2025 Holiday SMS Marketing Calendar- Key Dates & Strategies for Success

2025 Holiday SMS Marketing Calendar: Key Dates & Strategies for Success

2025 Holiday SMS Marketing Calendar: Key Dates & Strategies for Success

10 Feb 2025

Philip Portman

Philip Portman

The holiday season is the golden opportunity for marketers to connect with target audiences and boost revenues. It is the perfect time for marketers to add new SMS marketing campaigns to their holiday SMS marketing calendar. With so many holidays and special events throughout the year, selecting the most relevant for subscribers is challenging. Usually, marketers consider taking the safest bet and stick to the major marketing days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Of course, these days drive significant sales, but limiting your marketing campaigns to only these dates is not prudent. If you do this, you will miss opportunities. Here is where the holiday marketing calendar comes into the picture. This SMS marketing holiday calendar helps you identify lesser-known holidays which perfectly align with your business niche.

Therefore, use this holiday SMS marketing calendar and prepare yourself to build a successful marketing strategy for 2025.

Key Dates for Holiday SMS Marketing in 2025

Here are key dates to craft SMS marketing campaigns that you can’t afford to miss in 2025. Use this holiday SMS marketing calendar to connect with your audience and drive sales in even lesser-known holidays and events.

1. January – New Year’s & Winter Sales

January is all about the New Year resolutions, celebrations, dealing with the loss of the holiday season, and goal setting. Therefore, you can use this month to offer special discounts and deals on your product/service, which might be useful for your customers when they start working on their New Year resolutions. Here are some important dates in January for which your business can craft SMS marketing campaigns.

  • Jan 1 – New Year’s Day
    It represents a fresh start and resolutions. You can send SMS promotions, including special New Year sale offers/discounts, and send your customers products that promote a healthy lifestyle.
  • Jan 6 – Three King’s Day
    It is a cultural holiday celebrated in the US and in many other countries. You can create text message marketing campaigns that promote traditional gifts, festive discounts, and cultural-themed sales.
  • Jan 15 – National Hat Day
    National Hat Day is a fun day to celebrate hats and accessories. You can give your customers exclusive discounts on hats, fashion accessories, and beanies.
  • Jan 20 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
    It is the day of remembrance and community service. You can craft SMS campaigns that engage your subscribers and serve your brand’s purpose. You can offer site-wide discounts and donate part of your earnings to a charity. Besides, you can encourage donations, social impact campaigns, and promotions that support charitable causes.
  • Jan 25 – Opposite Day
    Opposite Day is the playful day to engage your customers. You can curate SMS campaigns that include fun, unexpected offers or reverse sales such as BOGO flipped deals.
  • Jan 26 – Spouse’s Day
    It is the day to appreciate partners. You can send SMS reminders for thoughtful gifts, romantic experiences, bundled offers, and couple-themed promotions.
  • Jan 29 – Lunar New Year
    It is a major cultural celebration. You can promote family gatherings, traditional gifts, exclusive discounts, and free shipping on festive products.

2. February – Love, Laughter, Sports, and Savings

February has many special dates for marketers to celebrate. Major three of them are Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and Super Bowl Sunday. Even as per the National Retail Federation, Valentine’s Day Gift Spending in the US is approximately $26 billion. By looking at these figures, February is certainly a month you can’t afford to miss when it comes to strategizing your marketing efforts.

  • Feb 1 – Black History Month
    It is the perfect day to celebrate Black culture and achievements by sending educational messages, charitable donation campaigns, and exclusive discounts on Black-owned businesses.
  • Feb 2 – Groundhog Day
    You can use playful messaging that predicts “six more weeks of savings” or “six deals arriving early.” You can even offer flash sales based on the groundhog’s forecast.
  • Feb 2 – Grammy Awards
    It is the perfect day to feature your top-selling products and their benefits to attract and engage your audience. Engage music lovers with exclusive discounts on music-related products, themed playlists, or concert tickets. You can even use interactive polls for favourite winners.
  • Feb 6 – New York Fashion Week
    Launch limited-time fashion deals, VIP access to new seasonal collections, or exclusive discounts on trendy styles to encourage subscribers to try new looks.
  • Feb 9 – Super Bowl Sunday
    It is a great day to share discounts or food promotions. You can promote game-day snacks, party essentials, or team merchandise with limited-time offers. You can even use countdown texts for last-minute orders.
  • Feb 14 – Valentine’s Day
    You can offer discounts on Valentine-themed products, free shipping, product recommendations, or last-minute deals on chocolate, flowers, jewellery, and BOGO and FOMO deals for couples.
  • Feb 17 – President’s Day
    You can highlight major retail sales on appliances, cars, and furniture. Offer presidential trivia or leader’s choice for engagement.
  • Feb 17 – National Random Acts of Kindness Day
    Encourage customers to share kindness with surprise giveaways, charity donations, or discounts for gifting products to special someone. You can even launch a BOGO and FOMO deal to support a cause that is important to your brand.

3. March – Spring Forward and Festivities

March is all about women, but you can blossom your business this spring with some bright campaigns and social-driven strategies. This way, you can end the year’s first quarter on a high note. Here are some key dates to remember in March to increase your social reach.

  • Mar 8 – International Women’s Day
    It is the global celebration of women’s achievement and empowerment. You can run SMS campaigns offering discounts on women-focused products, appreciation messages, or some donation-driven initiative that supports women’s causes.
  • Mar 9 – Daylight Saving Time Begins
    This marks the start of the longer daylight hours. You can run “Spring Forward” early-bird sales, limited-time discounts, and time-sensitive deals.
  • Mar 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
    It is a day to celebrate Irish culture and luck. Using fun and festive language, you can promote “Lucky Discounts”, exclusive offers, and green-themed sales through SMS campaigns.
  • Mar 20 – First Day of Spring
    It is the start of a new season, so it is ideal for fashion, home décor, and outdoor product promotions. You can run SMS marketing campaigns that announce fresh collections, spring cleaning deals, or travel offers.
  • Mar 21 – World Poetry Day
    It is the day to honour creativity and literature. You can engage your customers by running SMS poetry contests, book discounts, or sending a fun poem to promote your product/service.
  • Mar 29 – National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
    It is the day to recognize small businesses. You can encourage support for local shops with exclusive discounts by collaborating with small businesses and sending appreciation messages.

4. April – Easter and Tax Refund Season

Easter starts this month, so you can hide an easter egg in your SMS marketing campaign and increase engagement. Take a look at some important dates in April to have some with your holiday SMS marketing calendar.

  • Apr 1 – April Fool’s Day
    It is the day of jokes and pranks. You can send some playful, surprise discounts or run “Too Good to Be True” offers with some twist.
  • Apr 7 – World Health Day
    It is the day to celebrate healthcare heroes and focus on running SMS marketing healthcare campaigns that promote health awareness. You can promote wellness products, health checkup discounts, or fitness gear.
  • Apr 10 – Sibling Day
    Celebrate sibling bonds through BOGO and FOMO deals, heartfelt discount messages, and running family-focused SMS campaigns.
  • Apr 14 – National Gardening Day
    Encourage gardening activities by running a Grow Your Savings campaign and promoting gardening tools, plants, and outdoor accessories.
  • Apr 15 – Tax Day
    This day marks the deadline for tax filing. You can offer “Tax Refund” deals, stress-relief discounts, and financial service promotions.
  • Apr 15 – World Art Day
    It is the day to celebrate creativity and art. You can run an SMS campaign, “Express Yourself” that promotes art supplies, DIY kits, and museum discounts.
  • Apr 20 – Easter Sunday
    It is a religious and family-centred holiday. You can send your subscribers a festive message with Easter brunch deals, special discounts on fashion, gifts, or whatever service/products you offer.
  • Apr 22 – Earth Day
    Encourage your subscribers to go green by shopping for eco-friendly, sustainable products. You can offer special discounts on sustainable products and donate some portion of your earnings to an eco-friendly cause.
  • Apr 26 – Arbor Day
    This is the day to encourage tree planting and environmental awareness. You can promote eco-friendly products and sustainability initiatives or run a text message marketing campaign/offer, “Plant a Tree with Every Purchase.”

5. May – Moms, Heroes, and Memorial Day Sales

It is the start of summer, and customers usually wait for it. Therefore, it is the perfect time to share final reminders of spring cleaning activities, exclusive access to summer pre-sales, and promote your new seasonal items. Here are some key May 2025 dates you can’t afford to miss this year.

  • May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
    Celebrate Mexican culture and heritage on this day. Restaurants and bar owners can offer special discounts on Mexican cuisine and drinks by running SMS campaigns and encouraging festive dining.
  • May 11 – Mother’s Day
    It is a perfect day to honour mothers. This day is ideal for promoting special discounts on gifts, flowers, jewellery, and spa treatments. You can even use SMS reminders for last-minute shoppers and give them exclusive discount codes.
  • May 17 – World Baking Day
    You can celebrate this day by sharing baking tips and recipes. You can run an SMS campaign that offers special discounts on baking ingredients, equipment, etc. Grocery brands and baking supply stores can send SMS promotions with special discounts on baking essentials.
  • May 18 – Armed Forces Day
    It is the day to honour military personnel. Businesses can offer exclusive discounts or free products to active-duty members and run military appreciation campaigns.
  • May 26 – Memorial Day
    It is the major U.S. holiday that marks the unofficial start of the summer. Ecommerce and retailers can send SMS campaigns that highlight patriotic-themed sales, travel gear, and BBQ essentials.
  • May 27 – National Sunscreen Day
    This is the perfect day to raise awareness of sun protection. If you own a skincare brand or pharmacy store, you can offer special deals on sunscreens and SPF products through SMS. You can even share healthy skin habit tips and recommendations.
  • May 30 – National Creativity Day
    You can share UGC content that includes special offers and limited-time discounts highlighting your most popular items.

6. June – Summer and Father’s Day Promos

Celebrate dad and your father figures and dive into summer fun in June. You can run SMS campaigns that promote bundle deals or limited-time discounts. Check out these important dates in June.

  • June 3 – World Bicycle Day
    It is the day to celebrate cycling for health and sustainability. You can run SMS campaigns that offer special discounts on bikes, accessories, or fitness gear with eco-friendly messages.
  • June 4 – National Cheese Day
    Restaurants and grocery stores can send SMS deals on dairy products, pizzas, or cheese platters.
  • June 4 – Global Running Day
    Encourage people to stay active. Sports brands can run SMS campaigns that promote special discounts on shoes, apparel, and fitness gear with motivational messages.
  • June 7 – National Trails Day
    You can promote hiking and outdoor adventure. Send SMS discount on guided nature tours, hiking gear, and outdoor equipment.
  • June 8 – Best Friends Day
    It is the day to celebrate friendships. Brands can send BOGO deals on spa treatments, experiences, or gifts.
  • June 8 – World Ocean Day
    It is the day to raise awareness about ocean conservation. You can promote sustainable products or run a campaign highlighting your brand will donate a percentage of sales to marine conservation efforts.
  • June 14 – Flag Day
    It is a day to honour the U.S. flag and patriotism. Retailers can offer discounts on themed apparel, flags, and merchandise.
  • June 15 – Father’s Day
    Send SMS reminders to your subscribers that your brand is just one text away. They can ask questions, product recommendations, and get shipping support for their dad and father figures. You can ask your customers to share their favourite memories with their dad for a chance to win a Father’s Day gift hamper.
  • June 19 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
    You can offer discounts to your customers and let them know you’ll donate some portion of sales to organizations supporting racial justice. Businesses can even highlight Black-owned brands, community events, and heritage-inspired promotions.
  • June 21 – First Day of Summer
    It marks the start of summer fun. Businesses can send SMS deals on vacation packages, outdoor essentials, or beachwear.
  • June 27 – National Sunglasses Day
    It is the day to promote eye protection and style. Sunglass brands and retailers can run flash sales or offer exclusive discounts through SMS.

7. July – Independence and Mid-Year Sales

Summer is in full swing in July, with many holidays and seasonal moments. So brands can create SMS campaigns around them.

  • July 4 – Independence Day
    You can celebrate Independence Day with a site-wide summer sale. You can run an SMS campaign that highlights a 24-hour flash sale and patriotic-themed sales on travel deals, apparel, and BBQ essentials. Send special discounts for party supplies and holiday bundles.
  • July 7 – World Chocolate Day
    You can attract customers with sweet deals, limited-time discounts, and BOGO offers via SMS, where your products are a key ingredient.
  • July 15 – National Clean Beauty Day
    You can educate your subscribers on clean beauty products and promote eco-friendly products with special discounts. You can share SMS campaigns that highlight sustainable ingredients and ethical sourcing.
  • July 17 – World Emoji Day
    You can engage your customers with fun, emoji-filled SMS messages and special discount codes. Run the contest and encourage customers to reply with their favourite emoji for a discount.
  • July 24 – International Self-Care Day
    It is the perfect day to encourage self-care with promotions on wellness, relaxation products, and spas. You can offer exclusive SMS deals on mental wellness services, skincare, and aromatherapy and even share expert tips.
  • July 29 – National Lipstick Day
    You can boost sales with limited-time offers, free gifts, and early-bird discounts on beauty products and lipsticks. Do you offer virtual try-ons? If so, send details about it to your customers via SMS.

8. August – Back-to-School and Summer Closeouts

August is about the summer season’s end, back-to-school and Labor Day preparation. It is the ideal time to target people coming home from vacations with SMS deals or promotions they might have missed. You can do this effectively with contact segmentation.

  • Aug 3 – Sisters Day
    It is an ideal day to celebrate sisterly bonds. Brands can offer special discounts on gifts, spa packages, and jewellery for sisters with BOGO SMS promotions. You can highlight your best-selling products and drive sales.
  • Aug 8 – International Cat Day
    Allow your customers to give their feline friends some VIP treatments. Pet stores can send SMS offers on cat food, grooming services, and accessories with a fun “Purr-fect Deals” theme.
  • Aug 15 – National Relaxation Day
    It is the perfect day to encourage relaxation and self-care. Recreational services and wellness brands can send promotional SMS offers on spa treatments or relaxation products with a “Take a Break” message.
  • Aug 19 – World Photography Day
    This is the perfect day to run the “Capture the Moment” SMS campaign. Businesses can promote their products through visual storytelling and behind-the-scenes images. It is a great way to get the most out of your influence-driven content.
  • Aug 26 – International Dog Day
    It is an ideal day to promote dog welfare. Pet brands can send SMS bundle deals on dog treats, grooming, or adoption-related offers with a special message that says “Pamper Your Pup.”

9. September – Labor Day and Fall Shopping

September sometimes feels like a second January. It comes with new goals, new projects, and new marketing opportunities. You can keep that in mind and use your holiday marketing calendar to craft holiday SMS campaigns that re-engage your customers after the summer incentives, such as special promotions, exclusive offers, and sweepstakes.

  • Sep 1 – Labor Day
    You can give your subscribers early access to your Labor Day sale to celebrate worker’s contributions. So that they can buy their favourite product/service before anyone else buys it. It is done by highlighting the limited-time sale offers or weekend deals on travel tickets and essentials.
  • Sep 5 – International Day of Charity
    It is the day to encourage giving back. You can promote SMS offers for donation-matching or special discounts for customers who contribute to a cause.
  • Sep 11 – Patriot Day
    It is the day to honour 9/11 remembrance. You can run tribute SMS campaigns with a text message of unity and support or donate a portion of sales.
  • Sep 21 – International Day of Peace
    It is a perfect day to promote harmony. Businesses can take advantage of it and send uplifting messages and discounts on self-care items, wellness products, or meditation apps. You can even share the values and causes that matter most to your brand by including how subscribers can get involved.
  • Sep 25 – National Cooking Day
    You can send your subscribers text messages, including recipes to try out and some items they’ll need to enjoy during their meal – from groceries to cookware and even table settings.
  • Sep 29 – National Coffee Day
    It’s a perfect day to highlight coffee culture. Café owners can promote special BOGO and FOMO coffee deals, exclusive blends, or limited-time discounts.

10. October – Halloween and Holiday Prep Begins

October is an ideal time to target your audience for Black Friday and the holiday season. It is the scariest month of the year, with autumn and Halloween. It is the right time for marketers to let their creative juices flow and start getting festive, as October marks the start of Q4 and the holiday season.

  • Oct 7 – National Taco Day
    It is a tasty holiday that you can celebrate by sharing a BOGO and FOMO offer for tacos that customers can redeem online or in-store. It is a fun day to celebrate everyone’s favourite Mexican dish. You can send SMS promos for exclusive discounts at restaurants.
  • Oct 10 – World Mental Health Day
    It is a day to promote mental well-being and awareness. Businesses can offer wellness product deals, self-care discounts, or encourage mindfulness with a supportive SMS campaign.
  • Oct 13 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day
    Honour and celebrate the history and culture of the Indigenous community. You can promote cultural appreciation events and Indigenous-owned businesses and let your subscribers know you will donate some of your sales to organizations supporting Indigenous peoples’ work.
  • Oct 14 – National Dessert Day
    It is a sweet celebration for dessert lovers. Send SMS campaigns with bakery discounts, free dessert add-ons, or limited-time dessert-themed offers.

11. November – The Biggest Shopping Month of the Year

It is the most potent time of the year for B2C sales as people buy holiday gifts this month. This month’s dates include Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday. Therefore, mark these dates in red on your SMS marketing holiday calendar.

  • Nov 2 – Daylight Saving Time Ends
    You can remind your customers to set their clocks back and offer limited-time early bird discounts. You can craft an urgency-driven SMS campaign such as “Extra hour, extra savings!” Or “Shop now before time runs out.”
  • Nov 11 – Veterans Day
    You can honour veterans by offering special military discounts or appreciation messages.
  • Nov 27 – Thanksgiving
    You can focus on gratitude-based marketing with exclusive holiday deals. Offer your customers free shipping or a dollar-off discount. Check out these creative Thanksgiving SMS marketing ideas for inspiration.
  • Nov 28 – Black Friday
    You can build excitement ahead of the Black Friday sale by giving your subscribers early access to Black Friday deals. Send an SMS that includes limited-time flash sales that your customer won’t want to miss.
  • Nov 29 – Small Business Saturday
    As a small business owner, you can encourage your customers to support local businesses by offering community-focused discounts. You can highlight your products in a virtual guide and send their links in an SMS campaign.

12.  December – Holiday Frenzy and Year-End Sales

It is the merriest time of the year, Christmas. This month’s main attractions are the discounts, the shipping deadlines, and the delight. You can give Q4 a final push with special holiday SMS campaigns and offers. It is not just the time to sell your products or services but the ideal time to thank your customers for spending the year with you. Here are some key events and holidays of December 2025.

  • Dec 1 – Cyber Monday
    Retail and ecommerce owners can highlight online shopping deals and free shipping offers via SMS. You can even create hype by giving your customers early access to your products that will be on sale for Cyber Monday.
  • Dec 2 – Giving Tuesday
    It is the global day of generosity. Nonprofit organizations can request money from donors to support their fundraising efforts. You can run an SMS campaign and let your customers know how they can give back by purchasing an item or donating directly to the organization.
  • Dec 5 – International Volunteer Day
    It is the perfect day to honour volunteer efforts. You can tell your customers how your brand supports a specific cause by sending an SMS.
  • Dec 7 – National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
    You can honour fallen heroes by sharing a respectful tribute or military discounts.
  • Dec 13 –  National Free Shipping Day
    Send your customers a reminder SMS about upcoming shipping deadlines and give them 24-hour free shipping. It will allow last-minute buyers to purchase gifts in time for the holidays.
  • Dec 15 – National Cupcake Day
    You can give your subscribers free shipping or promote BOGO and FOMO cupcake offers via SMS.
  • Dec 20 – Super Saturday
    It is the biggest last-minute shopping day. You can run urgency-driven SMS deals and help last-minute shoppers complete their lists by recommending products.
  • Dec 21 – First Day of Winter
    It marks the start of the winter. Brands dealing in cozy apparel, heaters, or winter gear can run SMS campaigns with limited-time special offers.
  • Dec 21 to 29 – Hanukkah
    It is the Jewish festival of lights. Businesses can promote SMS deals that offer multi-day discounts or themed gifts.
  • Dec 24 – Christmas Eve
    Buying the perfect gift for loved ones can be stressful. You can share last-minute gift ideas with your customers.
  • Dec 25 – Christmas Day
    You can spread Christmas cheer by sending personalized text messages to your customers and giving them discounts on their next purchase.
  • Dec 26 – Kwanzaa Begins (Dec 26 – Jan 1)
    It is the day to celebrate African heritage. You can promote themed discounts or cultural gifts by running SMS campaigns.
  • Dec 31 – New Year’s Eve
    Keep the NYE spirit on by sharing the final countdown to the new collection launch or a new product. It is the perfect time to run an end-of-the-year sale through countdown SMS deals.

Drive Meaningful Results for Your Business With Holiday SMS Marketing Calendar

Implementing thoughtful planning and creativity in holiday SMS campaigns will help you drive the desired results for your business. Of course, this holiday marketing calendar can help you build successful SMS marketing campaigns with Textdrip. However, it is not the only way to boost your business ROI with Textdrip.

Textdrip’s impressive features, such as text message automation, schedule SMS campaigns, and intent-based automation, can help you prepare for holiday SMS marketing campaigns. Using this AI-based SMS marketing platform, Textdrip, you can create holiday campaigns now and schedule mass text messaging for your valuable customers. Book a demo or sign up for a FREE trial if you want to stay ahead and beat your competitors.

FAQ's

A well-planned holiday SMS marketing calendar helps businesses stay ahead of key sales opportunities, engage customers at the right time, and maximize revenue during high-traffic shopping periods.

Ideally, businesses should begin planning at least 1-2 months in advance to create compelling offers, segment audiences, and schedule messages for optimal engagement.

It depends on the holiday and promotion, but generally, 2-3 messages per holiday (announcement, reminder, and last-chance offer) work best.

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