📌 Christmas Marketing Trends 2025
Customers start planning for Christmas in June. Your strategy should, too.
🌞 Welcome to this Week's Newsletter
In case you were wondering about why I’m bringing up Christmas now… according to Statista, search intent for holiday bookings starts as early as June, with gifting searches peaking in October. Guests are booking early, not from excitement, but from pressure. And yet most hospitality brands still plan for a December launch.
Here are the trends, the data, and the strategies you need to get ahead of the competition this Christmas season.
Let’s Check In ☕
🎄 Christmas Marketing Trends for 2025
💸 Spending Trends to Watch This Christmas
Holiday budgets are up, with an 8% increase in spending according to Deloitte’s 2024 Global Holiday Survey. However, 42% of shoppers buy for fewer people, focusing on meaningful gifts for a close circle. This shift reflects a growing trend of consumers choosing quality over quantity, seeking thoughtful gifts that reflect personal connections rather than simply fulfilling obligations.
Dining is at the centre of this shift. Mastercard’s 2024 SpendingPulse reports significant growth in restaurant spending year-on-year, especially in group dining and premium casual. For hotels, the demand for experiences also extends to dining, with online sales up by 6.7%, driven by digital gift cards, event menus, and convenience add-ons.
Whether you're a restaurant or hotel, guests search for dining experiences that feel like special gifts to share. Offers should be distinct, visually striking, and framed as exclusive celebration events or thoughtful gifts. Anything that feels routine or unremarkable risks being overlooked.
As economic pressures rise, Millennials are prioritising meaningful, affordable gifts. With 66% seeking better prices and promotions, deals don’t have to mean discounts. Instead, create value-based bundles that offer more without lowering prices.
As Brian McCarthy, Principal at Deloitte Consulting, notes, consumers seek value.
"They are finding ways to make their dollars go further on the gifts they want to give and the events they want to experience."
🎅 Understanding Buyer Behaviour This Holiday Season
For Gen Z and Millennials, Christmas doesn’t start with excitement; it begins with tension. They’re buying early to manage anxiety, not to feel festive. These generations are susceptible to pressure and stress during the festive period.
Christmas shopping has become a balancing act between pressure, pride, and quiet obligation. According to Deloitte, 78% of shoppers plan to participate in October and November promotional events to avoid or minimise stress.
Campaigns that recognise this pressure and offer relief, clarity, simplicity, and low-friction options will outperform those pushing magic and excess. Seasonal promotions don’t push buyers; they reassure them.
Campaigns should focus on bundling for value, not discounting. For example, offering a festive dining package with wine pairings or a hotel stay with a spa treatment adds more value without reducing prices. Bundles that reduce friction, like pre-set family-style menus or room upgrades with flexible booking options, and offers that feel like upgrades, such as exclusive access to events or VIP experiences, perform best.
The ideal offer creates a safe, smart, and satisfying decision rather than urgent pressure, like a 'Book Now, Save Your Spot' for group dinners or 'Gift an Experience' gift cards for hotels.
Nostalgia is a powerful sales driver during Christmas, as guests are drawn to familiar flavours and traditions that evoke fond memories. The media plays a key role in amplifying this sentiment, with Christmas films, adverts, and seasonal specials reinforcing the emotional pull of familiar holiday rituals.
Emotional elements, such as family-style sharing platters or personalised handwritten cards with deliveries, create a sense of warmth and familiarity. These thoughtful touches make your guests feel at home, turning a festive meal or stay into a cherished holiday memory.
As consumers lean towards experiential gifting, demand for experience-based gift cards increases, with a 17% growth in digital gift cards in 2024. This trend reflects a 16% expected growth in experiential gifting this year.
💳 Why Digital Gift Cards Are a Key to Success
Mastercard’s SpendingPulse reports a 17% year-on-year increase in digital gift card sales in the hospitality sector for Q4 2023. The digital gift card market is anticipated to grow strongly, with hotel gift cards projected to reach £7.36 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 12.8%.
This growth is fueled by the shift towards experiential gifting and rising demand for gift flexibility. This growing preference for digital gifts aligns with customer expectations of instant delivery and customisation.
Buyers opt for experience-led vouchers, set-menu dining, and customisable offers that feel thoughtful yet simple. The message conveyed is “I chose this for you,” rather than “I didn’t know what to get you.”
According to Klarna, 65% of Millennials prefer gifting experiences or shared moments over physical items.
Most buyers can be divided into two main categories. The £25–£50 range remains the most popular in food and hospitality as the ‘safe middle ground’. However, high-end experience cards (£100+) are gaining traction, especially for hotel dining, spa menus, or multi-course events. On the other hand, there’s a rise in low-value (£10–£20) digital cards, particularly among Gen Z, used for quick gifts or group experiences. The National Retail Federation reports that 58% of consumers prefer giving digital or experience-based gift cards to convey thoughtfulness while keeping it simple. Buyers want flexible, personal gift cards that minimise the risk of a poor choice. Many are gifting across distances or offering experiences they cannot host themselves.
Interest in these cards typically rises from mid-November, especially for hotel stays, dining experiences, and bundled offers, with demand peaking in the final ten days before Christmas.
🍽️ Group Bookings and What Drives Them
As we head into the 2025 festive season, group bookings will take centre stage, driving a significant shift in how venues prepare for the holiday rush.
With reservations for Christmas up 54% in 2024 compared to 2023, and group bookings of 10 or more rising by 38%, it’s clear that larger gatherings are set to dominate December.
Family schedules during the holiday season have become more diverse, with people juggling multiple Christmas events like office parties, Friendsmas get-togethers, extended family dinners, and even some quiet nights in. This shift influences how and when people make food and travel bookings and what they expect from the experience. Venues that stand out offer hassle-free flexibility and customisable experiences, making the booking process effortless and ensuring guests feel valued from start to finish.
Group sizes vary depending on the venue, with average group bookings ranging from four to eight guests, while larger corporate or family events may host ten to twenty attendees. Spending often correlates with the perceived intimacy of the experience: smaller groups, whether dining in a restaurant or booking a hotel room, tend to opt for premium menus or upgraded seating. In contrast, larger parties usually prefer set menus, communal dining options, or bundled extras that enhance the experience without complicating the process.
Seasonal promotions are effective when they minimise friction. Pre-booked platters, festive drinks, and upgraded room blocks encourage decision-making. The best campaigns present solutions rather than simple invitations. The wording is crucial; “Book now for guaranteed tables together” carries more weight than “Celebrate with us.”
Timing trends are split. High-demand dates, particularly Fridays and Saturdays from late November, often sell out by early October. For instance, Saturday 14 December 2024 was the most popular day for restaurant bookings during the festive period, followed closely by Saturday 7 December. However, smaller groups tend to book between 12 and 20 December, indicating a notable increase in last-minute demand.. A flexible inventory strategy with staggered releases and surprise openings is essential to accommodate both early planners and last-minute guests.
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🔍 Understanding Google’s Role in Holiday Season Planning
Searches for “Christmas dinner near me” start before summer ends, but most campaigns don’t even exist then. In 2024, “Christmas dinner near me” started climbing in June and peaked in early November, that's four months of intent, long before most venues activate their campaigns. That disconnect costs visibility.
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