2024 Alternative Holidays Calendar of Peculiar Occasions To Send Emails

Why do you need to know about peculiar holidays?

If you already have your e-commerce holidays calendar at the ready, you may think it’s enough for the whole year. However, you will need to run promotional campaigns even in between those occasions. Plus, if you aim to keep your subscribers engaged and active, you need to regularly contact them. And maintaining constant communication and coming up with new ideas may be challenging. So consider this list your inspiration cheat sheet!

Besides, people really like holidays! Everything that makes the routine, day-to-day life more interesting is bound to get attention.

January

National Houseplant Appreciation Day (January 10th). The holiday has been around since 2012. The Gardening Network came up with the idea to remind people to keep their plants in good care during the winter months. If you work for a gardening or greenery company, it’s a great occasion to encourage your subscribers to buy another plant. And if you aren’t, you can remind your audience to water the plants.

Opposite Day (January 25th). A perfect silly holiday, a winter counterpart of April Fools’. Use a bit of reverse psychology: send emails with “do not click” buttons and “do not shop” CTAs, give bad advice. On this day you should say and do the opposite of what you actually mean. 

In this email, even the price becomes the opposite:

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day aka National Bubble Wrap Day (last Monday in January, January 29th, 2024). Send an email to celebrate the Pop It of the old days and one of the most relaxing things about shopping. You can also offer free shipping (and free bubble wrap!) for those in dire need of a distraction. 

February

National Flannel Day (February 10th). It’s a shame not more people know about this gem of a holiday in February. We can vividly picture the banner photos for your emails for this occasion — a lumberjack in the woods or people in beanies holding their coffee to-go cups.

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day (February 11th). A perfect holiday to celebrate if your company is in the health and wellness industry, as it promotes positivity and optimism. You can, of course, put your own spin on it and offer those who spilled milk to buy your brand’s drinks (be it milk or something else entirely).

National Love Your Pet Day (February 20th). With Valentine’s Day, February is the month to celebrate love. Send a heartfelt campaign and maybe include photographs of the employees’ pets for extra cuteness.

Source: Really Good Emails

March

World Compliment Day (March 1st). A day dedicated to giving and receiving compliments or, as we would call it, a day to make your subscribers feel special! 

As with all of these holidays, you can also go the educational route like in this example:

World Sleep Day (Friday before the March Equinox, March 15th, 2024). This day is all about having a good rest and raising awareness about important sleep issues. You can help your email subscribers get a better sleep with your products, offer recommendations, or write about people who need sleep but often lack it, for example, moms.

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day (March 26th). Although there seemingly are holidays celebrating every existing food (including lemon chiffon cake!), you can always come up with something original. And there’s actually a dedicated day for that! Mark your calendar and send an email about National Jumping On One Leg Day or Charge Your Electric Toothbrush Day, you do you!

April

International Pillow Fight Day (first Saturday in April, April 6th, 2024). This holiday may sound too specific, but it’s also very fun! You can send an email campaign about party contests, family activities, or even conflict resolution.

Here is an example from a mattress company:

National Name Yourself Day (April 9th). This is one of the quirkiest holidays on our list. The idea is to choose a new name for a day and act accordingly. For your content marketing email, try a different brand name, reimagine the popular products, or tell the story behind the naming process. Either way, it is a great and rare opportunity!

National Mani-Pedi Day (April 25th). Mani-pedi is a slang name for a beauty treatment that includes both manicure and pedicure. And yes, of course, it has its own holiday on the calendar! If your brand is from the beauty and wellness category, don’t slip on the Mani-Pedi Day. And if not, send your subscribers a kindly reminder to treat themselves!

May

Great American Grump Out (first Wednesday of May, May 1st, 2024). Did you expect us to write about National Star Wars Day next? We have something different in mind. The name of this holiday is a little misleading since it is all about ditching the grumpy mood and staying positive. As it sounds so ambitious, you can announce an event for your customers or run a contest and get some user-generated content. 

National Two Different Colored Shoes Day (May 3rd). This is a holiday to celebrate uniqueness and quirkiness. Or, a perfect occasion to make people buy not one but two pairs of your brand’s shoes:

Sherlock Holmes Day (May 22nd). Who doesn’t like Sherlock Holmes or at least a good-natured mystery? For this day, offer your customers a riddle to solve or try an interesting design like Aura Bora did.

June

Best Friends Day (June 8th). A versatile holiday any brand can celebrate with an email! Bonus points if you have matching products or a buy-one-get-one promotion.

Wish Fulfillment Day (June 16th). A holiday to remind people about their wishes and motivate them to take steps toward making them come true. How can your business play this up in an email? From writing a cheeky copy about a one-day deal on your bestseller to running a contest.

INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY (June 28th and October 22nd). Although we do not celebrate Christmas twice a year, the Caps Lock holiday is observed on two separate days. This holiday was created to make fun of capitalization rules in English and other similar languages. It’s one of those days when you can rightfully SCREAM WITH LETTERS but also raise awareness about email etiquette and respecting your recipients.

July

Early Bird Day (July 1st). This day is all about being first and getting the best. It’s a great day to run an early-morning campaign or create a very limited offer that only the first 100 or so people can get.

International Kissing Day (July 6th). Originating in the UK, this holiday is now recognized in other countries worldwide. We don’t suggest you celebrate by offering email kisses, but you can promote your brand’s lip products for a proper kiss prep. 

World Emoji Day (July 17th). The meaning of this holiday is crystal clear — it is intended to celebrate emoji. You can send your subscribers emails with a combination of emojis they need to decipher to correctly guess the product or discount code. 

Here’s another idea with emojis in an email for some of the brand’s products:

August

National Lazy Day (August 10th). This holiday is all about letting laziness get the best of you — staying at home and relaxing. The laziest thing to do would be to not send any emails this day, but there’s so much potential for fun campaigns! Take a look at this one, for example:

National Tell a Joke Day (August 16th). This holiday is straightforward and has an email idea right in its name. Send your subscribers the funniest jokes and the best puns you have. And if you are still in the Lazy Day mode, opt for some marketing memes from Selzy’s vast collection.

Eat Outside Day (August 31st). A nice holiday to celebrate if your business is selling hiking gear or has nature or ecology at its core. But “outside” can also mean a cafe or restaurant, so this holiday has a broad appeal.

September

Read a Book Day (September 6th). Have you ever felt called out by a holiday? Well, we feel that too! The premise is simple and encourages people to grab a book and start reading. Send your subscribers an email with recommendations or collaborate with a bookshop or influencer to make the campaign even more impactful. 

International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th). This holiday dates back to 1995 and reminds everyone that imitating a pirate brings a lot of joy. You can commit to the whole pirate theme or simply use some Arrgh or Ahoy in the subject line.

Here is an interesting campaign example for your inspiration:

World Gratitude Day (September 21st). This holiday serves as a reminder to be thankful and appreciative of others. On this day, express gratitude toward your customers and subscribers. The email campaign doesn’t have to have a promotion, it can simply be a heartfelt message.

October

World Vegetarian Day (October 1st). This holiday dates back to the 1970s and celebrates all people who follow plant-based diets. If this aligns with your business’s values, send email campaigns to raise awareness and show your support for the community. And if not, you can educate your subscribers on plants or plant-derived ingredients in your products.

International Suit Up Day (October 13th). A holiday honoring Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother and his love for formal wear. Send an email campaign promoting different ways of wearing a suit or release a new collection.

Worldwide Howl at the Moon Day (October 26th). Why wait for Halloween to be spooky and have fun? Encourage your subscribers to celebrate early and channel their inner werewolves.

November

Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th). A holiday with a rich history celebrated primarily in Great Britain. It’s marked by bonfires and firework displays. An email campaign on this day may be a good idea depending on your audience’s location.

Marooned Without a Compass Day (November 6th). A holiday that can be interpreted in many different ways. If taken literally, it can be celebrated with a navigating challenge or maze. And if you want, you can also make this day about moral compass and send an email focused on personal discovery and introspection.

National Day of Listening (the day after Thanksgiving, November 29th, 2024). This day is a perfect occasion for an email campaign if you work for a family-owned business or sell products for the whole family. This holiday encourages people to sit down and record their family and friends’ stories. You can run a UGC campaign or simply share some quotes from your company’s employees.

December

National Roof Over Your Head Day (December 3rd). This day is all about being thankful for having a home and attracting attention to the housing problems. You can make a campaign focused on decorating the space or motivate your subscribers to donate to a charity focused on helping people without a home.

Gingerbread House Day (December 12th). The sweetest day on this list, for sure! If you sell candy or into housing and real estate, you can go to town with your email campaign! And if not, it’s also a good opportunity for a warm festive email.

No Interruptions Day (the last workday in December or December 30th or 31st). This holiday is versatile. You can recommend your subscribers cut all interruptions on their last day of the year at work and focus on tidying up their desks, sorting the remaining tasks, and preparing for the holiday. Or, you can write about interruptions in a more general way and advise your readers to focus on themselves and take a break from gadgets and social media.