2024 Holiday Rush Calendar
- 10 October 2024
- ByBig Cartel
- 2 min read

As the holiday season approaches, Big Cartel sellers are preparing their ecommerce shops for the busiest time of the year. Q4 is packed with key shopping events, like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, holiday craft market season, and beyond. To maximize sales and customer satisfaction, it's key that you prepare for these major dates and keep shipping deadlines in mind. We’ve broken down the essential holiday dates and highlighted important shipping cutoff times to help you stay ahead of the game and enjoy a successful, stress-free holiday selling season.
Key Holiday 2024 Dates for Ecommerce:
While these dates reflect holidays and shopping holidays, it’s best to start planning your holiday selling strategy, prepping inventory, promoting product drops and holiday sales on your socials and other marketing channels by early November at the latest. Get ahead of the curve with this guide on how to prepare your shop for the holiday season.
Plan, Prep, & Promote!: Mid-October – Mid-December
Singles' Day: Monday, November 11, 2024
Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 28, 2024
Black Friday: Friday, November 29, 2024
Small Business Saturday: Saturday, November 30, 2024
Cyber Monday: Monday, December 2, 2024
St. Nick’s: Friday, December 6, 2024
Noche Buena/Christmas Eve: Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Hanukkah: Wednesday, December 25, 2024 – Thursday, January 2, 2025
Christmas: Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Boxing Day: Thursday, December 26, 2024
Kwanzaa: Thursday, December 26, 2024 – Wed, January 1, 2025
New Year’s Eve: Sunday, December 31, 2024
Pro tip: Many shops create special product drops for holidays like Halloween or Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Regardless of which holiday you’re celebrating, there’s always an opportunity to offer a unique discount or launch a new product to engage your customers. It’s never too early to start planning ahead!
Holiday Shipping Cutoffs 2024
Last-minute holiday shoppers are inevitable. To keep your customers satisfied, know your preferred shipping carrier’s cutoff dates if you want orders to arrive by Christmas or the first day of Hanukkah—which are on the same day this year—and communicate those cutoffs. Pro tip: If you’re a Platinum or Diamond seller in the U.S. and Canada, you can access unlimited discounted shipping labels directly from Big Cartel! Not only does this save you up to 90% off carrier rates, but you can streamline your fulfillment process by performing all your shipping tasks without ever leaving the platform!
Many Big Cartel templates let you add welcome text to your homepage. Themes like Cosmos, Luna, Neat, Netizen, Parade, Ranger, Roadie, and Sunscreen also include an announcement banner across all pages—perfect for sharing holiday shipping deadlines and highlighting your holiday promotions. Just update the message in the Design section of your admin and hit Publish.
For the most accurate details, check with your shipping carrier, but here are some estimated shipping deadlines (for orders shipping within the United States) to ensure packages arrive before December 25.
USPS Holiday Shipping Deadlines U.S. 2024
Destination | USPS Ground Advantage® | First-Class Mail® | Priority Mail® | Priority Mail Express® |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska & Hawaii | Dec. 16 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 19 | Dec. 20 |
Contiguous US | Dec. 18 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 19 | Dec. 21 |
UPS Holiday Shipping Deadlines U.S. 2024
Destination | UPS® Ground | UPS 3 Day Select® | UPS 2nd Day Air® | UPS Next Day Air® |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Domestic | Check ups.com/ctc for details | Dec. 19 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 23 |
FedEx Holiday Shipping Deadlines U.S. 2024
Destination | FedEx SameDay® | FedEx 2Day®* & FedEx 2Day® AM* | FedEx Express Saver® | FedEx Ground® | FedEx Home Delivery® | FedEx Ground® Economy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Domestic | Dec. 24 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 19 | Dec. 17 | Dec. 17 | Dec. 13 |
Royal Mail Holiday Shipping Deadlines U.K. 2024
Destination | 2nd Class | 1st Class | Royal Mail Tracked 24® | Special Delivery Guaranteed® |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK Domestic | Dec. 18 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 21 | Dec. 23 |
Canada Post Holiday Shipping Deadlines C.A. 2024
Destination | Priority™ | Xpresspost™ | Expedited ParcelTM or flat rate box™ | Regular Parcel™ |
---|---|---|---|---|
CA Domestic Local Zone | Dec. 23 | Dec. 23 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 19 |
CA Domestic Regional Zone | Dec. 23 | Dec. 23 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 16 |
CA Domestic National Zone | Dec. 20 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 12 | Dec. 10 |
10 October 2024
Words by:Big Cartel
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