December 2026 Calendar
Get your sparkle on. Our December 2026 briefing includes a printable calendar of popular holidays and occasions, consumer insights, and marketing resources so you can sort out your plans.
Photo offered for free use by Matthew Payne on Unsplash
December 2026 Holidays & Observances
| Safe Toys and Gifts Month | #safetoysandgifts | |||
| Universal Human Rights Month | #UniversalHumanRights | |||
| 1 | Tu | 🌎 | World AIDS Day | #wad |
| Giving Tuesday | #givingtuesday | |||
| 2 | W | 🌎 | International Day for the Abolition of Slavery | #EndExploitation |
| 3 | Th | 🌎 | International Day of Persons with Disabilities | #idpwd |
| 4 | F | 🌎 | International Day of Banks | #internationaldayofbanks |
| National Cookie Day | #nationalcookieday | |||
| 5 | Sa | 🌎 | International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development | #internationalvolunteerday |
| 🌎 | World Soil Day | #worldsoilday | ||
| Hanukkah - Jewish (Dec 5 - 12) | #Chanukah #Hanukkah | |||
| 6 | Su | St. Nicholas Day - Christian | #StNicholasDay | |
| Microwave Oven Day | #microwaveovenday | |||
| 7 | M | 🌎 | International Civil Aviation Day | #civilaviationday |
| National Cotton Candy Day | #nationalcottoncandyday | |||
| 8 | Tu | Bodhi Day - Buddhist | #bodhiday | |
| National Brownie Day | #nationalbrownieday | |||
| Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day | #pretendtobeatimetravelerday | |||
| 9 | W | 🌎 | International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime | #PreventGenocide |
| 🌎 | International Anti-Corruption Day | #anticorruption | ||
| 10 | Th | 🌎 | International Human Rights Day | #humanrightsday |
| International Animal Rights Day | #worldanimalday | |||
| Nobel Prize Day | #nobelprize | |||
| 11 | F | 🌎 | International Mountain Day | #internationalmountainday |
| National App Day | #nationalappday | |||
| National Salesperson Day | #salespersonday | |||
| 12 | Sa | 🌎 | International Day of Neutrality | #dayofneutrality |
| 🌎 | International Universal Health Coverage Day | #HealthForAll | ||
| Gingerbread House Day | #gingerbreadday | |||
| Our Lady of Guadalupe - Christian | #guadalupana | |||
| 13 | Su | |||
| 14 | M | |||
| 15 | Tu | Bill of Rights Day | #billofrightsday | |
| Cat Herders Day | #CatHerdersDay | |||
| National Cupcake Day | #CupcakeDay | |||
| 16 | W | |||
| 17 | Th | |||
| 18 | F | 🌎 | International Migrants Day | #internationalmigrantsday |
| 🌎 | Arabic Language Day | #arabiclanguageday | ||
| National Twins Day | #NationalTwinsDay | |||
| National Ugly Sweater Day | #NationalUglySweaterDay | |||
| 19 | Sa | |||
| 20 | Su | 🌎 | International Human Solidarity Day | #humansolidarityday |
| 21 | M | Winter Solstice | #wintersolstice | |
| Crossword Puzzle Day | #crosswordpuzzleday | |||
| 22 | Tu | |||
| 23 | W | Festivus | #festivus | |
| 24 | Th | Christmas Eve | #christmaseve | |
| National Eggnog Day | #nationaleggnogday | |||
| 25 | F | 🇺🇸 | Christmas Day | #christmas |
| 26 | Sa | Kwanzaa (Dec 26 - Jan 1) | #kwanzaa | |
| 27 | Su | 🌎 | International Day of Epidemic Preparedness | #EpidemicPreparednessDay |
| National Regifting Day | ||||
| 28 | M | Card Playing Day | #cardplayingday | |
| National Short Film Day | #nationalshortfilmday | |||
| 29 | Tu | Wounded Knee Day | #woundedkneeday | |
| 30 | W | No Interruptions Day | #nointerruptionsday | |
| 31 | Th | New Year's Eve | #nye | |
| 🇺🇸 | United States Federal Holiday | |||
| 🌎 | United Nations Observance |
About December
December is the 12th and last month of the year and the first month of winter. It’s make it or break it time for retailers who rely on the rush of holiday shopping to meet their annual sales goals.
Top Consumer Spending Events
According to the National Retail Federation 39% of consumers start shopping for the winter holidays before November. The first big surge of spending comes in around Thanksgiving and then shopping continues through December wiht a peak the last Saturday before Christmas.
View the planners below for insights and resources:
Winter Holidays
Q4 winter holidays are the #1 consumer spending event of the year //Overall, holiday sales represent about 20 percent of annual retail sales each year, but the figure can be higher for some retailers. Consumer Insights The National Retail Foundation (NRF) lists the...
Hanukkah
One of the winter holidays that drives consumer spending in Q4 //Hanukkah or Chanukah is is a Jewish holiday that is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins the evening of December 4th,...
Christmas
Main driver of Q4 consumer spending //Christmas Day is a Federal holiday and commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on December 25th with Christmas decorations, the exchange of Christmas cards, gift giving, Christmas music, Christmas trees, special...
Kwanzaa
One of the winter holidays that drives consumer spending in Q4 //Kwanzaa is a celebration of African American culture observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in gift-giving and a traditional meal. On each of the seven nights of Kwanzaa, the family gathers...
December Symbology
Promote personalized holiday gifts by featuring December symbology.
- December’s birthstones are turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite
- Its birth flower is the narcissus.
- The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius (archer) until December 21 and Capricorn (goat) December 22 onwards.
Printable December 2026 Calendar with Holidays
Click to download and print a PDF of the December calendar with all holidays and occasions listed above.
If you embed on your site, we simply ask for credit and a link back → Printable December Calendar with Holidays by Annum.
Regarding the Holidays and Occasions We Have Chosen
Our goal in creation of these calendars is to make marketing planning easier. So, in order to keep things simple we have chosen to focus on the top 12 consumer spending events as identified by the National Retail Federation; U.S. Federal Holidays; significant religious, ethnic, and cultural holidays that represent the diversity of the U.S. population as identified by ADL; and popular hashtag holidays that provide an opportunity for a natural business tie-in.
If you are interested in finding more occasions to commemorate here are a few resources:
- National Day Calendar tracks nearly 1500 national days, weeks, and months
- National Today has a search function to find days that align with your brand and category
Note that Bahá’í, Jewish, and Islamic holidays begin at sundown the previous day and end at sundown on the date listed.
Get practical marketing planning guidance, seasonal resources, and new tools from Annum.
