How to get your business ready for Christmas

With the cold weather fast approaching and the holiday season about to hit its stride, there’s really no better time than now to start preparing your business for the upcoming Christmas holidays.

Whether that takes the form of upping your marketing game to attract new customers or setting up festive deals to reward your current clients, the choice is yours, but proper Christmas planning can do wonders for bringing in last-minute work and positioning yourself properly for the new year ahead.

Of course, if you’re still a relatively young business, it can be tricky to know where to start with such preparations, which is why we’ve shared our most important Christmas must-dos below to help your business stand apart from the competition this winter.

Christmas business preparations: Where to start

Like with all seasonal events and occasions, effective Christmas business preparation starts with knowing where best to direct your focus and then leaning into this niche. So, with that in mind, here are our 6 most important Christmas business preparation steps to follow:

1. Plan for customer emergencies

It doesn’t matter if you're planning to shut up shop over the whole of Christmas or just for a week or two; the key to any successful holiday is to be as prepared as possible for any potential outcomes ahead of your time off.

Now, obviously, you can’t prepare for everything that might happen, and doing so would probably mean cancelling any time off you had planned. However, making a limited contingency plan for any unexpected emergencies your customers may face could position you to pick up last-minute work that comes out of nowhere.

For example, burst pipes and power cuts can happen at any time of the year. So, by making yourself available for emergency plumbing or electrical work on Boxing Day and in the run-up to New Year (albeit on reduced hours), you can earn additional income while simultaneously delivering the kind of brand-boosting service that customers love.

2. Alert customers to any closures

Just as shops and cafes typically put up signs to let customers know when they’ll be closed during Christmas, you should also take the time to inform your customers of your working hours over the festive period.

Be it putting up Christmas working hours on your website or social media platforms, or updating your Google My Business account, any customers planning on reaching out to you will know your availability ahead of time, keeping any potential dissatisfaction to a minimum and reducing the chance of missed leads coming in.

Of course, if you do plan to take on emergency work over winter, then we’d also recommend setting up an out-of-office email or voicemail to let customers know when they’re likely to get a response from you, as well as instructions on how to get in touch if their query is urgent.

3. Consider holiday marketing

Being such a busy period of the year, Christmas is often the perfect time to show your customers that your business has a touch of genuine heart and personality while also informing them about any upcoming deals or interesting products you might have available over the holidays.

Naturally, some of the easiest ways to do this is by engaging with your customers on social media or through newsletters, delivering your news with a fun and festive twist that gets into the Christmas spirit of things.

For example, you could get your social media followers to take part in competitions, such as 'best-dressed Christmas tree', and award prizes to the top-voted images that get shared. Alternatively, you could send out a special Christmas-themed newsletter to get them excited about what your business has to offer over December and into January.

In some cases, just sharing useful information around your trade can do wonders for customer engagement, such as boiler and window companies alerting customers on how they can make their homes more energy efficient during cold weather spells.

Honestly, when it comes to Christmas marketing, the possibilities are pretty much endless, so don’t be afraid of jumping in and giving one a go if you have the budget and time for it!

4. Invest in your customers

Depending on your industry, you might find that the end of the year is traditionally your quiet period. If that's the case, then this can actually be a fantastic opportunity to invest more time in your customer relationships as well as helpful new business technologies.

For example, you could start off by replying to any recent customer reviews or comments on your website and social media platforms to thank them for their kind words or address any complaints they may have.

Following on from this, you could also take this time to follow up on previous jobs to see if customers were happy with the work you did, and inquire as to how you could improve your services going forward.

Finally, if you’ve been meaning to update parts of your websites and improve your online visibility, then now is a good time to invest in SEO best practices to make yourself stand out on Google and provide a better online experience for your customers.

Simply put, taking the time to do things like this can really pay off in the long run. Not only does it improve your business's credibility, but if a customer feels valued, then they're more likely to use your services again in the future and recommend you to people they know through word-of-mouth marketing.

5. Account for security

Like a large number of businesses, if you’re planning to close over the festive period, don't forget to properly secure your business premises, look after your business van, and protect your work tools ahead of time.

Many premises will be empty with no supervision on Christmas Day, and those lacking appropriate security measures could become a tempting target for thieves. So, regardless of your business premises or workspace, make sure you hide all valuable items out of sight and lock up properly on your last day of trading.

6. Get ready for 2026

Lastly, with the new year literally just around the corner, it's always helpful to have a plan in place for anything you need to do ahead of, or get ready for, in January and the months beyond.

When you can, take the time to consider what obligations and commitments your business has agreed to in January. Is there anything you could start on or organise for now to make the process easier down the line?

For example, you may have a large contract that's up for renewal soon or a full kitchen to install within the first week of the new year. Or you might simply need to set time aside to complete your self-assessment tax return before the January 31st deadline.

Whatever it is, make sure you give yourself enough time to plan for these beforehand, lest you be rushing to organise around them at the last minute. 

How are our Which? Trusted Traders preparing for Christmas?

Finally, to wrap up, we thought it would be useful to see how some of our Trusted Traders had been preparing for the holidays, and what plans they’d put in place to help usher in a successful January.

What challenges does the Christmas break pose to your business?

Responding to our first question, KJM Windows & Conservatories had this to say: “Our industry generally shuts down for the best part of two weeks over the Christmas break. We are not normally asked to install products in people's homes during this time, and sales calls are nonexistent, so we take this opportunity to have a proper break.

“For us, any sales enquiries that do come in can be dealt with online or via a redirected telephone call, so we even close the showroom”.

Other industries, meanwhile, are required to continue operating to ensure no customers are left in a vulnerable position. Tincknell Heating noted some of the challenges that face them each winter: “As a well-established business, we have many loyal, long-standing customers, some of which are elderly and vulnerable and would struggle without heating in cold weather.

“However, trying to ensure we have adequate cover for boiler emergencies over Christmas can be difficult – we want to make sure our customers are well looked after, but we also want our staff to enjoy the Christmas period with their friends and family”.

What about emergencies over the holiday period?

Heatable, an online boiler retailer and installer, are firmly on board with the idea of providing emergency holiday services, saying: "Emergency visits are part and parcel of undertaking heating and plumbing works.

“Speedy resolutions are a priority for us year-round, but there is an additional emphasis on this over the holiday period. We don’t want anyone's turkey to double up as a radiator.

“Thankfully, we’re blessed with a loyal and dedicated network of engineers, allowing us to keep a year-round skeleton crew (previously reserved for Halloween) active and ready to go, enabling us to get out to emergency visits at this time of year as quickly as we usually would”

How are you preparing for Christmas this year?

When asked how they were preparing for Christmas this year, Horsford Window & Conservatory Co Ltd said they’d been getting ready by organising their project and supply deliveries beforehand so that they could get to work straightaway in the new year, while Ebor Mobility said they’d put in new video and telephone lines to support their customers during this time.

Is there any advice you have for other Which? Trusted Traders on managing the Christmas period?

Thinking on our final question,  had this to say: “Having been through the Which? Accreditation process ourselves, we can safely assume any fellow members would be more than adequately prepared.

“For us, though, the most important thing is to ensure our team is well rested, rewarded, and refreshed for the year ahead. A free bar at a Christmas party also goes a long way.”

Following on from this, In’N’Out Autocentres added: “Make sure you plan your resources ahead of time so you have sufficient cover for work and that enough members of the senior management team are available to handle any sudden emergencies.”

Indeed, the consistent message we got from all the businesses we spoke to was to make sure that staff were well looked after and got to enjoy a well-deserved break, ready to come back, raring to go in the New Year.

Tincknell Heating summed this up perfectly: “Try and have fun if you can - no one really wants to be at work during Christmas, but sometimes it's necessary. If you can make it fun, it doesn't seem so bad. And customers remember well if you can help them out when they really need it!”

Become a Trusted Trader this Christmas

So, there you have it; those were our top 6 tips for preparing your business for Christmas!

Now, obviously, these aren’t the only steps you can take to ensure you have a successful work wrap-up for the year, but we feel confident in saying that they’re the perfect place to start. Remember, while you should definitely spend the holidays enjoying a welcome break, just a little time set aside to look ahead can give you that extra peace of mind you need to really unwind.

And speaking of extra steps to take to make the most of this season, one thing you might want to consider before the year ends is to surprise your customers by becoming a Which? Trusted Trader!

A surefire signal to customers that you’re a business worth working with, those who pass our rigorous vetting process are allowed to display the Which? seal of approval on their branding, while also getting access to their very own business profile to display reviews and previous examples of your work.

Get in touch today to find out more, and don’t forget to visit our trade hub for more guides like this one!