Black Friday, Sinterklaas and Christmas: A Q4 Social Media Plan for a Small Business

It is early October. Black Friday feels far away, Sinterklaas even further, and Christmas is somebody else’s problem. Then it is the Wednesday before Black Friday, you are writing a discount post at eleven at night, and the photo is whatever you can take of the shelf before closing.

For many businesses that sell to consumers, the last three months are the busiest selling season of the year, and the most crowded time on social media. A Black Friday social media plan for a small business does not need to be clever. It needs to be started now. This article gives you the dates that matter in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026, the price rules to respect before you announce any discount, and a week-by-week plan you can copy.

The dates that matter in Q4 2026

• Saturday 31 October: Halloween. Worth a light post if it fits your business, not worth a campaign for most.
• Saturday 14 November: the national arrival of Sinterklaas, this year in Grave. Local arrivals in towns across the Netherlands and Flanders follow on the same and later weekends, and many are only announced in October.
• Friday 27 November: Black Friday.
• Monday 30 November: Cyber Monday.
• Saturday 5 December: pakjesavond in the Netherlands. Sunday 6 December: Sinterklaas in Belgium.
• Friday 25 December: Christmas. The last realistic ordering date for delivery before Christmas is yours to set, and worth announcing early.
• Thursday 31 December and the first week of January: the year-end thank-you and the plans for next year.

For a business in Flanders or the Netherlands, Sinterklaas sits right between Black Friday and Christmas and is often the bigger moment for gifts, especially for anything aimed at children. Plan it as its own moment, not as a footnote to Black Friday.

Before you post a single discount: the price rules

This is the part that most Black Friday guides, written for the US market, leave out. In both Belgium and the Netherlands the same EU rule applies to any announcement of a price reduction, whether it is on a shelf label, on your webshop or in an Instagram post:

Two consequences worth planning for:

• If you run a Black Friday promotion and then a separate Sinterklaas or Christmas promotion a few weeks later, the second one is calculated from the lowest price of the 30 days before it, which may be your Black Friday price. Deloitte Legal in Belgium notes that each separate campaign triggers a fresh calculation. Decide in advance whether you are running one long campaign or two short ones.
• The rule applies to the discount you announce, wherever you announce it. A post saying “30% off everything this weekend” is a price reduction announcement. Check it before it goes out, not after.

The Dutch consumer authority, the ACM, has fined webshops over misleading discounts and publishes guidance for businesses. In Belgium, the rules are in the Code of Economic Law.

ACM: stating prices and discounts correctly (Dutch)

A note for Belgian clothing, shoe and leather shops

Belgium has long had a sperperiode, a period before the January sales in which shops selling clothing, shoes and leather goods may not announce price reductions, and it has collided with Black Friday every year. That is changing. The Council of State found the Belgian sales rules contrary to EU law, and on 22 May 2026 consumer protection minister Rob Beenders told VRT NWS that it makes little sense to keep issuing fines. A bill published on 8 July 2026 would scrap the sales periods and the sperperiode altogether. As we write, it has not been voted. If you are in one of those sectors, ask your federation where it stands before you plan a big November discount, and apply the 30-day rule above either way.

A week-by-week plan, October to January

Weeks of 5 and 12 October: decide

• Decide whether you are doing Black Friday at all. Not every business should. If your margins are thin or your customers are not bargain hunters, a Sinterklaas or Christmas offer, or no discount at all, may serve you better.
• Pick your offer and your prices now, and write down the prices you are charging today. That is your evidence for the 30-day rule later.
• Choose the products or services you will push. Three is plenty.

Weeks of 19 and 26 October: make the material

• Take the photos and short videos you will need for the next ten weeks in one or two sessions, in daylight, while the shop is not yet busy. Products, packaging, your team, the gift-wrapping table.
• Write down your opening hours for the holiday period and your last ordering and delivery dates. Customers will ask, and a pinned post answers them once.
• If you take part in a local Sinterklaas arrival or a Christmas market, find out the dates now.

Weeks of 2 and 9 November: warm up

• Post about the products you chose, without the discount: what they are, who they are for, why people buy them from you.
• Ask your followers to turn on notifications or join your newsletter to hear about the offer first. This is the audience you will sell to on the day.
• Around 14 November, post for the arrival of Sinterklaas if your customers celebrate it.

Weeks of 16 and 23 November: announce

• Announce what is coming and when it starts. Once the discount is live, check each post against the 30-day rule.
• Schedule the Black Friday posts in advance for Friday morning, Saturday and Monday, so the day itself is spent answering customers rather than writing.
• Keep someone on the comments and messages for the whole weekend. A question left unanswered for a day on Black Friday is usually a lost sale.

Weeks of 30 November and 7 December: Sinterklaas

• Gift ideas at clear price points, last delivery dates for 5 December (Netherlands) and 6 December (Belgium), and anything in store that is ready to take home.
• Show the people behind the business. Wrapping, packing, the busy shop. These posts often do better than product photos in December.

Weeks of 14 and 21 December: Christmas

• Last order dates, gift cards for the late buyers, opening hours between Christmas and New Year.
• One thank-you post to your customers before you close for the holidays. Keep it short and specific to your year.

Late December and early January: the quiet weeks

Do not disappear. A few scheduled posts between Christmas and the second week of January keep your pages alive while you are away, and the first week of January is a good moment to say what is coming next year. Then look back at what sold and what did not, while you still remember.

What if you are starting late

If you are reading this in November, skip the warm-up and do three things: decide on one offer, take one batch of photos, and schedule the posts for the days that matter. A short, consistent run of posts beats a burst of improvised ones. If you want the calendar method behind this plan, it is in our guide to a 30-day marketing calendar.

How to build a 30-day marketing calendar that actually works

Why consistent content works better than going viral

Sources

Deloitte Legal Belgium: price reduction announcements during the holiday season and seasonal sales

VRT NWS: minister Beenders on the sales rules (22 May 2026, Dutch)

Gemeente Land van Cuijk: Sinterklaas arrives in Grave on 14 November 2026 (Dutch)

If the plan is clear but the time to run it is not, that is what we do. A dedicated team prepares and schedules the posts, keeps an eye on comments, and publishes nothing you have not approved first. On the €1 a day offer, the first posts go live within five business days, which still leaves room before Black Friday. Or book a free intro call and we will go through your Q4 with you.

See the €1 a day offer and our packages