The holidays are one of the most overlooked opportunities in campaigning. Voters are home, community events are plentiful, and your opponents often go quiet — which means smart candidates can quietly build momentum while everyone else is distracted. These weeks set the tone for the first quarter of the year and can determine whether your campaign starts on offense or plays catch-up.
Here are ten practical, high-impact ways candidates can get ahead during the holiday season:
1. Show Up to Every Community Event You Can
Christmas parades, tree-lighting ceremonies, holiday craft fairs, church programs, Rotary parties, charity drives this time of year is filled with organic voter contact opportunities. You don’t have to give a speech. Just show up, shake hands, and be present. Voters remember the candidate who bothered to be part of the community when nothing was on the ballot.
2. Strengthen Your Campaign’s Core Infrastructure
Campaigns are built, not born. And during the holidays, most candidates aren’t doing the behind-the-scenes work that wins races.
Use December to:
Update your precinct targeting list
Clean up your voter file
Organize your volunteer database
Build or refine your finance committee
Reconfirm your “kitchen cabinet” advisors
Strong infrastructure now prevents panic later.
3. Build or Refresh Your Master Email List
Pull together:
Past supporters
Family and friends
Christmas card lists
Church directories
Civic club contacts
People who gave you their business card this year
Audit your list, remove duplicates, correct emails, and load everything into one usable system. This will pay dividends the moment you start raising money and scheduling campaign events.
4. Send Every Thank-You Card You Owe
Thank-you notes are one of the most underrated tools in politics. Whether someone donated, hosted an event, gave you advice, or simply showed support you should close the year by personally thanking them. Handwritten is best.
A grateful candidate is a supported candidate.
5. Mail a Christmas Card to Your Entire Network
Holiday cards are an easy, warm, non-political way to remind people you exist.
Send cards to:
Family and friends
Past supporters
Community leaders
Local elected officials
Volunteers
Anyone you hope will endorse, donate, or help later
Include a family photo if possible. Voters want to feel like they know who they are voting for.
6. Update and Organize Your Campaign Photos
Use time off work to:
Gather and organize archive photos that showcase your family, career, and community involvement
Have professional family photos and headshots taken
Label photos by theme (family, community, agriculture, police, etc.)
These will save you time and money once your full voter outreach program begins.
7. Clean Up Your Digital Presence
The holidays are a great moment to quietly analyze:
Your campaign website
Your Facebook page
Instagram and Twitter/X accounts
Your profile photos
Your biography and issue statements
Make sure everything looks current, clean, and intentional before the new year.
8. Solidify Your Fundraising Plan for Q1
Q1 is one of the most important fundraising windows of the entire cycle.
Use December to:
Outline your January–March fundraising goals
Schedule call time
Confirm host committees for your first event
Prepare lists for “friends & family” letters
Build an outreach list of potential donors.
If you wait until January to start planning, you’re already behind.
9. Make Your Volunteer Recruitment Plan Now
January and February are prime months for finding volunteers.
Use downtime now to:
Identify potential county/town chairs
Build lists of people active in churches, civic clubs, advocacy groups
Assign early leadership roles (yard sign chair, event chair, coalition chair)
When campaigns start calling for volunteers in spring, you’ll already have a structure.
10. Rest, Recharge, and Recenter Your Message
The holidays are also a time to step back and reflect:
Why are you running?
What will success look like?
What weaknesses do you need to correct?
What strengths should you double-down on?
A clear-minded candidate is a stronger candidate. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Consultant at Victory Enterprises
