Christmas Custom Tissue Paper: When to Order for Peak Season 2026

For most product businesses, November and December are the weeks that pay for the year. They're also the weeks when packaging runs out fastest. Every year we hear from brands who've just packed their last printed sheet the week before Black Friday.

This guide works backwards from your busiest week so you can order custom tissue paper with time to spare.

Start with your peak dates

Write down three dates:

Black Friday – 27 November 2026.
Your last recommended order date for Christmas delivery – often around the middle of December for UK standard post.
The day you want tissue on the shelf – ideally before Black Friday, not on it.

Your tissue needs to arrive before the first of these. In practice that means having stock in hand by mid-November.

The working-back timeline

Each stage below has its own time. Add them up honestly.

Artwork decisions (allow a week). Are you using your usual logo or a festive design? A seasonal version needs someone to design it, and someone else to approve it. That's often the slowest step.

Proof approval (allow 2–3 days). You'll receive a digital proof. Check spelling, colours and logo spacing, and get a yes from whoever signs off. Our proof checklist helps.

Production (7 working days). Our standard turnaround is 7 working days after proof approval, with a 5-day urgent option. Working days exclude weekends.

Delivery and goods-in (allow a few days). Courier time, plus the time it takes someone to unpack and shelve it.

Put together, a realistic window is three to four weeks from "we should order tissue" to stock on the shelf. For tissue in hand by 13 November, start in mid-to-late October.

Festive design or year-round logo?

A Christmas design can look great, but it has a short shelf life. Leftover sheets from December are hard to use in February.

Some options:

Year-round logo in a festive colour. Your normal logo printed on red, green or gold-toned tissue feels seasonal without dating itself.
Seasonal pattern, small run. Order just enough for peak, using our 250-sheet minimum.
Neutral tissue with a seasonal sticker or card. Keep one tissue design and change the extras.

The seasonal packaging guide goes deeper on design ideas.

How many sheets for peak?

Don't use your average month. Use last year's peak weeks, or your forecast if you're new.

Peak sheets = expected peak orders × sheets per order × 1.1

The extra 10% covers spoilage, gift-wrap requests and staff using more sheets when they're rushed. Gift orders often use more tissue than normal orders, so count those separately if you offer gift wrapping.

For example: 1,200 orders from mid-November to Christmas, 1.5 sheets each, plus 10%, comes to 1,980 sheets. A 2,000-sheet run would cover peak with very little left over. The quantity planning guide explains the method in full.

Gift packaging: a few practical tips

Pre-fold sheets during quiet days in early November. Packing benches get crowded later.
Keep tissue flat and dry. Damp storerooms crease and soften tissue.
Brief temporary staff on how many sheets to use and how to fold them. A one-page photo guide is enough. Our wrapping guide has a method you can copy.
Stock gift notes next to the tissue so gift orders are packed in one movement.

If you're already late

If it's November and you have no stock:

Use your existing logo artwork – don't start a new design.
Approve the proof the same day.
Ask about the 5-day urgent turnaround.
Choose a standard 500 x 700mm sheet rather than a custom cut.

Checklist for this week

Confirm Black Friday and Christmas order cut-off dates.
Decide: usual logo or seasonal design.
Count sheets per order and forecast peak orders.
Order a sample pack if you haven't chosen between 17gsm and 30gsm.
Start your order in the builder, or request a quote for larger or bespoke runs.