When to order Christmas gifts in 2026: a week-by-week timeline

Most late Christmas gifts were not ordered late. They were ordered in the middle of December, the same week as everyone else's, and then sat in a sorting centre with a few million other parcels. Getting gifts on time is mostly about avoiding that week. Here is the timeline for 2026, built backwards from Christmas Eve.

A note on the target date: in Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechia and much of central Europe, presents are opened on 24 December, not the 25th. If anyone on your list celebrates on Christmas Eve, that is your real deadline, and it is the one we use below.

Now to the end of October: make the list

Write down every person, a budget, and one idea each. Then note today's price of anything you might buy. That small habit is what tells you later whether a Black Friday deal is real. Anything handmade, made to order or engraved should be ordered now, because those items need production time before shipping even starts.

Early November: order from far away

Gifts coming from outside the EU face customs checks, import charges and longer transit, so order them in the first half of November. The same applies in reverse: if you are sending gifts to family in the UK, Switzerland, Norway, the US, Canada or Australia, the first half of November is the comfortable window.

By 23 November: St Nicholas Day gifts

If you fill boots for 6 December in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands or eastern France, order the small gifts before Black Friday. 6 December falls on a Sunday this year, so they need to arrive by Saturday the 5th.

27 to 30 November: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday falls on 27 November this year and Cyber Monday on 30 November. It is a good moment to buy the bigger gifts, as long as the discount is genuine. In the EU, a shop that advertises a price reduction has to compare it with the lowest price it charged in the previous 30 days, so a price raised in early November and then cut does not count as a deal. Your notes from October will show you which is which.

This is also the last comfortable week for anything going outside the EU.

1 to 11 December: the main ordering window

Everything that ships within the EU should be ordered in these two weeks. Carriers are busy but not yet overwhelmed, and a normal delivery time still has room to slip by a few days without ruining anything.

14 to 18 December: the risk zone

This is when the parcel networks peak. Express services help, but standard parcels can take noticeably longer than usual, and one delay at a depot can push delivery past the 24th. Order this week only from shops that ship from nearby, and have a plan B.

After 18 December: buy in person or give a promise

Online orders placed now are a gamble for Christmas Eve. Buy locally, or wrap a printed picture of the gift with a handwritten card saying it is on its way. A late gift with a good note beats a panic purchase.

Riva order dates for Christmas 2026

We prepare orders within 1-2 business days, and delivery normally takes 2-5 working days within the EU. In December we recommend building in a buffer on top of that:

• St Nicholas Day (6 December): order by Monday 23 November.
• Outside the EU (UK, Switzerland, Norway, US, Canada, Australia and others): order by Monday 30 November.
• Within the EU: order by Friday 11 December to have it before 24 December.

These are recommendations rather than guarantees, because December transit depends on the carriers. Every order ships with tracking, and every product comes with 90-day returns from delivery, so a gift ordered early can still be returned well into the new year.

Need ideas before the dates? Start with Christmas gifts for men who say they want nothing or gifts for someone who always loses their keys or wallet. Giving a wallet? Read why you should never give one empty.