WHY TWIXMAS PR IS THE SECRET STRATEGY SMART MARKETERS USE TO WIN BIG

Ignore the Christmas crush. Be one of the few brands brave enough to break cover between the turkey and the New Year — and score big.

Every December, something predictable happens: once Halloween-level hype settles into festive overdrive, PR teams go into panic mode.

“We’ve got to hit media before Christmas — before the stampede begins!”

So brands and agencies launch a final flurry of campaigns. Press releases fly. Newsrooms get swamped. Everybody scrambles. It’s chaos. It’s loud. It’s… messy.

But what if there was a smarter, calmer, far less crowded alternative? Because while everyone else is in a Quality Street coma… you could be bagging national coverage.

Enter: Twixmas.

That glorious, disorienting stretch between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when no one knows what day it is.  Houses stay full of leftovers. People slump onto the sofa. Grocery shops reopen, but the “festive frenzy” is done. That weird lull, that strange brain-fog… that’s Twixmas.

At Holy Wow, we practically consider it our Super Bowl. (If the Super Bowl involved pyjamas, central heating, and aggressively refreshing the MailOnline homepage.)

Here’s why Twixmas PR should be your brand’s not-so-secret weapon.

1. Everyone Else Has Already Fired Their Shots

By the time Boxing Day ends, most brands have already squeezed out their final campaigns. The “pre-Christmas push” is done. What follows is often a media graveyard.

But — ironically — that’s exactly what makes Twixmas powerful.

With the usual suspects still sleeping off their Christmas dinners, there’s suddenly less competition for media attention. Fewer press releases. Fewer screaming inboxes. Fewer generic brand pitches clogging up journalists’ feeds.

Which leaves journalists staring at a yawning content void with skeleton staff and a deadline anyway.

That vacuum? It’s prime real estate. If your pitch lands clean, it stands out. No elbow-jostling. No oversaturation. Just… clarity.

You know what they love during Twixmas?
Page-ready pitches on a silver platter.
(We recommend serving with a side of good images and a compelling hook.)

2. Journalists Are Ready to Run With What’s Left

Even though the big stories may have petered out, the news doesn’t stop simply because the calendar hits December 26. Journalists and editors still need content — maybe now more than ever, because their regular pipeline has dried up.

Hard news might dominate, but even the toughest editorial desks appreciate a little relief: a quirky insight, a light-hearted consumer story, a narrative that feels human rather than hard-hitting.

Send them something polished, timely, and ready-to-publish — and you won’t just be breaking through the clutter. You’ll be a lifesaver.

3. Audiences Are Actually Listening

For much of the year, people skim headlines on their commute, while juggling a million other things. But during Twixmas? Most of them are on holiday, dozing after lunch, and scrolling aimlessly between naps.

That means your story has a better chance of being read, digested, and remembered.

It’s a weird limbo — but in that haze of half-woken scrolling and leftover turkey sandwiches, the chance of your message actually landing goes up dramatically.

4. You Dodge Both the Pre-Christmas Stampede — And the January Madness

December is carnage.
January is carnage but with gym memberships.

Twixmas?
A serene little island where your story can breathe.

Skip the festive oversaturation. Ignore the January frenzy. Land your campaign in the peaceful eye of the storm and enjoy delicious, noise-free coverage.

5. It Shows You Have Guts (and Strategy)

Let’s be real: it’s way easier to push the button when everyone else is doing it. But real PR magic? It happens when you question convention.

Brands brave enough to hit send between Christmas and New Year show something powerful — that they’re not chasing noise, they’re after impact.

And at Holy Wow, that’s exactly the kind of bravado we admire.

 

So Why Aren’t More Brands Doing This?

Because they’ve bought the myth. The myth that “journalists will be off for Christmas,” or that “nothing actually happens after the 25th.”

But here’s the truth: Twixmas isn’t a dead zone. It’s a gap. A quiet, under-used gap — one that’s noisy enough to give you traction, but empty enough to give you space.

Jump in. Be bold. Be one of the few.

 

The 2025 Twixmas Timeline

These are the dates when media appetite is high and competition is low.
Your green zone for pitching: 26 December – 3 January

• 26 December (Boxing Day): Light news lists, skeleton crews, PRIME for features + ready-made consumer stories.
• 27–30 December: Peak Twixmas haze. People are scrolling. Journalists are bored. Your window is wide open.
• 31 December: “End of year” angles land brilliantly.
• 1 January: New Year’s Day = slow news, big opportunity.
• 2–3 January: “New Year behaviour” stories perform well here. Still quieter than the January stampede.

 

What To Pitch During Twixmas

The stories that perform best in this period share one thing:
they make a journalist’s life easier when they’re tired, understaffed and out of options.

1. Light, witty or uplifting stories

Twixmas is doom-heavy in the hard news cycle. Editors NEED relief.
Ideal formats include:

• Fun survey stats
• Trend stories
• Consumer behaviour insights
• Year-in-review lists
• Human interest hooks
• Mildly unhinged festive data (always a winner)

2. Ready-made features

Give journalists something they can lift as-is:

• 500–700 word features with quotes
• Case studies
• Visual assets
• Charts, lists, breakdowns
• Expert commentary on predictable January topics

3. New Year mindset stories

People are Googling: “Should I fix my life this year?”
This is your moment.
Great categories:

• Health + wellness insights
• Money-saving advice
• Relationship or lifestyle data
• Fresh starts, decluttering, resolutions
• Predictions for 2025

4. Hard-news-adjacent takes

Not everything needs to be fluffy — but it DOES need to be digestible.
Think:

• Commentary on social trends
• Tech predictions
• Workplace behaviour shifts
• Retail behaviour around post-Christmas spending

 

Holy Wow’s Secret Twixmas Angles

Use these as plug-and-play prompts with your brand’s expertise or data:

• “The Great British Sofa Index” — what the nation actually does between Christmas and NYE.
• “What Brits Regret Buying for Christmas (Again)” — a ranking based on new consumer research.
• “The Twixmas Splurge” — how people spend money after Christmas, not before.
• “The 2026 Behaviour Forecast” — witty but data-backed predictions.
• “The Loneliness of Twixmas” — emotional wellbeing or lifestyle stories.
• “Britain’s Most Googled Problems at 2 a.m. This Week” — chaotic, relatable, media catnip.
• “New Year, Same You?” — picking apart January resolution culture with humour.

 

What Your Press Pack Needs

If you want journalists to love you during Twixmas, make their job comically easy.

Your story should include:

• Strong headline + subhead
• 6–8 crisp bullet points (journalists skim during Twixmas)
• At least 3 hi-res images
• Short, snappy quotes (no jargon allowed)
• Survey methodology (if applicable)
• Contact details that actually work over the holidays
• A feature-ready version for print + a short version for online

 

Holy Wow’s Twixmas Pitch Template

You can copy, paste, and adapt this word-for-word:

Subject line:
Quick Twixmas story for you — ready-made + light relief if you’re on shift

Email body:
Hi [Name],

Hope you’re surviving the festive fog. We’ve pulled together a Twixmas-ready story that might help fill any lighter pages this week — complete with stats, quotes and pictures.

Headline:
[Insert your punchiest line here]

Top stat / insight:
Keep it bold, surprising, human or humorous.

Why this matters now:
A one-sentence explanation of why this story fits the Twixmas window.

Press pack attached:

• Ready-made feature
• Images
• Quotes
• Data breakdown

Happy to send more angles or tailor anything for your readers.

Best,
[You]

 

How To Maximise Twixmas Coverage

1. Pitch early in the day

Journalists working reduced shifts check email first thing.

2. Follow up faster than usual

Twixmas is fast-moving because the news cycle is thin.
Follow-up in 24 hours max.

3. Don’t overthink it

This is NOT the time for “brand manifesto energy.”
It’s the time for:
simple, human, digestible stories.

4. Be one of the few brands brave enough to press send

Most brands shut down after the 20th.
The ones who don’t?
They dominate the headlines.

5. Treat Twixmas like a creative playground

It’s a limbo week — meaning you can get away with angles that may feel too playful or odd at any other time.

 

Holy Wow’s Twixmas Ruling

If your brand isn’t absolutely wedded to the conventional “rush in December” approach — if you can stomach a quiet keyboard, some leftover sprouts, and a mug of tea — then Twixmas could be your secret weapon.

Because when the rest of the world naps, whispers, or waits for January… you could be scoring front-page (or at least front-scroll) coverage.

So here’s our challenge: resist the PR panic. Ignore the stampede. And let’s make Twixmas work for you.

Because the bold don’t just survive the holiday slump — they own it.