# Christmas social media posts: ideas beyond red and green [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/christmas-social-media-posts) In December every feed turns the same shade of red and green, and brands disappear into it. Here is how to post through Christmas so people still know it is you. ## The short version - Christmas social media posts stay recognisable when they keep the brand's own background and type and add one festive cue, rather than switching to red and green. - Deep evergreen, plum, frost blue and candlelight gold all read as Christmas without the usual pairing. - A December plan for a business usually needs a gift guide, last order dates, holiday opening hours and a thank you post. - Last order date posts should name the exact date and delivery method, because vague deadlines cause disappointed customers. - Designing every December post from one template keeps the month consistent and saves time in the busiest weeks. The best **Christmas social media posts** still look like you. Keep your usual background, type and voice, then add one festive cue: a richer, darker version of your colours, a touch of gold, a snowy light. Skip the default red and green, which every other account is using, and plan the posts that actually help customers in December, from the gift guide to the last order dates to your holiday hours. Recognisable and useful beats festive and forgettable. ## Why red and green make brands disappear Red and green are the colours of Christmas for good reason, and that is exactly the problem. When every shop, café and software company switches to the same pairing for a month, the feed becomes one long advert for Christmas itself. Your followers see the season, not you. It is the same pattern described in [why every feed looks the same](https://gradiently.design/guide/why-every-feed-looks-the-same), only more intense. ### Seasonal costume - Brand colours replaced by red and green - Stock snowflakes and baubles - A script font you never use - A new look for one month only ### Brand in December - Your colours, made deeper and warmer - One festive cue, used with restraint - Your usual typefaces - A look people recognise in January too ## Festive colour palettes that still look like you Start from your own palette and ask what it looks like by candlelight. A blue brand moves to frost and midnight. A pink brand becomes plum and berry. A neutral brand gains brass. The shift is small, but on a dark winter evening it reads unmistakably as the season. - Evergreen and brass: `radial-gradient(circle at 75% 25%, #c9a24a 0%, #1f3d2b 40%, #0b1a12 80%)` - Frost: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 20%, #f1f5f9 0%, #94b8d6 40%, #1e3a5f 85%)` - Plum and candlelight: `radial-gradient(circle at 70% 70%, #e8b04a 0%, #6b1f3a 40%, #26091a 80%)` - Cream and gilt: `radial-gradient(circle at 25% 30%, #fff4dc 0%, #f3e3c3 45%, #d9c09a 90%)` Four December grounds. None of them is red and green, and all of them look like winter. - Pine night: #0b1a12 - Evergreen: #1f3d2b - Plum: #6b1f3a - Brass: #c9a24a - Cream: #f3e3c3 If you must have green and red, take them dark: evergreen and plum with a brass accent feel grown up rather than seasonal stock. For more starting points, [winter colour palettes](https://gradiently.design/guide/winter-color-palettes) has cooler options and [gold gradients](https://gradiently.design/guide/gold-gradient-design) shows how to make metallics look rich rather than flat yellow. ## A December posting plan for businesses Most of the useful Christmas content is practical. Customers want to know what to buy, when to order and when you are open. Plan these first, then add the warmer posts around them. | When | Post | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | | Late November | Gift guide carousel | Helps people choose before they get busy | | Early December | Gift cards and wrapping | Answers the question for people who are stuck | | Mid December | Last order dates | Prevents disappointed customers | | A week before | Holiday opening hours | Saves you answering the same message all day | | Christmas Eve or Day | A short, warm greeting | No selling, just thanks | | Between Christmas and New Year | Thank you or year in review | Ends the year on a human note | Six posts that carry a business through December. Stories can repeat each one closer to the date. ## Christmas gift guide posts A gift guide turns your catalogue into answers. Organise it by person or by price rather than by product category, keep one product per carousel page, and repeat the same layout on every page so it feels like a little catalogue rather than a scrapbook. The full method, with price tiers and Pinterest pins, is in [gift guide design](https://gradiently.design/guide/holiday-gift-guide-design). The first page of a Christmas gift guide carousel titled Gifts for the one who has everything The cover page of a gift guide carousel, organised by who the gift is for. Gift guides tend to travel further than most December posts, because people save them for later and send them to friends as hints. Make a Pinterest version at 1000×1500 alongside the 1080×1350 carousel, and a story version that links to the guide on your site. One design, three sizes, the same words on each. ## Last order date posts This is the most valuable post you will make in December and the easiest to get wrong. Name the exact date, the delivery method it applies to and the region. If you offer several services, a short list is clearer than one line with conditions. Take the dates from your carrier's published Christmas schedule, then give yourself a day of margin. A portrait post giving a last order date of 18 December for Christmas delivery, with an express option A last order post with the date, the service and the fallback. The dates here are examples: use your carrier's. A vertical story listing Christmas opening hours and the date the business reopens Holiday hours as a story, ready to pin to a highlight. > **Pin it** Pin the last order post to the top of your profile and save the hours story to a highlight. People look for them in a hurry, often the night before. [Holiday hours posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/out-of-office-graphic) covers the wording. ## Warm posts without the hard sell Between the practical posts, a few warm ones remind people why they like you. A photo of the team's party, the shop dressed for the season, the last box packed before the break, a [thank you post](https://gradiently.design/guide/thank-you-post) to customers. Keep these free of offers; the goodwill is the point. Christmas is not universal either, so a simple "Happy holidays" in some posts is kind to followers who celebrate differently. If your brand already has a distinctive background, December is when it pays off. In Gradiently every design wears one Mark, so the gift guide, the deadline post and the greeting all look like one family, and a festive accent can be added in the Studio without inventing a new look for the month. ## FAQ ### What should a business post at Christmas? A gift guide, gift cards, last order dates, holiday opening hours, a short greeting and a thank you post cover the useful ground. ### What colours can I use for Christmas besides red and green? Deep evergreen with brass, plum with candlelight gold, frost blue and cream with gilt all read as Christmas while looking more distinctive. ### When should I post last order dates for Christmas? Post them in early to mid December and repeat them a few days before the deadline. Use the dates from your carrier's Christmas schedule with a day of margin. ### How do I keep my brand recognisable at Christmas? Keep your usual background, typefaces and voice, and add one festive cue such as a deeper version of your colours or a gold accent.