsettias. Make sure to have plenty of supply to keep up with the heightened demand this month!
Read also: Spring Into Action: Innovative March Newsletter Ideas
11. Spread smiles on Look on the Bright Side Day
It’s time to look on the bright side on December 21st! This holiday is a solid excuse to touch base with your audience before the holidays begin, spreading good cheer.
What kind of email should you send on Look on the Bright Side Day? You can mail a sharable graphic like this:
You can also offer your audience a chance to save with a flash sale. That will surely have anyone looking on the brighter side of life.
12. Usher in the start of the season on Winter Solstice Day
December doesn’t end until winter officially begins on December 21st.
Although the start of winter might not seem like a celebratory occasion, it’s all about how you perceive it. For example, take a look at what retailer Anthropologie did here with its wintertime welcome email.
The email begins with a list of what to do when it’s too cold to go outside (which is common in winter), then ingeniously ties into Anthropologie’s products with a sales code.
Read also: 21 November Newsletter Ideas to Keep Your Subscribers Cozy
13. Celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hannukah
Happy holidays! Between mid-to-late December, Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa will come and go. While Christmas is the most commercially accepted shopping holiday, you can offer sales for other occasions as well.
The key when sending emails for these holidays is individuality and uniqueness. You must consider that all your competitors will launch email marketing campaigns for the holidays, so making yours stand out visually should increase open and click-through rates.
For example, check out this engaging Christmas email.
It’s modeled after the classic advent calendar and generates a sense of curiosity in the reader. What is behind that door? The only way to find out is by clicking!
Theming your emails for various holidays is also helpful. For instance, here’s a Mixology email for Hannukah. There’s no red and green to be found, only cool blues.
If you don’t want to send a sales email in your December newsletter, it’s fine to issue your audience a warm holiday greeting, keeping it short, simple, and sweet. The email below is a great example of what yours can look like.
14. Keep the deals going on Boxing Day
The fun doesn’t have to stop just because the holidays are over. Between Christmas and New Year’s is Boxing Day, which is celebrated on December 26th.
Now that everyone has unwrapped all their gifts, they’ll want to exchange and return some items. Other shoppers will wish to pick up the items they wanted for themselves but didn’t get.
A Boxing Day sale should generate a good deal of profit for your business as the year winds down. The bigger the sale, the better.
15. Close deals on Make Up Your Mind Day
Do you have a couple of unclosed deals that have been gnawing at you all month? You don’t want to close the year with these deals still unresolved; that would drive you crazy.
Start the year with a blank slate by celebrating Make Up Your Mind Day on December 31st. You might send an email a few days before, as most people are out of the office by the 31st for the New Year’s holiday.
If you’ve held off on making an enticing offer, such as a steep discount or an extended demo, this is the time to unveil it. You literally won’t get another chance this year.
Read also: 18 September Newsletter Ideas to Delight Your Subscribers
16. End the year on a good note on New Year’s Eve
Two days of holidays? Don’t mind if I do! While New Year’s Day is in January, New Year’s Eve is still a December holiday, and the last day of the year.
It’s the biggest of the two New Year’s occasions to most people, presenting a chance to dress up, watch fireworks, and celebrate the change of a year and all the hopes and dreams that come with it.
Your last email of the year should be strong, like this example here.
Announce your final sale of the year, and make it a good one so your customers choose you over the competition.
Bonus: Don’t miss December’s Foodie occasions
December is all about treating yourself, especially with your dietary decisions. Here are some food-centric holidays to go on your editorial calendar. Make sure to send timely discounts, recipes, and sales on these special days:
- National Fruitcake Month
- Eat a Red Apple Day on December 1st
- National Cookie Cutter Day on December 1st
- National Fritters Day on December 2nd
- National Cookie Day on December 4th
- National Cotton Candy Day on December 7th
- National Brownie Day on December 8th
- National Lard Day on December 8th
- National Pastry Day on December 9th
- Gingerbread House Day on December 12th
- Ice Cream Day on December 13th
- National Cocoa Day on December 13th
- National Bouillabaisse Day on December 14th
- Roast Chestnuts Day on December 14th
- National Lemon Cupcake Day on December 15th
- National Chocolate Covered Anything Day on December 16th
- National Maple Syrup Day on December 17th
- Bake Cookies Day on December 18th
- National Roast Suckling Pig Day on December 18th
- Oatmeal Muffin Day on December 19th
- National Chocolate Day on December 24th
- National Eggnog Day on December 24th
- National Pumpkin Pie Day on December 25th
- National Candy Cane Day on December 26th
- National Fruitcake Day on December 27th
- Bacon Day on December 30th
- National Bicarbonate of Soda Day on December 30th
Other notable days in December
- Rosa Parks Day on December 1st (observed in some US states)
- Free Shipping Day during mid-December
- St. Nicholas Day on December 5th and 6th
Read also: 19 August Newsletter Ideas with a Splash of Inspiration
Wrapping Up
While Christmas and New Year’s Eve will always be December’s biggest holidays, the month has many more occasions and celebrations to acknowledge across 31 days.
Building your email marketing campaign around these special days will keep your company top-of-mind well into the new year!
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