December starts in November

Published on November 3, 2026 · 3 min read

In short. Four projects, one per week of November: open and structure December’s slots, tell your regulars before they make plans elsewhere, put gift cards on sale, and guard against cancellations. None of this gets done properly in December.

Week 1: open December

The first reflex is to look at your December calendar and see that it’s empty. The right reflex is to check that it’s open.

Many salons only open booking four weeks ahead. In November, that means the second half of December can’t be booked, at the very moment clients are getting organized. Open up to the 31st, and add your real closures right away: the 25th, the 1st, the days you won’t be there.

Use the occasion to review durations. A color before the holidays often takes longer than in March, because a treatment, a cut or a blow-dry gets added. An undersized slot in December throws off the whole day.

Week 2: talk to the clients who already come

Your regulars are the cheapest and most neglected resource. They’ll come anyway, but not necessarily to you if they’ve gotten into the habit of calling too late and hearing that you’re fully booked.

A simple message, to those who came in the last six months: December is open, here are the slots that go first. No promotion, no artificial urgency. Useful information, sent at the right moment.

If you don’t have a usable client database, now is the time to realize that’s the real issue, not the December message.

Week 3: launch the gift cards

A salon gift card sells between December 1 and 24, and gets prepared before. If sales happen online, they run on their own while you work, including on Sunday evenings, when a lot of gift decisions are made.

We devote a whole article to it in two weeks, because the subject deserves more than a paragraph.

Week 4: guard against cancellations

In December, a cancellation can’t be replaced: everyone is already booked elsewhere. The same cancellation that costs a quiet hour in March costs a lost hour in December.

Three moves, in order of effectiveness. The automatic reminder the day before, which cuts down on plain forgetting. A deposit at booking on long services, announced when booking and not afterward. And a waiting list, even one kept in a notebook, to offer the freed-up slot within the hour.

What not to do

Don’t slash prices in December. It’s the month when demand is highest all year: a discount costs margin without bringing a single extra appointment.

Don’t stretch your opening hours further than you can keep up, either. A salon worn out on December 20 works poorly during the week that counts most.

To go further: The salon is empty on a Tuesday: what to do, in order

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