December is the weird month for publishers. Traffic can spike from people browsing during downtime, or crater because everyone’s actually away from their desks. Editorial teams want time off, but you can’t just go dark for three weeks.

Getting the content calendar right takes planning, and that planning needs to happen now, in early November, not mid-December when everyone’s already checked out.

Traffic Patterns Aren’t What You Think

The assumption is that traffic drops in December. For many publishers, it actually increases, just in different patterns.

B2B publishers often see a spike in the first two weeks of December as people clear their reading lists before holidays. Then a sharp drop from December 20 onwards. Consumer publishers see the opposite: steady through mid-December, then a spike during the actual holiday period when people are browsing on phones.

Check your December 2024 analytics. The pattern will likely repeat in 2025. Plan content volume accordingly.

Evergreen vs Timely Content

December is the best month for evergreen content to shine. People aren’t chasing breaking news during the holidays. They’re catching up on “how-to” guides, long reads they bookmarked, and educational content.

This is the time to publish:

• Comprehensive guides and tutorials
• Year-in-review analysis pieces
• “Ultimate guide to…” style posts
• Foundational explainers you’ve been meaning to write

Save the news-driven, time-sensitive content for when your team is back at full capacity in January.

The Scheduling Gap

Most publishers make the same mistake: they schedule content through December 15, then nothing until January 6. That leaves a two-week void.

Your site doesn’t need daily posts during the holiday break, but it shouldn’t go silent either. Schedule 2-3 posts per week during the quiet period. Make them evergreen, low-maintenance pieces that don’t require updates or promotion.

The goal isn’t to drive massive traffic. It’s to avoid looking abandoned when people do visit.

What to Do About Comments and Moderation

If you’re running a skeleton crew during the holidays, comment moderation becomes a problem. You’ve got three options:

• Close comments on new posts from December 20-January 5
• Use automated moderation tools with stricter filters
• Accept that response times will be slower and communicate that

The worst option is leaving comments open with no moderation. One spammy thread can sit visible for days, making your whole site look neglected.

Newsletter Strategy

Email newsletters need a different approach in December. Your standard Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule might not make sense when half your audience is out of office.

Consider switching to a weekly digest format from December 18 onwards. Combine the best content from the week into one send. Open rates often improve because you’re not competing with the inbox flood.

Some publishers pause newsletters entirely for two weeks. That’s fine if you communicate it in advance. Subscribers appreciate the break more than you think.

January Content Needs December Planning

The real reason to finalize December planning in November is so you can start commissioning January content.

January is a huge traffic month. New year, new budgets, people actually back at their desks engaging with content. You want your best work ready to publish January 6-15, which means writers need briefs in late November.

Topics that work well in early January:

• Trend predictions and forecasts
• “What changed in [your industry] in 2025” retrospectives
• Planning guides and strategy frameworks
• Tool comparisons and buying guides

These all require research and reporting time. Starting them in mid-December doesn’t work.

Content Promotion During Downtime

Social media engagement drops during the holidays, but not as much as you’d expect. People scroll on their phones during family dinners. They’re bored on Christmas afternoon. They’re avoiding conversation at parties.

Keep your social promotion running, just adjust the schedule. Fewer posts, but make them stronger. Reshare your best content from earlier in the year. People who joined your audience in Q4 never saw your January or February posts.

The Seasonal Content Opportunity

December is prime time for seasonal content, but it needs to be planned and created in October. If you’re just thinking about holiday-themed posts in early December, you’ve missed the window.

For 2026 planning: commission seasonal content in September, publish in November. That’s when people are actually making holiday decisions, not during the holidays themselves.

Setting Up for Q1 Success

The difference between publishers who hit the ground running in January and those who struggle through Q1 usually comes down to December planning.

Before your team breaks for the holidays:

• Finalize the January editorial calendar
• Commission or draft at least 50% of January content
• Schedule evergreen posts for the December quiet period
• Confirm freelance availability for early January
• Brief your sales team on Q1 content marketing packages

Publishers often treat December as a write-off month. The smart ones treat it as setup time for the year ahead.

You can’t plan December content in December. You can’t plan January content in January. The work happens now, in November, when everyone’s still engaged and you have time to think strategically rather than reactively.

December doesn’t have to be a dead zone. With proper planning, it can be a foundation for a strong start to 2026.