The 2026 Black Friday and Christmas calendar runs from 11/02 to 12/25, with three fixed dates: Black Friday on 11/27, Cyber Monday on 11/30 and Christmas on 12/25. For Instagram and TikTok, what works is splitting the eight weeks into phases: warm up the offer first, sell on the key dates, then swap the discount for gifts afterward. Below is the week-by-week plan, with what to post in each one.
Today is 10/30. If you start the plan on Monday, 11/02, you still have four weeks of warm-up before the most competitive Friday of the year. The plan works for stores, clinics, restaurants and service providers, with a tone adjustment for each case.
The 2026 Black Friday and Christmas calendar, week by week
Each week has one goal and one type of post. The table below is the base of the calendar, and the rest of the guide details each row.
| Week | Dates | Goal | Main posts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11/02 to 11/08 | Prepare the base | Behind the scenes, offer waitlist, poll |
| 2 | 11/09 to 11/15 | Warm up | Product carousel, customer proof, FAQs |
| 3 | 11/16 to 11/22 | Build anticipation | Countdown, product Reels, low-stock alerts |
| 4 | 11/23 to 11/26 | Reveal the offer | Teaser, promotion rules, VIP list |
| 5 | 11/27 (Friday) | Black Friday | Hourly Stories, pinned offer, fast customer service |
| 6 | 11/28 to 11/30 | Weekend and Cyber Monday | Last call, leftover stock, testimonials |
| 7 | 12/01 to 12/14 | Heading into Christmas | Gift guide, delivery deadlines, gift wrapping |
| 8 | 12/15 to 12/25 | Christmas | Last orders, business hours, Christmas message |
The dates for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas are fixed. The weeks are just the breakdown we use, and you can push each phase back or forward a day or two without any harm.
What to post on Black Friday, week by week
Before Black Friday, your content has to prepare the purchase, because nobody decides to buy a product they have never seen within 24 hours. The first four weeks exist for that.
Weeks 1 and 2, Nov 2 to Nov 15
The first week lays the groundwork. Show behind-the-scenes footage of how you prepare orders, invite people to join a waitlist, and run a poll in Stories about what they want to see on sale. The answers become content ideas and inventory data.
In the second week, the warm-up posts go live. Post a carousel with the products that will be on sale, a real customer testimonial, and an FAQ post about delivery times, exchanges and payment. To build the carousel, see how to make an Instagram carousel.
Week 3, Nov 16 to Nov 22
Week 3 is the countdown. Post a short Reel for each product, with the regular price visible and the date of the offer. Stories with a date reminder and a question for people who want to be reminded also help you gauge interest. In carousel or Reels you’ll find the rule for choosing the right format for each post.
Also let customers know when an item is running low. It’s true, it creates honest urgency and saves frustration for the customer who arrives later.
Week 4, from 11/23 to 11/26
This week you reveal the offer. Post a teaser in the feed, write out the rules with no fine print, and set up a VIP list on WhatsApp or in Stories for people who want to get the offer first. Anyone who joins the list has already shown interest, and they are the audience that buys the most on the day.
Write the before and after prices using the same numbers that are in your store. A made-up discount destroys trust and can lead to complaints.
How to make your Black Friday calendar pay off on 11/27
On 11/27 the Black Friday calendar changes pace. The rule is to post little in the feed, a lot in Stories, and reply fast. Someone who clicks on the offer and doesn’t get a reply within minutes will buy from a competitor.
A sequence we use on the day.
- At 12 a.m., or whenever the offer opens, post the offer in the feed and pin it to the top of your profile.
- Every two hours, post a Story with one product, one price, and either a link or a clear instruction on how to buy.
- In the middle of the afternoon, post a Story with social proof, such as a photo of a packed order or an approved testimonial.
- In the evening, send a last-call notice with what is still in stock.
The same logic applies to the next two days. On Saturday and Sunday, what works is leftover stock and last calls, and on Monday, 11/30, Cyber Monday, the focus is online purchases with delivery and deadlines. If your store doesn’t sell online, treat Monday as the day to close the promotion with a thank-you and a note about what’s coming next.
Christmas Instagram content after Black Friday
Christmas Instagram content starts on 12/01, when the discount gives way to gifts and deadlines. Customers who bought on Black Friday leave the spotlight, and those who were undecided become your audience again.
Week 7, 12/01 to 12/14
Post a gift guide by price range or by the type of person receiving the gift. It works well as a carousel and in Reels. Include the order deadline and the last date for delivery before the 25th, because almost every question in December is about that.
Week 8, 12/15 to 12/25
The last phase is about usefulness. Opening hours on holidays, last orders that arrive in time, gift wrapping, and a Christmas message with no offer, just a thank-you.
If your account doesn’t have a posting routine yet, start with the editorial calendar, how to build one and adapt this guide’s table as a seasonal layer.
Instagram or TikTok on Black Friday, what changes in format
Instagram is better for your offer and customer relationships, and TikTok is better for reaching people who don’t know your brand yet. The calendar is the same on both networks. Only the format changes.
- Instagram. Feed for the main offer, Stories for the rhythm of the day, Reels for the product in use. This is where your current followers buy.
- TikTok. Short videos showing the product in hand, no production needed. It works for visual products with impulse-buy prices.
If you can only keep up one network over the eight weeks, stick with the one your customers already use to talk to you. A new network right before Black Friday rarely has time to generate sales.
How to combine your post calendar with Google Ads
Organic posts and paid ads work better together when they use the same offer and the same date. The post builds recall, and the search ad catches people who type your store name after seeing the post.
For this to work, the offer page must be live and the ad must mention the same promotion. Google Ads has a promotion extension with Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, with a window from October 15 to December 15, and Christmas from November 1 to January 15, according to Google Ads Help. The step-by-step for this part is in the guide to Google Ads on Black Friday.
Mistakes that sink your Black Friday calendar
Three mistakes repeat every year, and all of them are avoidable.
- Only starting to post the offer on 11/27, with no warm-up. The audience doesn’t know the product and the post gets lost.
- Promising what your inventory can’t cover. A frustrated customer will comment, and a negative comment on Black Friday travels fast.
- Scheduling everything and forgetting to reply. Scheduling saves time, but the comments and messages on offer day need real people. See how to schedule Instagram posts and what you should never schedule.
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026? Friday, November 27, 2026. Cyber Monday is on Monday, November 30, and Christmas is on Friday, December 25.
When should you start posting about Black Friday? At least four weeks before, starting November 2. The first weeks are for warming up your audience and building a list of interested people, and the offer only really shows up in the week of the date.
How many posts a day on Black Friday? On the feed, one or two. On Stories, as many as the offer calls for, with one product per Story and a clear path to buy. For the pace the rest of the year, see how often to post on Instagram.
What should you post for Christmas after Black Friday? A gift guide, delivery deadlines, business hours and a thank-you message. The shift is from discounts to gifts and deadlines.
Is it worth posting on TikTok only for Black Friday? It is if you already have the account and a product that looks good in short video. Opening a new account in November leaves little time for it to gain reach before the date.
Want the calendar ready and produced?
If you’re short on time and people, Ciclicko’s social media content creation builds the calendar, writes the captions and produces the designs for each phase. Our in-house content creation is led by Bianca Rodrigues.