The order calendar for the fourth quarter: from Halloween to New Year's Eve
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Halloween, St. Martin's Day, Black Friday, Sinterklaas and Christmas all fall within a ten-week period. Here's a calendar with the 2026 dates and what to purchase for each period.
The end of August feels too early to think about Christmas. Yet, this is exactly when the stores that will be quiet in December place their orders. Those who only start in November pay more, have fewer choices, and run out of tape halfway through the busiest week. The difference is rarely due to luck and almost always due to a calendar.
Below is that calendar: which moments are coming between now and New Year's Eve, when to purchase items for them, and what you want to have ready per period. The dates are for 2026, so you can add them directly to your agenda.
This quarter's dates at a glance
Event
Date 2026
Latest purchase
Halloween
Saturday, October 31
mid-September
Daylight Saving Time (clocks back)
Sunday, October 25
early October
St. Martin's Day
Wednesday, November 11
mid-October
Black Friday
Friday, November 27
end of October
Sinterklaas
Saturday, December 5
early November
Christmas
Friday, December 25 and Saturday, December 26
mid-November
New Year's Eve
Thursday, December 31
early December
Two things stand out. Halloween falls on a Saturday, meaning there will be more home parties than in years when it falls midweek. And Sinterklaas also falls on a Saturday, so gift-giving evening coincides with a day when people can still shop — the last peak will come later than you're used to.
Now until mid-September: Halloween and the basics
Halloween is the first moment that generates revenue and simultaneously serves as your dress rehearsal for December. What you order now will be on the shelves on time. Think of decorations like a spiderweb with 6 spiders (€9.95) and accessories that sell all season, such as a rabbit mask in white or black (€14.95) that will also sell at a masked ball or during Carnival after Halloween.
In October, you sell for Halloween and order for Sinterklaas. That may feel illogical, but it's the only month when you can still choose calmly. Also, set up your presentation this month, because from November onwards, you won't have time for it. An acrylic stair display with 6 steps (€34.95) takes small items off the flat table, and a metal display holder for keychains (€17.95) turns a bin of loose keychains into an impulse item next to the cash register.
On October 25, the clock goes back an hour. From that weekend on, it gets dark at five o'clock and shopping behavior changes: people come in earlier, stay shorter, and buy small items more often. Make sure you have cheap impulse items available then — name candles (€1.00) or LED balloons, 5 pieces for €2.95 — and not just by mid-November.
November: three overlapping events
November is the busiest month, as St. Martin's Day (November 11), Black Friday (November 27), and the run-up to Sinterklaas overlap. For St. Martin's Day, you'll want to have treats for handouts: a Twix 10-pack of 500 grams costs €7.95, just like a Mars 10-pack of 450 grams. Calculate one multipack per ten doorbell visitors and rather order one pack too many than too few; it will keep until December.
For Black Friday, something else applies: that day will primarily cost you packaging. If you sell online, this is the week your stock of boxes and tape will dwindle fastest. A box with 6 rolls of tape (48x66 mm) (€21.00) is cheaper per roll than buying individual rolls, and a bundle of 100 recycled A6 letterbox boxes (€17.95) works out to about 18 cents per box. Calculate how many packages you send in your busiest week, add 30 percent, and order that much.
December: Christmas, New Year's, and the spillover
In December, you sell what you ordered in October and November. The only purchase you still make in December is reordering items that are selling faster than expected. Before December 1, check your packaging: a white cube gift box of 12x12x12 cm (€2.99) or a black gift box with window (€2.99) saves your customer the hassle of wrapping and you the discussion about gift paper.
For items you ship in the last week before Christmas: carriers publish their last order dates every year. Look them up with your own carrier as soon as they are known and communicate them clearly on your website – that will save you more customer inquiries than any other action.
What you buy once, and what returns every year
Split your shopping list into two columns. Left: everything that stays. Displays, a price gun, a tape dispenser, storage boxes for decoration. You buy these once and use them for five seasons. Right: everything that gets used up. Sweets, packaging, stickers, ink, seasonal decoration. You re-calculate these quantities annually.
Save the right column with the quantities you ultimately sold. Next year, you won't start from scratch, but with a list that is accurate. That's the cheapest preparation there is.
How to allocate your budget
A simple allocation that usually works for small shops and webshops: approximately half of your Q4 budget goes to trade stock, a quarter to packaging and shipping materials, and a quarter as a buffer to reorder items that sell unexpectedly well. People most often skip that last item — and that's precisely why they find themselves with empty shelves for their best-selling item in the first week of December.
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