The best day of the week for Christmas

Most of the holidays in the United States are on Monday.  But Christmas is always on the 25th December and is on a different day of the week every year.  If you are in retail, what day would you prefer to have Christmas?  In 2011, Christmas was on a Sunday and it seemed to work out.  Let's discuss some of the options, from best to worst.

1.  Tuesday.  Really?  That does not make any sense at first blush.  But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.  Why?  The earliest that Thanksgiving can be is the 22nd of November.  When Thanksgiving falls on the 22nd of November, Christmas will fall on a Tuesday.  This gives retailers 32 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  People do not do a lot of shopping on Christmas Eve, which is on a Monday, therefore, there is a full weekend of shopping buildup to the holiday.  The makes the Christmas weekend and the New Year's weekend a de-facto 4-day weekend, except the banks and government offices are open on Monday.  Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are on Monday.  These work days are easy work-days for a Monday.  Tuesday is the best day of the week for Christmas and it happens next in 2012.

2.  Monday.  There are a lot of reasons why having any holiday on a Monday works.  First, it makes the holiday travel-friendly.  It gives those traveling for the holiday an entire weekend to get where they are going.  It means that Super Saturday is the last full shopping day of the season.  When Christmas is on a Monday, Thanksgiving is on the 23rd, which gives retailers 31 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Nobody likes working on a Monday, and it is a bonus whenever a holiday is the first day of the week.  Because of leap year, it will be a while before Christmas falls on a Monday again.

3.  Sunday.  Banks and federal employees will take Monday off when Christmas is on a Sunday.  Thanksgiving is on the 24th of November, giving retailers a full 30 days to push holiday sales.  But Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday, and the last weekend push has to happen earlier.  Sunday is the worst day for the Holiday if you are traveling, but banks and government offices observe the holiday on Monday and there is an extra day for travel if needed.

4.  Thursday.  Thanksgiving falls on the 27th, there are 27 shopping days between Christmas and Thanksgiving.  The work week before Christmas is and there is a Friday after New Years day that people have to work before enjoying the first weekend of the New Year.  However, if you are traveling, this may be the best day.  If your plans take you out of town for Christmas and New Years Day, the de-facto 4 day weekend will provide some extra travel time.  Why worry about getting back so quickly.  While it may not be good for retail, Thursday is the most travel-friendly day for Christmas.  Therefore, Thursday sneaks ahead of some of the other days of the week for these holidays.

5.  Friday.  This is not the best day for Christmas, but there are worse days to have this holiday.  Thanksgiving will fall on the 26th and retailers will have only 28 days for holiday sales.  The week before Christmas is a shortened week and it is not conducive to holiday travel, unless people are staying until New Years Day, then you have the entire weekend to recover and return home.  You would not have to return to work after New Years until the 4th.  It is not a bad day to have the holiday if you are traveling.  You have the whole weekend to get back.

6.  Saturday.  This is beginning of not-so-good days for Christmas to fall.  Banks and Federal offices will take Friday, Christmas eve off.  Thanksgiving falls on the 25th, and retailers have less than a full month to push for holiday sales.  It's not bad, but there are better days for the holiday

7.  Wednesday is the worst day for Christmas.  A holiday in the middle of the week is the most disruptive to business and when Christmas is on a Wednesday Thanksgiving is on the 28th, giving retailers a short shopping season.

Here is the day of the week for Christmas the next few years.

2012--Tuesday
2013--Wednesday
2014--Thursday
2015--Friday
2016--Sunday
2017--Monday
2018--Tuesday
2019--Wednesday
2020--Friday
2021--Saturday
2022--Sunday