Bakery Marketing Calendar: Holidays & Promotion Ideas

A year-round calendar of baking and food holidays — each with a ready-made promotion or social-post idea — so you can plan your bakery’s sales and content ahead of time.

Use this calendar to plan your bakery's promotions, limited-edition products, pre-order windows, and social-media content ahead of time. Every date below is a ready-made reason to post, run a special, or open pre-orders — pick the ones that fit your bakery and put them on your calendar.

Dates below follow the United States observance calendar. Inside BakeOnyx, Content Studio → Occasions tailors these to your country and lets you turn any of them into a post, a calendar reminder, or a promotion in one tap.

How to use this calendar

  • Plan a month ahead. Skim next month's dates and choose 2–3 to build a special or a social post around.
  • Open pre-orders early. For big days (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) start taking orders 2–3 weeks out and set a clear cutoff.
  • Turn a holiday into a post. Each date has a suggested "angle" — a promo or content idea you can use as-is.
  • Bookmark this page and check back each month. The weekly BakeOnyx newsletter also highlights the holidays coming up in the next few weeks.

Dates shown are for 2026. Movable holidays (Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, and others) shift each year — we keep them accurate automatically.

January

Jan 1New Year's Day — Kick off a 'new year, new menu' teaser — feature a lighter or new signature bake.
Jan 15National Bagel Day — Feature your bagels with a buy-a-half-dozen deal; show the boil-and-bake process.
Jan 23National Pie Day — Run a slice-of-pie special and poll followers on their favorite filling.
Jan 27National Chocolate Cake Day — Spotlight a chocolate cake with a rich, close-up pour or slice reel.
Jan 30National Croissant Day — Show off your lamination — a butter-layers reel converts croissant lovers.

February

Feb 5World Nutella Day — Push Nutella-filled pastries; a gooey filled-croissant reel performs well.
Feb 14Valentine's Day — Open pre-orders 2 weeks out for heart cookies, macarons, and couples’ boxes.
Feb 17Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) — Feature pancakes, pączki, or fried-dough treats for Fat Tuesday.
Feb 20National Cherry Pie Day — Feature a cherry pie or hand pies; lattice-top close-ups sell.

March

Mar 14National Pi Day (3.14) — Any pie for $3.14 off — a punny post that always gets shares.
Mar 17St. Patrick's Day — Green-themed treats, Irish soda bread, and Guinness cupcakes.

April

Apr 1April Fools' Day — Reveal a playful “fake” menu item, then a real treat — fun engagement bait.
Apr 1National Sourdough Bread Day — Spotlight your sourdough and show your starter; bakers love a good crumb shot.
Apr 3Good Friday — Hot cross buns — bake fresh and take pre-orders for the long weekend.
Apr 5Easter Sunday — Open Easter pre-orders early: decorated cookies, egg cakes, and hot cross buns.
Apr 22Earth Day — Highlight local sourcing and a day-old / zero-waste deal.
Apr 30National Oatmeal Cookie Day — Feature oatmeal cookies as the “wholesome” treat of the day.

May

May 5Cinco de Mayo — Churros, conchas, and tres leches — a colorful spread photographs beautifully.
May 10Mother's Day — Open pre-orders early for brunch bakes and gift boxes — your biggest spring day.
May 15National Chocolate Chip Day — Warm cookie special with a fresh-from-the-oven reel.
May 20Graduation season — Promote grad cakes and cupcake towers; open custom orders now.
May 25Memorial Day — Red-white-blue treats and long-weekend catering; take orders by mid-week.

June

Jun 5National Donut Day — Free or discounted donut with any purchase; a donut-wall reel spreads fast.
Jun 7National Chocolate Ice Cream Day — Pair a brownie or cookie with ice cream for a summer combo deal.
Jun 21Father's Day — Dad-themed cakes and “beer & pretzel” bakes; take pre-orders.
Jun 21First day of summer — Launch a summer menu: fruit tarts, icebox cakes, and cold brew pairings.

July

Jul 4Independence Day — Red-white-blue cupcakes and pies; open cookout pre-orders early.
Jul 7World Chocolate Day — Chocolate everything — a decadent close-up reel is a must.
Jul 9National Sugar Cookie Day — Decorated sugar-cookie sets; a piping time-lapse gets saves and shares.
Jul 30National Cheesecake Day — Drop a limited cheesecake flavor and offer single slices.

August

Aug 2National Friendship Day — “Tag a friend” giveaway or a buy-one-gift-one treat.
Aug 4National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day — Warm cookie special; a fresh-from-the-oven pull-apart reel converts.
Aug 10National S'mores Day — S'mores brownies or cookies; a campfire-themed post fits the season.
Aug 15National Relaxation Day — Promote a “treat yourself” self-care bundle.
Aug 24National Waffle Day — Waffle special with a batter-to-plate reel.
Aug 25Back-to-school — Lunchbox treats and bulk cookie packs for teachers.
Aug 26National Dog Day — Sell dog-friendly “pupcakes” and run a cutest-customer-dog contest.

September

Sep 7Labor Day — Long-weekend catering and pies; take orders by mid-week.
Sep 13Grandparents Day — Honor grandparents with old-fashioned classics — a nostalgia post lands well.
Sep 22First day of fall — Launch pumpkin-spice season; a menu-reveal reel builds anticipation.
Sep 29National Coffee Day — Coffee + pastry pairing deal; partner with a local roaster.

October

Oct 1National Homemade Cookies Day — Feature your from-scratch cookies with a mixing-to-baking reel.
Oct 14National Dessert Day — Offer a dessert sampler box and a “which dessert wins?” poll.
Oct 17Sweetest Day — Gift-a-treat boxes for the sweetest-day crowd.
Oct 21National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day — Drop a pumpkin cheesecake for peak fall demand.
Oct 31Halloween — Spooky decorated cookies and cupcakes; open party pre-orders early.

November

Nov 17National Homemade Bread Day — Feature fresh bread with a scratch-bake reel from mix to crust.
Nov 26Thanksgiving — Open pie pre-orders early — pumpkin, pecan, apple — and set an order cutoff.
Nov 26National Cake Day — Reveal a “cake of the month” and take custom orders.
Nov 27Black Friday — Gift-card and bulk-cookie deals; bundle for holiday gifting.
Nov 28Small Business Saturday — Shop-local push — tell your story and thank regulars.

December

Dec 4National Cookie Day — Sell holiday cookie boxes; a decorating reel drives pre-orders.
Dec 4Hanukkah (first night) — Feature sufganiyot (jelly donuts) and rugelach.
Dec 25Christmas — Open holiday pre-orders: yule logs, panettone, gingerbread; set early cutoffs.
Dec 31New Year's Eve — Party desserts and champagne cupcakes; promote last-minute platters.

Want these highlights delivered to you? They're featured every week in the "This Month at the Bakery" section of the BakeOnyx newsletter.

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