Holiday Printing Checklist for Small Businesses: What to Order Before the December Rush
Plan holiday thank-you cards, flyers, postcards, signs and event printing before December. A practical checklist from We Print Today in Kingston, MA.
By We Print Today · Published 2026-10-29
November is a good time to look beyond Christmas cards and plan all the printing your business will need for the holidays. A thank-you card, a seasonal promotion and a clear holiday-hours sign each do a different job. Ordering them together helps you catch missing details before the December rush.
At WE PRINT TODAY™ in Kingston, Massachusetts, we can help you coordinate the cards, promotional pieces and event materials on your list. This checklist is for retailers, restaurants, offices and nonprofits that want to get organized without ordering things they do not need.
What printed materials does my business need for the holidays?
Start with three questions: Who do you want to thank? What do you need to promote? What do customers or guests need to know? Most small businesses can build a useful holiday printing list from these four groups:
- Customer appreciation: thank-you or holiday cards with matching envelopes.
- Seasonal promotions: sale flyers and postcards with a clear offer and end date.
- Storefront information: signs and banners for sales, holiday hours and special events.
- Company gatherings: party invitations, menus and programs.
Choose the pieces that support an actual plan. An office thanking referral partners may only need cards and envelopes. A restaurant with holiday reservations may need menus, an event invitation and a holiday-hours sign. A retailer running a weekend sale may get more use from flyers and a banner than from a large card mailing.
1. Customer thank-you cards and matching printed envelopes
Use a card to thank customers, clients, vendors or volunteers for their support. Decide whether the greeting will come from the owner, the whole team or individual staff members. Keep the message focused on appreciation rather than squeezing a sales pitch into every line.
- Count the people on your current list and allow for any cards you will hand out in person.
- Choose a flat or folded card and confirm the finished size before selecting matching envelopes.
- Decide whether you need return-address printing, recipient addressing or blank envelopes.
- Confirm your logo, greeting and signature before approving the proof.
Example to adapt: an office could send a folded thank-you card to clients and referral partners, with its return address printed on the envelopes. A nonprofit could use the same approach to recognize volunteers and supporters.
Explore our custom holiday cards and invitations for customer thank-you cards and company gatherings.
2. Holiday sale flyers and promotional postcards
A seasonal promotion needs more than a festive design. Put the offer, dates, location and next step where readers can find them immediately. If an offer has exclusions or a cutoff date, include those details in readable type rather than leaving customers to guess.
Flyers work well at a counter, inside a shopping bag or on a community noticeboard where permitted. Postcards can be handed out or prepared for a mailing. Choose the format around how you will use it, not just how it looks on screen. For envelope addressing or mailed promotions, explore our addressing and mailing services.
- Confirm the promotion's start and end dates, prices and any restrictions.
- Specify the finished size, quantity and whether printing is on one or both sides.
- If including a QR code, test the destination before sending the artwork.
- For mailed pieces, confirm the format and address-area requirements before finalizing the design.
Example to adapt: a retailer could include a holiday sale flyer with November purchases, while a restaurant could hand out a postcard announcing a seasonal menu or reservation event. Our flyer and postcard printing covers these promotional pieces.
3. Storefront signs and banners for holiday hours and events
Clear signs help customers understand when you are open and what is happening. Make a separate holiday-hours sign if your schedule changes, and include the actual dates rather than a vague message such as ‘holiday schedule.’ For a sale or special event, prioritize the offer or event name, dates and location.
- Measure the space and specify the finished sign or banner size.
- Tell us whether it will be used indoors or outdoors and how you plan to display it.
- Check readability from the distance where customers will see it.
- Ask about suitable material and finishing options for the intended use.
Example to adapt: a shop could pair a sale banner with a smaller entrance sign listing its holiday hours. A nonprofit could use a banner to identify a seasonal fundraiser and a separate sign for event details. See our custom signs and banners; for paper display pieces, explore large-format posters.
4. Invitations, menus and programs for company gatherings
Work backward from the event date. Invitations need time to reach guests and collect responses; menus and programs usually depend on details that are confirmed later. Plan both stages now, even if the final menu or speaker list is not ready.
- For invitations: confirm the date, time, venue, RSVP contact and response deadline.
- For menus: check dish names and any dietary information with the person responsible for the food.
- For programs: verify names, titles, sponsor acknowledgments and the order of events.
- Confirm guest counts, finished sizes, folding and whether extra copies are needed at the venue.
Holiday party invitations, printed menus and event programs can coordinate with the same artwork as your cards and promotional pieces. If a program needs several pages, our booklet printing options, sizes and page counts helps you plan the format.
What should I prepare before requesting a printing quote?
Send a separate specification for each item, even if everything shares the same design. ‘Holiday printing’ is a starting point; item names, quantities and sizes let us give you a useful quote.
- Items and quantities: list cards, envelopes, flyers, postcards, signs, invitations, menus or programs separately.
- Finished sizes: give the final trimmed or folded size, not only the size of your design file.
- Printing and paper: tell us one- or two-sided, color or black-and-white, and any paper or material preference. Ask for recommendations if you are unsure.
- Artwork: supply a print-ready PDF when possible, plus any instructions about folding, trimming or finishing. See our guide to printing your Canva designs if you designed the pieces in Canva.
- Proof approval: identify who will approve the proof, and check spelling, dates, prices, contact information and QR codes before approval.
- Pickup or shipping: tell us whether you will pick up in Kingston or need UPS shipping, and include the destination ZIP code.
- Needed-by date: give the date the finished printing must be in your hands, not just the date you hope it will leave our shop.
When should I order before the December rush?
For card-specific ordering and mailing dates, follow our 2026 holiday card ordering timeline.
For 2026, use early November to confirm your list, quantities and artwork. Order pieces tied to a November promotion before that promotion begins; do not wait until December for materials you need earlier. Plan customer cards and event invitations first, then finalize menus, programs and any late-changing hours signs as the details become available.
Many standard printing jobs are ready for pickup or shipping within 1–3 business days after proof approval. Specialty products, finishing and holiday volume may require additional time. We’ll confirm timing for your order. Build additional time into your schedule for artwork changes, proof approval and shipping. Almost every order is produced in-house for speed and accuracy. Same-day and rush service are available on many items — call or email for exact production availability on your order.
Where do I pick up, and what if my business is out of state?
We are at 66 Summer Street, Kingston, MA 02364. Customers on the South Shore can arrange free pickup at our shop. Customers elsewhere in the United States can order with UPS shipping. Pick up free at our Kingston shop, or have your order shipped nationwide via UPS. Shipping costs apply, and UPS transit time is additional to production time.
If you need printing for an event, tell us the event date and when you need the materials in hand. A requested date is not a guarantee that printing and shipping can both be completed by then. For questions, call 781-585-6021; fax: 781-585-8201. Our Kingston shop contact and pickup information has visit details.
Can I still order holiday printing at the last minute?
Call before placing a time-sensitive order. Tell us exactly what you need, the quantity, whether the artwork is ready and whether you need pickup or shipping. We will discuss what is realistically possible for that order. A smaller set of essential pieces or a simpler format may be worth discussing, but rush availability depends on the job.
Ready to price your holiday printing checklist?
Request a quote with your items, quantities, finished sizes and needed-by date. Include your artwork status and whether you want free Kingston pickup or UPS shipping, with the destination ZIP code. Request Quote is for pricing and planning; Place Order is for work you are ready for us to process and complete. Request a holiday printing quote
Contact We Print Today: Phone 781-585-6021 · Fax: 781-585-8201 · info@weprinttoday.com · 66 Summer Street, Kingston, MA 02364.