By Faith Seekings

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Season’s Greetings. Happy Hanukkah. Thank you.
How about none of the above?

We have written elsewhere in this blog, here and here, about Christmas and Hanukkah and still believe strongly that they are great ways to express caring and thanks.

But guess what? You can keep your powder dry for other times of year – and thereby really stand out.

Two Reasons to Skip a Greeting/Thank You this Winter

1. It may get lost in the noise anyway. Your message may get missed because so many people are doing the same thing at the same time. December is definitely the busiest month for email cards, corporate gifts, client appreciation parties and social media posts sharing company well-wishes. Unless you go really big, creative and fantastic, it could very well be lost in the noise. When I worked as a designer, many of my clients would wait until the last minute to request something. They saw others’ start coming in – panicked, and sent something into the fray with little thought behind it. You don’t have to do it. You know when I need a fun or warm message? February.
2. If this is your main outreach, there may be a problem. You should keep in mind that engagement could suffer if this is one of the few, or the only, client outreach campaigns you do. It’s more important to create and share meaningful content regularly. Client feedback has told us time and time again that regular communication builds brands through relationships and trust, all of which generates referrals. Choose the media (blog posts, email campaigns, social media, podcasts), set a schedule with time for content creation blocked out, and stick to it – if you want to create meaningful engagement. Consider putting this year’s last-minute effort towards something more intentional, and include a holiday greeting in the plan for 2026 – or, as you will see in the next section, not.

Want to do Something Different?

• Send a New Year’s Greeting in early January.
• Do a thank you campaign to clients, suppliers or referral sources around Thanksgiving.
• Celebrate the summer solstice with tidbits about science and traditions.
• Send a series of funny memes in February. Please.

All of these occasions are BEGGING to be owned! You can scoop them up and make them a pillar of your brand identity. You can even find a special day that aligns with an element of your brand foundation and send out a brand-inspired message then.

The winter holiday greeting shouldn’t be your primary client outreach, especially at a time when everyone is doing the same thing. If it feels rushed and inauthentic, it’s not that effective. If this is all you do, I challenge you to set an intention for the new year to communicate with clients and your community regularly. They want to hear from you because they chose you. They chose you because you are brilliant. And we can help.