Plan packaging around the US retail calendar
Packaging has to be designed, approved, produced and delivered before a season starts, and peak seasons are when suppliers and carriers are busiest. The Seasonal Packaging Planner 2027 lays out every major US gifting and shopping season with design-by and order-by dates, so you can work backwards from the dates that matter to your sales.
What's inside
2027 timeline
A visual Gantt-style timeline of the year with design and ordering windows for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, back-to-school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday to Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, holiday gifting and more, plus planning moments such as carrier rate changes and Earth Day.
Key-dates tables
Event date, order-by date and design-by date for each season, with notes where dates are estimates (for example events whose dates are announced later).
12 monthly planning pages
Each month has a focus note, an orders table, a launches and promotions box and space for notes.
Stock tracker
A packaging stock tracker with weekly use, lead time, safety stock and reorder points.
Spreadsheet
An XLSX version where you change the "weeks before" for each event and every order-by and design-by date recalculates, with days left to order.
How the dates are set
Order-by dates assume a typical custom packaging timeline: about a week for design and proofing, 10–14 business days of production and 3–7 business days of shipping, plus time to pack orders before the season. Adjust the weeks in the spreadsheet to match your own suppliers.
Format
19-page PDF and an XLSX workbook (Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers).
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as the online calendar?
The live US packaging calendar on our site updates continuously with countdowns. The planner is a printable, editable version for the 2027 season, with planning pages and a stock tracker.
Can I add my own events?
Yes. Add rows in the spreadsheet for launches, trade shows or retailer deadlines and the dates calculate the same way.
