2027 giveaway calendar: dates and ideas for every month

Every date below is for 2027 and has been checked against the day of the week. Holidays that move every year, like Easter, Mother's Day and Thanksgiving, are already worked out. A few rules of thumb:

• Plan six to eight weeks ahead. That's enough time to order prizes, line up a collab partner and write the rules.
• Open entries about two weeks before the day, and close them 8 to 10 days before if you're shipping a prize. Digital prizes and local pick-ups can run closer.
• Don't fill every date. Pick the three or four moments that fit your business best, and use the rest of the calendar for regular posts.
• Check where your followers live. Mother's Day, Father's Day and Thanksgiving fall on different dates in different countries.

In Google search data for the US, UK, Canada and Australia, Christmas is by far the most searched giveaway occasion, followed by Christmas raffles, Mother's Day, Easter and Halloween.

• Sat, October 31: Halloween. A short one still works: see Halloween giveaway ideas.
• Thu, November 5: Bonfire Night (UK).
• Thu, November 26: Thanksgiving (US). See Thanksgiving giveaway ideas.
• Fri, November 27 to Tue, December 1: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday (November 28), Cyber Monday (November 30) and Giving Tuesday (December 1). See Black Friday giveaway ideas.
• Sun, November 29: first Sunday of Advent.
• Sat, December 5: Small Business Saturday (UK).
• Fri, December 25 and Sat, December 26: Christmas and Boxing Day. See Christmas giveaway ideas and Christmas raffle ideas.
• Thu, December 31: New Year's Eve.

• Fri, January 1: New Year's Day.
• Tue, January 26: Australia Day (AU).
• Late January and early February: back to school in Australia.

Giveaway idea: a "fresh start" giveaway for fitness studios, planners, skincare and courses. Ask people to comment one goal for 2027. In Australia it's the middle of summer, so a beach or summer bundle works all month. Not everyone celebrates January 26 the same way, so a summer theme is the more welcoming choice.

Plan ahead: post your Valentine's Day giveaway by the end of the month. See Valentine's Day giveaway ideas.

• Sat, February 6: Lunar New Year.
• Tue, February 9: Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day (UK, Canada, Australia).
• Sat, February 13: Galentine's Day.
• Sun, February 14: Valentine's Day.
• Mon, February 15: Presidents' Day (US) and Family Day in several Canadian provinces.

Giveaway idea: a "tag your person" giveaway for Valentine's Day, or a Galentine's version where people tag their best friend and the winner shares the prize. Cafés can give away a pancake brunch for two on Shrove Tuesday. Full ideas and captions are in our Valentine's Day guide.

Plan ahead: UK Mother's Day (March 7) and Easter (March 28) come early in 2027.

• Sun, March 7: Mothering Sunday (UK and Ireland).
• Mon, March 8: International Women's Day.
• Wed, March 17: St. Patrick's Day.
• Sat, March 20: first day of spring (northern hemisphere).
• Fri, March 26 to Mon, March 29: Easter weekend, with Easter Sunday on March 28.

Giveaway idea: UK shops run their Mother's Day giveaway in late February (see Mother's Day giveaway ideas). A St. Patrick's Day "lucky draw" fits a random giveaway perfectly: ask people to comment their lucky number. For International Women's Day, team up with other women-owned businesses on one Collab post. For Easter, try a Story egg hunt from our Easter giveaway guide.

Plan ahead: order prizes for Mother's Day in the US, Canada and Australia (May 9).

• Sun, April 11: National Pet Day (US).
• Thu, April 22: Earth Day.
• Sun, April 25: Anzac Day (Australia and New Zealand), a day of remembrance rather than one for giveaways.
• Late April: open your Mother's Day giveaway for the US, Canada and Australia.

Giveaway idea: April is a quiet month, which makes it a good time for your business anniversary or a spring refresh giveaway, with no big holiday to compete with. Pet shops and groomers can use National Pet Day. For Earth Day, give away a sustainable bundle or a repair service instead of more stuff.

Plan ahead: Father's Day prizes for June 20.

• Mon, May 3: early May bank holiday (UK).
• Mon, May 3 to Fri, May 7: Teacher Appreciation Week (US), with National Teacher Day on Tuesday, May 4.
• Sun, May 9: Mother's Day (US, Canada, Australia).
• Mon, May 24: Victoria Day (Canada).
• Mon, May 31: Memorial Day (US) and the spring bank holiday (UK).

Giveaway idea: a "tag a teacher who made a difference" giveaway, where the winner and the teacher they tag both get a prize. US searches for teacher appreciation giveaways peak in May. Then it's Mother's Day, and a start-of-summer giveaway over the Memorial Day weekend.

Plan ahead: post your Father's Day giveaway in early June.

• Fri, June 4: National Donut Day (US).
• Sun, June 20: Father's Day (US, Canada, UK).
• Mon, June 21: first day of summer (northern hemisphere).
• Wed, June 30: end of the financial year (Australia).

Giveaway idea: "tag your dad" or a dad-joke giveaway from our Father's Day guide. US searches for summer giveaways peak in June, so a summer kick-off works well too: a beach bag, a picnic set or a summer bucket list prize. Bakeries and cafés can join in on National Donut Day.

Plan ahead: 4th of July and Canada Day giveaways go up in June, since searches for them peak the month before.

• Thu, July 1: Canada Day.
• Sun, July 4: Independence Day (US), observed on Monday, July 5.
• Sun, July 18: National Ice Cream Day (US).

Giveaway idea: a red-and-white (or red, white and blue) summer bundle for the holiday weekend, closing before the long weekend starts so the winner post isn't lost in the fireworks. Ice cream shops and dessert bars get their own day in mid-July.

Plan ahead: back-to-school in the US and Father's Day in Australia (September 5).

• Early to mid August: back to school in most of the US.
• Thu, August 26: National Dog Day (US).
• Mon, August 30: summer bank holiday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Giveaway idea: a back-to-school bundle of supplies, a lunch box set or a first-day outfit. Pet businesses can run a National Dog Day giveaway that asks people to comment their dog's name. In Australia, open your Father's Day giveaway around August 22: see the September version in our Father's Day guide.

Plan ahead: choose your Halloween prize.

• Sun, September 5: Father's Day (Australia and New Zealand).
• Mon, September 6: Labor Day (US) and Labour Day (Canada).
• Early September: back to school in the UK and Canada.
• Thu, September 23: first day of fall (northern hemisphere).
• Wed, September 29: National Coffee Day (US).

Giveaway idea: a cozy fall giveaway with candles, a blanket and a favorite drink. Searches for fall giveaways in the US peak from September to October. Coffee shops and roasters can ask people to comment their order on National Coffee Day.

Plan ahead: Halloween posts in mid-October, and the prizes and budget for Black Friday and Christmas.

• Fri, October 1: International Coffee Day.
• Mon, October 11: Thanksgiving (Canada).
• Sun, October 31: Halloween.

Giveaway idea: a "thankful for you" giveaway for Canadian followers the week before October 11 (our Thanksgiving guide has captions), then a "13 nights of Halloween" countdown or a costume-comment giveaway from our Halloween guide.

Plan ahead: Christmas prizes should be ordered by the end of the month.

• Fri, November 5: Bonfire Night (UK).
• Thu, November 25: Thanksgiving (US).
• Fri, November 26: Black Friday.
• Sat, November 27: Small Business Saturday (US).
• Sun, November 28: first Sunday of Advent.
• Mon, November 29: Cyber Monday.
• Tue, November 30: Giving Tuesday.

Giveaway idea: a warm-up giveaway the week before Black Friday, so new followers see your sale (see Black Friday giveaway ideas), and a US Thanksgiving giveaway. Offices start planning Secret Santa and holiday raffles: the free Secret Santa generator handles the name draw, and our Christmas raffle guide covers free-entry prize draws.

Plan ahead: post your Christmas giveaway on December 1, or plan a 12 days series.

• Wed, December 1 to Fri, December 24: advent calendar and "12 days" giveaways.
• Sat, December 4: Small Business Saturday (UK).
• Sat, December 25: Christmas Day.
• Sun, December 26: Boxing Day (UK, Canada, Australia). In the UK, the bank holidays move to Monday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 28.
• Fri, December 31: New Year's Eve.

Giveaway idea: draw early enough for the prize to arrive before Christmas, which in 2027 falls on a Saturday. Our Christmas giveaway guide has a shipping timeline and a 12 days plan, and the Secret Santa rules cover office gift exchanges. A New Year's Eve giveaway that closes on January 1 starts the next year on your profile.

The one date no competitor shares is yours. A business anniversary, an account birthday or a follower milestone can go in a quiet month, like April or August, when your post doesn't compete with holiday giveaways. Try one winner for every year in business, or a thank-you giveaway after you reach a milestone rather than before. See anniversary giveaway ideas for ten formats and captions.