I have a running joke with my friends for years that the Summer ends on July 5th. This is in large part due to the fact that you can’t walk into a retail store without seeing “Back to School” signs and Halloween decorations in July, and the promotional push leans in heavily towards trying to steer the consumer away from the Summer mindset. Within the packaging industry, July also marks the beginning of holiday packaging season for many brands.
One of our longstanding customers who have been with us for over a decade always sends their holiday box design in late June or early July. This is credit to their marketing and design teams, but they understand the benefits of planning ahead and they are not alone, nor are they first in line. There are actually other customers who have been working on their Christmas 2026 boxes since 2025.
As we like to say, in packaging there is no one size fits all solution, nor any set rule you have to follow. But as a general guideline, when it comes to holiday packaging, early is almost always better, and that is especially true now, given the current packaging market and climate.
Lock in Your Lowest Possible Cost
There has already been one corrugated industry-wide increase set forth by the sheet plants so far this year, and there is likely another one to follow very soon. The timing, percentage and exact details are all still being sorted out, but there is no question that your lowest holiday packaging cost will be obtained by not waiting to order. It’s also highly likely that freight/shipping costs will only continue to rise, as has been the trend for years, typically peaking out during the height of the holiday season.
Get Ahead of the Late-Year Rush
Ordering now is the best way to avoid getting slogged down in the end of year busy season, where machine availability is at a premium and lead times typically lengthen by weeks. If you wait even just a few months, you are simply jumping in line with everyone else and are largely at the mercy of everything going smoothly in order to meet your delivery deadline. This is not an ideal place to be, because as much as we pride ourselves in quick turnarounds, we all know that sometimes unexpected delays happen that are out of our control.
Be Fully Satisfied with Your Packaging
This one comes from experience. This holiday season will mark the one decade mark for me in this industry, and I can assure you that it never fails—there is always at least one customer who ends 
up rushing the process at the end of the year, resulting in a comment such as “This will have to do for now, and we’ll change the design next year when we have more time.” Many companies simply start the process too late, and end up running out of time, settling on a graphic design, or color scheme, or size/structure that they aren’t fully satisfied with. We love to guide our customers towards solutions that work best for their needs, but this process can take time, involving conversations and discussions that lead to the creation of samples and proofs to help guide the expectations. When we are immediately met with a firm deadline and the “shot clock” mentality, it tends to not leave room for these discussions to take place. Connect with us now so that we can set you on the path forward and get you the packaging you will love without regrets!
Please Contact Us Today
Whether you are ordering holiday packaging or just trying to find out what your future needs are, please reach out to us for a no cost, no obligation packaging consultation. As always, if you have any questions, one of our branded packaging advisors is standing by to assist, with decades of experience behind them. Please call us at 630-551-1700 or contact us via email at www.SalazarPackaging.com.
Related Posts:
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/how-to-avoid-the-current-corrugated-market-price-increase/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/holiday-packaging-early-buying-perks/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/e-commerce-shippers-are-you-ready-for-the-holidays/