Holiday video ads, from Christmas to New Year

Black Friday wraps up, but the season just changes the question. In December shoppers ask will this gift get there in time. In January they want a sale or an exchange. Here's the calendar, the ads and the rules that matter. We make motion graphics holiday video ads in 24 business hours, starting with a 3 video trial for $97.

Updated: 2026-11-04

From deal to gift: December needs different ads

November ads sell the discount; for that, see our Black Friday video ads guide. December buyers ask something else: who is it for, how much should I spend, and will it arrive in time?

• Gift guides: ideas by person or price point, price on screen.
• Hanukkah: it starts at sundown on Friday, December 4, 2026. If your customers celebrate it, give it its own ad, not a Christmas ad in blue.
• Last minute: shipping cutoffs, store pickup, gift cards.
• New Year: fresh starts, a natural fit for apps, services and courses.
• Three Kings Day: selling to Hispanic shoppers or Latin America? January 6 is a gift-giving day too.
• January: sales, returns and new customers.

Your December and January 2026 calendar

Shipping cutoffs. For the contiguous U.S., USPS recommends sending by Thursday, December 17 for Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail, Friday, December 18 for Priority Mail and Saturday, December 19 for Priority Mail Express. Actual delivery can vary, and UPS and FedEx post their own cutoffs, so go by your carrier's official page.

Our turnaround. We deliver in 24 business hours; weekends and holidays don't count. An order placed Thursday the 24th lands Monday the 28th, and one placed Thursday the 31st lands Monday, January 4. For Three Kings Day, order before Christmas.

Last-minute gift ads that don't overpromise

Promising on-time delivery sells, but it comes with rules. The FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR 435) requires a reasonable basis for any shipping time you state or imply. If you don't state one, you need to be able to ship within 30 days, and if you're late, you have to tell the customer and offer to cancel with a refund. Put your real cutoff in the video and pull the ad the day it stops being true.

Once shipping won't make it, switch angles instead of going dark: digital gift cards delivered by email, store pickup if you really offer it, or a printable gift note for the 25th with the product to follow, stated plainly. More angles in video ads for ecommerce and video ads for fashion brands.

Ad review and the rules for holiday promos

Review time. Meta says ad review is typically completed within 24 hours but can take longer. TikTok says most ads are reviewed within 24 hours and that editing your creative triggers a new review. Upload holiday ads early and leave approved ads alone on key dates.

Free means free. The FTC's guide on the word free (16 CFR 251) says the conditions should be stated clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer. An asterisk pointing to fine print doesn't cut it. Advertising free shipping? Put the minimum spend on screen.

Strikethrough prices. The Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR 233.1) allow a former price comparison only when that price was offered in good faith for a reasonably substantial period. That covers January clearance too. And keep ad and landing page in sync: TikTok and Meta both require it.

January: sales, returns and brand new customers

January has three audiences. People who skipped December want a sale: one offer per video, real dates. People who got the wrong size want an easy exchange: show your return policy on screen, worded exactly as it is on your site. And people who unwrapped your product or a gift card are brand new customers: show them how to use it. After six weeks of the same creative, ad creative fatigue sets in, so January is the time for a full refresh.

Formats, what you get and what we need

We deliver 9:16 vertical MP4s for Reels, Stories and TikTok. 1:1 and 4:5 versions are a $19 add-on, revisions are $29 per video, and 3 statics are $47. Check our video ad specs before you upload.

All we need is an online brief: product, offer, shipping cutoff, the holiday you're targeting and, if you have them, your logo and photos. We write the script, animate it and add licensed music, and you get your videos through a download link, no calls. Miss the 24 business hour window and you get an extra video free; if a video doesn't match your brief, we redo it. We don't promise sales. Start with the 3 video trial.

Ad ideas to start with

Illustrative examples of concepts we produce. You choose the result you want and we write the script.

How it works

Pricing in USD

Delivered in 24 business hours or you get a free extra video. If a video doesn't match your brief, we redo it at no cost.

Video ads by industry

FAQ