December 2021
Get your sparkle on. Our December 2021 briefing includes a printable calendar of popular holidays and occasions, consumer insights and marketing resources so you can sort out your plans.
Photo offered for free use by freestocks on Unsplash
December Holidays & Observances
| Safe Toys and Gifts Month | #safetoysandgifts | |||
| Universal Human Rights Month | #UniversalHumanRights | |||
| 1 | W | 🌎 | World AIDS Day | #wad |
| 2 | Th | 🌎 | International Day for the Abolition of Slavery | #internationaldayforabolitionofslavery |
| 3 | F | 🌎 | International Day of Persons with Disabilities | #idpwd |
| 4 | Sa | 🌎 | International Day of Banks | #internationaldayofbanks |
| Solar Eclipse | #solareclipse | |||
| National Cookie Day | #nationalcookieday | |||
| 5 | Su | 🌎 | International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development | #internationalvolunteerday |
| 🌎 | World Soil Day | #worldsoilday | ||
| 6 | M | St. Nicholas Day | #StNicholasDay | |
| Microwave Oven Day | #microwaveovenday | |||
| 7 | Tu | 🌎 | International Civil Aviation Day | #civilaviationday |
| National Cotton Candy Day | #nationalcottoncandyday | |||
| 8 | W | Bodhi Day - Buddhist | #bodhiday | |
| National Brownie Day | #nationalbrownieday | |||
| Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day | #pretendtobeatimetravelerday | |||
| 9 | Th | 🌎 | International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime | #internationaldayofcommemorationanddignity |
| 🌎 | International Anti-Corruption Day | #anticorruption | ||
| 10 | F | 🌎 | International Human Rights Day | #humanrightsday |
| International Animal Rights Day | #animalrightsday | |||
| Nobel Prize Day | #nobelprize | |||
| 11 | Sa | 🌎 | International Mountain Day | #internationalmountainday |
| National App Day | #nationalappday | |||
| 12 | Su | 🌎 | International Day of Neutrality | #dayofneutrality |
| 🌎 | International Universal Health Coverage Day | #internationaluniversalhealthcoverageday | ||
| Gingerbread House Day | #gingerbreadday | |||
| Our Lady of Guadalupe - Christian | #guadalupana | |||
| 13 | M | National Salesperson Day | #salespersonday | |
| 14 | Tu | |||
| 15 | W | Bill of Rights Day | #billofrightsday | |
| Cat Herders Day | #CatHerdersDay | |||
| National Cupcake Day | #CupcakeDay | |||
| 16 | Th | |||
| 17 | F | National Ugly Sweater Day | #NationalUglySweaterDay | |
| 18 | Sa | 🌎 | International Migrants Day | #internationalmigrantsday |
| 🌎 | Arabic Language Day | #arabiclanguageday | ||
| Super Saturday | #supersaturday | |||
| National Twins Day | #NationalTwinsDay | |||
| 19 | Su | |||
| 20 | M | 🌎 | International Human Solidarity Day | #humansolidarityday |
| 21 | Tu | Winter Solstice | #wintersolstice | |
| Crossword Puzzle Day | #crosswordpuzzleday | |||
| 22 | W | |||
| 23 | Th | Festivus | #festivus | |
| 24 | F | Christmas Eve - Western Christian | #christmaseve | |
| National Eggnog Day | #nationaleggnogday | |||
| 25 | Sa | 🇺🇸 | Christmas Day - Western Christian | #christmas |
| 26 | Su | Kwanzaa (Dec. 26 - Jan. 1) | #kwanzaa | |
| 27 | M | No Interruptions Day | #nointerruptionsday | |
| 28 | Tu | Card Playing Day | #cardplayingday | |
| National Short Film Day | #nationalshortfilmday | |||
| 29 | W | Wounded Knee Day | #woundedkneeday | |
| 30 | Th | |||
| 31 | F | New Year's Eve | #nye | |
| 🇺🇸 | United States Federal Holiday | |||
| 🌎 | United Nations Observance |
About December
December is the 12th and last month of the year and the first month of winter. It’s make it or break it time for retailers who rely on the rush of holiday shopping to meet their annual sales goals.
Top Consumer Spending Events
According to the National Retail Federation 39% of consumers start shopping for the winter holidays before November. The first big surge of spending comes in around Thanksgiving and then shopping continues through December wiht a peak the last Saturday before Christmas.
View the planners below for insights and resources:
Winter Holidays
Q4 winter holidays are the #1 consumer spending event of the year //Thanksgiving and the following weekend have typically been considered the official start of the holiday shopping season for the vast majority. However, this year it's been noted that holiday shopping...
Hanukkah
One of the winter holidays that drives consumer spending in Q4 //Hanukkah or Chanukkah is is a Jewish holiday that is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins the evening of Sunday,...
Christmas
Main driver of Q4 consumer spending //Christmas Day is a Federal holiday and commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on December 25th with Christmas decorations, the exchange of Christmas cards, gift giving, Christmas music, Christmas trees, special...
Kwanzaa
One of the winter holidays that drives consumer spending in Q4 //Kwanzaa is a celebration of African American culture observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in gift-giving and a traditional meal. On each of the seven nights of Kwanzaa, the family gathers...
December Symbology
Promote personalized holiday gifts by featuring December symbology.
- December’s birthstones are turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite
- Its birth flower is the narcissus.
- The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius (archer) until December 21 and Capricorn (goat) December 22 onwards.
Printable December Calendar
Click to download and print a PDF of the Decvember calendar with all holidays and occasions listed above.
If you embed on your site, we simply ask for credit and a link back → December Calendar by Annum.
Regarding the Holidays and Occasions We Have Chosen
Our goal in creation of these calendars is to make marketing planning easier. So, in order to keep things simple we have chosen to focus on the top 12 consumer spending events as identified by the National Retail Federation; U.S. Federal Holidays; significant religious, ethnic and cultural holidays that represent the diversity of the U.S. population as identified by ADL; and popular hashtag holidays that provide an opportunity for a natural business tie-in.
If you are interested in finding more occasions to commemorate here are a few resources:
- Full list of United Nations International Days, Weeks, Years, Decades
- National Day Calendar tracks nearly 1500 national days, weeks, and months
- National Today has a search function to find days that align with your brand and category
Note that Bahá’í, Jewish, and Islamic holidays begin at sundown the previous day and end at sundown on the date listed.
Stay focused and on schedule with your marketing efforts.
