Every fall, Lapse Productions hears from marketers who want a holiday video, and many of them reach out only one or two weeks before the holiday itself. By then, the strongest creative options are off the table. A well-run holiday video campaign is booked 8 to 10 weeks before launch, which puts the real planning window in late summer and early fall. This guide covers how far ahead to book, the exact booking deadlines for the 2026 holiday season, and a simple three-phase strategy that gets more mileage out of every shoot.
The short answer
- Book video production 8 to 10 weeks before your campaign launch, not before the holiday itself.
- For the December 2026 holiday season, lock in your production by early October.
- Halloween and Canadian Thanksgiving campaigns should be booked by late August or early September.
- Launch 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the holiday: about half of shoppers have started buying by the end of October.
- One batch shoot can cover Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year content in a single production day.
How Far in Advance Should You Book a Holiday Video?
The right lead time depends on the scale of the campaign. Production itself (scripting, a shoot day, editing, and revisions) typically takes 4 to 6 weeks for a standard corporate video. The campaign then needs runway before the holiday, because audiences make their decisions early. Work backward from your launch date, not the holiday date.
| Campaign type | Production time | Book before launch |
|---|---|---|
| Social-first holiday video (single deliverable) | 2 to 3 weeks | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Standard corporate holiday video | 4 to 6 weeks | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Multi-video campaign or batch shoot | 6 to 8 weeks | 10 to 12 weeks |
| Campaign with paid media and A/B testing | 6 to 8 weeks | 12 weeks or more |
For a full breakdown of what happens at each stage, see our guide to the corporate video production process.
Key Dates and Booking Deadlines for the 2026 Holiday Season
These are the dates that matter for the season ahead, with the booking deadline for a standard production and the latest sensible launch date for the campaign built around it.
| Holiday | 2026 date | Book production by | Launch campaign by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Thanksgiving | Monday, October 12 | Mid-August | Mid-September |
| Halloween | Saturday, October 31 | Late August | Early October |
| Remembrance Day | Wednesday, November 11 | Early September | Late October |
| US Thanksgiving | Thursday, November 26 | Mid-September | Late October |
| Black Friday | Friday, November 27 | Mid-September | Early November |
| Cyber Monday | Monday, November 30 | Mid-September | Early November |
| Hanukkah | Begins the evening of December 4 | Late September | Early November |
| Christmas | Friday, December 25 | Early October | Mid-November |
| Boxing Day | Saturday, December 26 | Early October (with Christmas) | Mid-December |
| New Year | Friday, January 1, 2027 | Late October | Early December |
If a booking deadline above has already passed, the campaign is not necessarily dead. See the FAQ below for what is possible on a short timeline.
The Three-Phase Holiday Campaign Strategy
A single hero video dropped on the holiday itself wastes most of its potential. Structure the campaign in three phases and cut your footage to serve each one.
| Phase | Timing | Content focus |
|---|---|---|
| Tease | 4 to 6 weeks before the holiday | Short teasers, brand awareness, early-bird offers |
| Main push | 2 to 4 weeks before the holiday | Hero video, product or service spotlights, paid amplification |
| Last call | Final week through the day itself | Urgency cutdowns, retargeting ads, deadline reminders |
The efficient way to feed all three phases is a batch shoot: one production day planned to capture the hero video plus the teasers and cutdowns around it. A promotional video, coverage of your holiday event, and a set of social cutdowns can all come out of the same day when the shot list is planned in advance. This is where early planning directly lowers your cost per asset.
Year-Round Campaign Calendar for 2027
Holiday planning is not only a fourth-quarter exercise. These are the key dates to map for 2027, each with the same 8 to 10 week booking window.
| Quarter | Key dates for 2027 |
|---|---|
| Q1 | New Year (January 1), Lunar New Year (February 6), Valentine’s Day (February 14), International Women’s Day (March 8), Easter (March 28) |
| Q2 | Earth Day (April 22), Mother’s Day (May 9), Victoria Day (May 24), Pride Month (June), Father’s Day (June 20) |
| Q3 | Canada Day (July 1), back to school (August to early September), Labour Day (September 6) |
| Q4 | Canadian Thanksgiving (October 11), Halloween (October 31), Black Friday (November 26), Cyber Monday (November 29), Christmas and the December holidays |
Why Early Planning Pays Off
- Crew and location availability. Fourth-quarter production calendars fill up months ahead, and the best crews book first.
- Creative development. Early booking leaves time for concepting, scripting, and revisions instead of shooting the first workable idea.
- Testing and pacing. Launching early leaves room to A/B test creative and shift budget to what performs.
- Shopper timing. About half of consumers have started their holiday buying by the end of October, and US shoppers spent roughly 95 billion US dollars online over the 2024 Thanksgiving weekend alone. Late campaigns miss the highest-intent window.
- Budget control. Rush timelines add cost. Planned productions do not.
Plan Your 2026 Holiday Campaign Now
Tell us the holiday, the goal, and the launch date, and we will map the production schedule backward from there.
Get a Free QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
How far in advance should I book a holiday video production?
Book 8 to 10 weeks before your campaign launch date. A standard corporate holiday video with scripting, a shoot day, and editing takes 4 to 6 weeks to produce, and the campaign needs another 4 to 6 weeks of runway before the holiday. Campaigns with paid media or multiple videos should book 12 or more weeks ahead.
When should I start planning a Christmas video campaign?
Start planning in September and lock in your production by early October. That puts finished video assets in your hands by early November for a mid-November launch, when holiday shopping is already well underway.
Can one video shoot cover multiple holidays?
Yes. One well-planned production day can capture footage for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year campaigns at once. Batch shooting lowers the cost per video and keeps your brand consistent across the season.
How much does a holiday video cost?
Our pricing packages start at $3,410 for a Simple production, $6,000 for Standard, and $8,000 for Premium. Holiday campaigns often pair a main video with shorter cutdowns for social and paid ads, so contact us for a custom quote.
Is it too late if the holiday is only a few weeks away?
Not necessarily. We offer rush orders and can recommend simpler formats, like a social-first video or an edit of existing footage, that can turn around in 1 to 2 weeks. Creative options narrow as the deadline approaches, so reach out as soon as you can.
About the author
Dario Nouri is a Producer and Co-Founder of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company creating results-based content since 2014. He also hosts Creatives Grab Coffee, a podcast on the business of video production.
Sources: Think with Google, holiday retail insights (accessed August 2026); Adobe Analytics, 2024 holiday shopping data (accessed August 2026); Government of Canada, statutory holidays calendar (accessed August 2026).