What do you call the strange, slow, slightly dazed week between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve? In the UK, more people are calling it Twixmas – a mash-up of "betwixt" and "Christmas" – and it has quietly become one of the most useful trading windows of the year for cafés, bakeries and independent retailers.
Most owners write this week off mentally before it's even started. Staff are tired, stockrooms are full of leftover festive stock, and footfall feels unpredictable. But Twixmas shoppers behave differently to the pre-Christmas rush: they're relaxed, off work, and visiting family, and short "Twixmas breaks" have grown steadily in popularity over the past decade. That's foot traffic through town centres and high streets at a time when competitors have already switched off. The businesses that keep their packaging sharp during this week are the ones customers remember going into January.
What Is Twixmas, and Why Should Your Business Care?
Twixmas runs roughly from 26 to 31 December. Boxing Day sales kick it off, and many people treat the whole week as a mini-holiday: visiting family, taking short breaks, going for walks, and doing some unhurried, guilt-free shopping with Christmas money and gift cards burning a hole in their pocket. For cafés, bakeries, delis and retailers that stay open, it's a week of relaxed, high-intent customers with cash to spend and nowhere else they need to be.
Three Ways to Turn the Quiet Week Into Sales
1. Clearance Stickers That Don't Look Like an Afterthought
Moving leftover festive stock doesn't have to mean handwritten "reduced" signs. A branded round sticker or square sticker in a simple "Twixmas Treat" or sale design keeps your shelves looking intentional, not abandoned, while clearing space for January stock.
2. "Treat Yourself" Bundles for Leftover Festive Bakes
Mince pies, panettone and leftover festive bakes sell far better as a bundled offer than as single stragglers on a shelf. Packaging them in a branded cake box turns surplus stock into a giftable, impulse-buy bundle for visiting relatives or unexpected guests.
3. Keep Hot Drinks Flowing for Dog Walkers and Day-Trippers
Twixmas footfall leans heavily on people out walking off the Christmas dinner, visiting family, or killing time on a day off. A warm drink in a branded double wall paper cup with a secure paper cup lid is an easy, low-effort sale that keeps your café visible on the high street all week.
Order Now, Not in December
Because Twixmas packaging needs are small and simple – mostly stickers, boxes and cups you already stock – the easiest approach is to top up your regular packaging order a few weeks before Christmas rather than treating Twixmas as a separate purchase. That way there's no scramble for stock during the one week of the year most suppliers are also closed.
Ready to make the most of the quiet week? Stock up on clearance stickers, cake boxes and festive cups before your next packaging order ships.