As the year comes to a close, December is full of opportunities for businesses, organizations, and brands to connect with their audiences through celebration, reflection, generosity, and planning for what comes next. From holiday campaigns to year-end recaps and community giving, there are many ways to create relevant content throughout the month.

Below are some of the biggest trending themes and events that businesses often use to shape their marketing strategies in December.

• Holiday Shopping Season – Retail and service brands often use the month for promotions, gift ideas, and special campaigns.
• Giving Tuesday – A major opportunity for nonprofits and community-focused organizations to highlight fundraising efforts.
• Christmas – Brands often run festive promotions, seasonal events, and themed content tied to holiday celebrations.
• Hanukkah – A useful opportunity for inclusive messaging and cultural recognition.
• Year-End Reflection – Businesses can share milestones, achievements, customer highlights, or lessons learned.
• New Year Preparation – Content around planning, goal setting, and fresh starts often begins before the year ends.
• Employee Recognition – A good time to thank staff, partners, volunteers, or customers for their support throughout the year.
• Holiday Travel – Tourism, hospitality, and lifestyle brands can build content around seasonal movement and family gatherings.

With so many holidays and awareness campaigns packed into a single month, December is a great time to experiment with creative content and themed promotions. You do not have to participate in every trend. Instead, choose the ones that align most closely with your brand values, audience interests, or industry.

Ask yourself:

“What’s trending today or this month that relates back to your business, organization, or brand? How can you use this to your advantage?”

For example, a business in your industry could tie one of these timely themes into a promotion, campaign, blog post, client spotlight, event, or social media strategy during December. 

The key is consistency. When you build your marketing strategy around timely topics and seasonal trends, you create more opportunities to engage your audience, stay relevant online, and keep your brand top-of-mind throughout the year.

Need help creating a marketing plan or promotional ideas tailored to your business? Ask us and we’ll help you!