Ten weeks feels like plenty of time. It isn't, not once rosters, stock orders, menu changes and marketing all need sorting before your busiest weeks of the year. The hospitality businesses that come through Christmas and summer feeling in control are usually the ones that started planning in September, not December.
10 weeks until December
Week 1: Plan Your Trading Now
1. Set your trading dates and hours early
Decide now which days you'll trade over the Christmas and New Year period, whether you're closing at all, and what your hours will look like during the peak weeks. Public holiday trading often means different rules around pay and staffing, so locking this in early gives you time to roster properly and tell your customers well ahead of time.
2. Build a simple sales forecast
Look back at last year's Christmas and January trade. What were your busiest days? Which weeks were surprisingly quiet? Layer in anything different this year, a new competitor nearby, a local event, a public holiday falling on a different day of the week, and use that to set a realistic sales target for the period.
3. Write it down in one place
A one-page summer trading plan covering your dates, hours, sales targets and key deadlines (roster cut-off, final stock order, menu launch date) gives your whole team something to work from. It also becomes the reference point for every other piece of summer planning over the coming weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
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