A good holiday art sale is planned in early November, not in mid-December. Choose a set of smaller works at gift prices. Work out your last order date from your post office's deadlines, and tell people early. Add a winter open studio if you can, and offer gift certificates for buyers who miss the last shipping date. This plan takes you through each step, with the 2026 dates for the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Choose what you'll sell

A holiday buyer is often buying a gift, and may be buying art for the first time. ArtBusiness.com's Alan Bamberger notes that first-time buyers often like to start with more modestly priced works. He suggests smaller or less complex pieces at more affordable prices.

  • Pick works that are finished, photographed and easy to pack. Anything still drying stays in the studio.
  • Offer a spread of prices: a few small originals or studies, prints or cards at the low end, and one or two larger works for buyers who are ready.
  • Keep your main prices where they are. Collectors who paid full price notice discounts, and small works give a new buyer a way in without them.
  • Decide now whether you take commissions for the holidays. If you do, set a date for the brief well before December.

Set your last order date

Your last order date is your carrier's last posting date, minus the days you need to pack and get to the post office. A framed painting takes longer to pack than a print in a tube. Set your date a few days before the carrier's, then put it on your website, in your shop and in every post.

A holiday sale calendar for 2026: early November to pick, price and photograph works; Small Business Saturday on 28 November in the US and 5 December in the UK; and the last recommended posting dates for USPS, Royal Mail, Canada Post and Australia Post from 9 to 23 December
The dates to plan around in 2026

These are the recommended last dates for delivery before Christmas in 2026. Every carrier says they can vary with where you send from and to, so check your own service. The full tables are on the USPS, Royal Mail and Australia Post sites, and on Canada Post's holiday sending page.

United States (USPS)

  • Within the lower 48 states: USPS Ground Advantage by Thursday, December 17, Priority Mail by Friday, December 18, and Priority Mail Express by Saturday, December 19.
  • Abroad: Priority Mail International by Wednesday, December 9, and Priority Mail Express International by Wednesday, December 16.

USPS notes that delivery also depends on when the post office accepts the parcel. Drop it off in time; a printed label isn't enough.

United Kingdom (Royal Mail)

  • 2nd Class by Friday 18 December, and Tracked 48 by Saturday 19 December
  • 1st Class and Tracked 24 by Monday 21 December
  • Special Delivery Guaranteed by Wednesday 23 December

For parcels abroad, Royal Mail advises posting as early as possible.

Canada (Canada Post)

  • Regular Parcel: December 10 across the country, December 16 within your region, December 21 locally
  • Expedited Parcel: December 14 across the country
  • Xpresspost by December 22, and Priority by December 23
  • To the US: Expedited Parcel USA by December 14, and Xpresspost USA by December 17

Australia (Australia Post)

  • Parcel Post within the same state by Tuesday 22 December, and interstate between 14 and 21 December, depending on the route
  • Express Post by Wednesday 23 December for most metro areas, or Tuesday 22 December to and from WA and to the NT
  • Abroad: International Standard to the US by 7 December, and to the UK by 11 December

Plan a winter open studio or pop-up

Selling in person takes the shipping deadline out of the picture: the buyer carries the work home. Pick a weekend in late November or early December. Small Business Saturday is 28 November in the US and 5 December in the UK: days set aside for shopping at small, independent businesses.

Have these ready:

  • Every work labeled with its title, size and price, and a printed price list
  • A card reader, and a way to take a deposit for work collected later
  • Wrapping and bags, so a gift leaves the studio ready to give
  • A sign-up sheet or QR code for your mailing list

Offer gift certificates

A gift certificate solves two problems: the buyer who can't choose, and the buyer who's too late for the post. You can send it by email on December 24.

Give each one a number, the amount or the work it covers, your name and contact details, and how to redeem it. In the US, federal rules say a gift certificate can't expire sooner than five years after it's issued, and the expiry date must be stated on it. Rules differ elsewhere, so check yours before you set one.

Tell people early, and more than once

Your mailing list hears first: these are the people most likely to buy. Then post on social media. A simple schedule:

  • Early November: announce the sale and the open studio dates
  • The week of Small Business Saturday: a reminder, with a few works
  • A week before your last order date: say the date plainly
  • After the last order date: gift certificates and local pickup

Show the works on a wall, not only on their own. Someone buying a gift wants to know how big it is and how it will look in a home.

Make your sale images in Canvy

With Canvy's Room Mockups, your artwork hangs at its real dimensions in a room, so the scale is right. Crop a room for an Instagram post, portrait or story, a Pinterest pin, a Facebook post or cover, YouTube or X. For a shop, crop it to Etsy's listing photo and shop banner sizes. On Plus and Pro, Canvy also turns a room into a short video for Reels, TikTok and Stories.

Canvy's crop tool on a room with a framed abstract painting in blues above a rattan sideboard, with size presets along the bottom: Original, 1:1, 4:5, Story, 16:9 and others, Instagram's profile picture, photo, stories, portrait and landscape, and Etsy listing images
One room, cropped for each place you post

For the open studio, print a QR code label for each work in the sale, with its name and your choice of its size, price and description. A scan opens the work on the visitor's phone, with its title, description, size and, if you choose, its price. One tap on Contact artist and they can reach you by email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or Telegram. See how it works at art fairs and open studios.

For more on showing work in rooms, read our post on gallery mockups.

A holiday art sale checklist

  • Choose the works, and photograph them in early November
  • Set gift prices, without cutting the price of your main work
  • Find your carrier's last date and set your own a few days earlier
  • Book a weekend for an open studio, and get labels and a card reader ready
  • Make gift certificates with a number, the details and how to redeem
  • Announce to your mailing list first, then on social media
  • Remind people a week before your last order date
  • Keep wrapping, boxes and tape ready before the rush

Questions artists ask

Should I discount my work for the holidays?

You don't have to. Smaller works, free gift wrapping or a card with each purchase give buyers a reason to act without cutting your prices.

What if a work sells after the last shipping date?

Send a gift certificate or a printed card with an image of the work for the buyer to give, and ship the work in the new year.

Is it too late to start in December?

No. Gift certificates and local pickup work right up to Christmas Eve. Start with your mailing list.

Want sale images that fit every post? Crop your rooms for social media. Canvy is free to start.