The holidays are around the corner. Christmas trees, shop windows full of quirky presents, delicacies and jiggly music: it’s everywhere. When we think of Christmas, we tend to think of families gathered together, romance, the color red, tables full of food. It’s a true holiday – for most people – and it’s one you, as a hospitality brand, should definitely make use of. Holidays and hospitality: it’s a golden combination.

But how do you do this? What are some tricks you can pull? When everybody is screaming louder than even for attention (especially with all those Christmas menus), you’ve got to do something special to stand out. I have a couple of ideas and yes, happy you: I’m sharing them in this article. Feel like you’re too late to pull it off this year? Then save this article for next Christmas. It’s a returning holiday anyway 😉

1. A Christmas Wish (or Happy New Year)

The first one may seem obvious but there are many ways to get creative with a Christmas or Happy New Year wish. You could, of course, just create a simple post for your Facebook or Instagram. A photo of your team wishing everyone merry days will work just fine. And it’s something I’d never advice against: I believe these kind of personal photos are worth a lot and you’ll see likes sky-rocket on these types of posts.

However, it goes without saying that there are more creative things you could do. And those creative things could be a whole lot more remarkable than your team photo – meaning the likelihood of your post being shared and engaged with will be a lot higher. And that’s what we’re aiming for here.

So, let me list a few ways for you to deliver your Christmas wishes:

• Sing it! Let your team sing a Christmas wish to your fans.
• Make a GIF. They are more likely to catch one’s attention than a still image. A stop motion often works well.
• Send your Christmas or New Year’s wish through direct messaging on Facebook and/or Instagram. Personalized communication for the win.
• Talk to the camera. Say your Christmas wish out loud. You might feel uncomfortable but that’s alright. Remember for who you’re doing this!

2. Help them count, create an advent calendar

Ever thought of creating an online advent calendar? You can do this easily through social media. You don’t need to count down from the beginning of December (if you’re reading this post on the day it’s published you’d be too late, anyway). What about 1 week in advance? That’d give you 7 days to offer special deals.

Create a different deal for each one of those 7 days. Here are some ideas:

• Day 1: Second coffee for free
• Day 2: A 10% discount on all cakes
• Day 3: First & second dish for €….
• Day 4: Dessert on us!
• Day 5: Bread & dips for free with any main
• Day 6: A special surprise… (A free refill of their glass of wine? Free bottle of water with any alcoholic beverage?)
• Day 7: A Christmas wish (hand-written note and a small bar of chocolate or something likewise with the bill)

Of course there are many other things you could offer or promote. It all depends on your business. As a hotel you might not even have a restaurant. In that case you could promote a discount on room-service, a bottle of champagne on their first night, a discount on their booking, a Christmas present on arrival, et cetera. Get creative and look at the things you could give away – and that don’t cost you too much.

3. Christmas Photography

Don’t forget to get all Christmassy with your photos around this time of the year. People long for fireplaces, hot drinks, soups and for warm colors, Christmas balls and lights, presents, love. So try to add those elements to your photos. And promote these posts extra on your social channels.

How to do this? Well, here are a few tips:

1. Buy a few different kinds of Christmas wrapping papers and use them as backgrounds for photos of your dishes. This works particularly well on top-down photos (helicopter view). Try to find colors that match the food or the plate well, or add exactly the right contrast. Got a white plate with a chocolate brownie on there? Then go for a green type op wrapping paper (dark green, Christmas tree green!).
2. Go to the second-hand store and get different kinds of Christmas decorations. Christmas tree balls, lights, garlands, maybe a Christmas wreath? Put them on the table and try to find a way to organize them nicely around your dishes. A good thing here is to work with the rule of thirds and/or triangles. Curious how that works? Then get the 10 free photography tips at the bottom of this post!
3. Create a warm atmosphere! This is extremely important with Christmas photography. Make use of candle lights and post-production. People want to feel like your place is the best place to get cosy. Christmas and New Year equal ‘love’, ‘romance’ and ‘warmth’ in our minds. Keep that in mind.
4. In addition to the previous point: go for the colors bordeaux red, orange, ochreous yellow, dark green, dark purple and dark blue.

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I’m trying my very best to put out content that helps you, the owner, designer of manager of a hospitality brand, to bring your business to the next level. All posts on Tremento are created with hospitality brands specifically in mind. Articles talk about practical tips and inspiration for social media, design, photography and more.

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