Christmas is the busiest trading period of the year for most pubs and bars, between office party bookings, mulled wine and hot toddies served to shoppers, and a steady run of festive events through December. It's also one of the easiest times to make a venue feel genuinely festive and branded rather than relying on a few strings of tinsel, if the packaging is sorted in advance rather than scrambled together in the first week of December.
Why Pubs and Bars Should Plan Packaging, Not Just Decorations
Tinsel and fairy lights set the mood, but packaging is what customers actually hold, photograph and post about. A mulled wine served in a plain cup looks like an afterthought. The same drink in a cup with your pub's logo and a festive touch looks like part of the experience, and it's a cheap way to get your branding into other people's phone photos during the busiest social month of the year.
What to Order for the Festive Season
Cups for mulled wine, hot toddies and festive takeaway drinks
Single wall paper cups are ideal for mulled wine, hot toddies and other warm drinks served to shoppers, carol singers or customers heading between venues on a pub crawl. They hold heat well and give you a branded surface that's genuinely useful, not just decorative.
Napkins for party bookings and finger food
Office Christmas parties and festive bar snacks mean a lot more napkins changing hands than usual. Square fold napkins or rectangle fold napkins with your branding add a touch of polish to party bookings without needing full table service upgrades.
Stickers for window displays and festive seals
Round stickers and square stickers work well as festive window decorations, drinks menu seals, or a quick way to brand gift vouchers and bottle sales without a full redesign.
When You Need to Order By
Christmas Day falls on 25 December, which is roughly nine weeks away at the time of writing, and custom printed packaging typically needs time for artwork approval plus production and delivery, often four to five weeks for bulk cups, bags and napkins once a design is signed off. Pubs and bars planning for the festive party season should aim to finalise artwork and place orders through November at the latest to be confident of stock in hand before the first weekend of December party bookings start. Leaving it until early December puts you firmly in last-minute territory, where options narrow and prices for rush production tend to rise.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Branded
You don't need a full seasonal redesign to make an impact. Many venues get the best results from keeping their standard logo and colours, and simply adding a festive sticker, a seasonal cup design, or a Christmas-specific napkin print for December only, so the branding stays consistent while still feeling timely.
Get Your Festive Order In Now
With the Christmas trading period fast approaching, now is the time to lock in your packaging before production slots fill up. Start with single wall paper cups for festive drinks, branded napkins for party bookings, and custom stickers for window displays and seals.