Christmas pre-orders without the phone ringing all day

The timeline: October to December

The shops with the calmest Decembers start in October. Not because customers order that early (most won't) but because the decisions take time: what to sell, how many, and when people can collect. A timeline that works for a bakery, a chocolatier, a cheese shop or a farm:

In 2026, 24 and 31 December both fall on a Thursday. A cut-off on the Sunday before each date (20 and 27 December) leaves you Monday to Wednesday to prepare.

Choose a short Christmas range

A Christmas range should be short enough to make well and to photograph once. Six to ten products is plenty for most shops, in clear sizes:

• Bakery or pâtisserie: yule logs (bûches) for 4, 6 and 8, a festive brioche, pain d'épices, a Christmas cake or mince pies in the UK.
• Chocolatier: gift boxes in three sizes, a few figures, Advent calendars sold in November.
• Cheese shop or deli: platters for 4, 6 and 10 people, a raclette or fondue kit, a gift box.
• Farm or butcher: capons, turkeys and roasts in weight bands, foie gras, a festive box.
• Florist: Advent wreaths (Advent begins on 29 November in 2026), table centrepieces for the 24th and the 31st, door wreaths.
• Wine shop: champagne, two or three mixed cases, gift boxes with a gift message.

For products sold by weight, sell weight bands at a fixed price (‘capon, 3–3.5 kg’) rather than a price per kilo. The customer pays for the band when ordering, and nobody has to settle a difference on Christmas Eve.

Set quantities in advance

Online pre-orders work because you set the limit before the first order, not at seven in the morning on the 24th. Work back from your capacity:

1. What can your kitchen, cold room or workshop finish on each day? If the oven and the team can finish 60 yule logs for the 24th, that is your ceiling.
2. Keep some back for the counter. Walk-in customers still come. Putting 50 of the 60 online and keeping 10 for the shop is a sensible start.
3. Limit each pickup slot as well as each product, so the morning of the 24th doesn't arrive all at once.
4. Let products sell out. When a size reaches its limit, it shows as sold out and customers choose another size or another day. That is the system working.

Cut-off dates

A cut-off date is the last day to order for a given pickup day. It protects your production: you need final numbers to order butter and cream, book your supplier's delivery and decide who works when. For most shops, three to five days before the pickup day is about right. A farm that orders poultry from a breeder may need longer.

Make the cut-off impossible to miss:

• on each Christmas product: ‘Order by Sunday 20 December for collection on the 24th’;
• on a poster in the window and a card at the till from mid-November;
• in the order confirmation, together with the collection date and slot.

Once the cut-off has passed, close online orders for that day. Late customers can still buy what is on the counter, which is why you kept some back.

Decide at the same time how you handle changes. A simple rule works best: changes and cancellations free of charge until the cut-off, none afterwards, because by then the cream is whipped. Show it next to the cut-off, before customers pay, so nobody discovers it on the 23rd. Taking payment with the order does the rest: every yule log is paid for before it is baked, and an uncollected one doesn't cost you its ingredients.

Pickup on 24 and 31 December

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are the two biggest collection days of the year for many food shops. Run them separately from the counter:

• Offer pickup on 23 December for products that keep, to take pressure off the 24th.
• Use short slots of 15 minutes from opening time, with a limit per slot, and stop an hour before you close early.
• Set up a collection table near the door, run by one person with the list. Customers collecting don't queue behind customers choosing.
• Prepare and label by slot: name, slot and order number on every box. Frozen and chilled orders stay cold until their slot, with a note on the table saying where they are.
• Tick off every collection. At noon you know who is still to come, and can call them if needed.

Because orders are paid in advance, the handover takes seconds: name, box, merry Christmas, next.

Telling your regulars

Your best Christmas customers are the ones who already come every week. Tell them first, and tell them where they already look:

• In the shop: a poster in the window and a small card at the till with the range, the cut-off dates and your web address or a QR code.
• On the phone: update your voicemail (‘Christmas orders are open on our website until 20 December’) and say the same when you answer.
• By email: if you have a list of customers who have agreed to hear from you, send one message when orders open and one a few days before the cut-off.
• Online: a post on your social media and on your Google Business Profile, with a photo of the yule log and a link to your shop.
• On your website: one line on the home page, ‘Christmas orders are open’, linking to your Shop tab.

The message is always the same three things: what can be ordered, until when, and when to collect.

After the holidays

In the first week of January, while it is fresh, write down what sold out and when, what was left over, which slots were full and which stayed empty. It is the most useful information you will have for next year's quantities.

And the season isn't quite over. In France the galette des rois follows straight after, and the same pre-order set-up works for Epiphany weekend. For everyday pickup, our click & collect guide covers slots and preparation in more detail.