The best 2027 planner for handmade and craft business owners
When you make and sell, your year runs on gift seasons. Mother’s Day, summer fairs, Black Friday, Christmas... and they all need planning months before anyone else is thinking about them. A pretty diary won’t do that for you. Here’s what to look for in a 2027 planner when you run a handmade or craft business.
What makers need from a 2027 planner
1. Your gift seasons, planned early
Makers live and die by the big dates. You need them in front of you early enough to make the stock AND tell people about it. Look for a planner with key dates already in, and room to plan backwards from each one.
2. A promotions plan for the whole year
New collections, seasonal ranges, sales, launches: if you can see them all on one page, you can space them out and stop everything landing in November.
3. Craft fairs, markets and workshops
Events take planning: booking, making, posting about them before and after. A page for your events and workshops for the whole year makes a huge difference.
4. Social media you’ll actually keep up
Your customers want to see your work, your process and your studio. A simple plan for where you’ll post and what you’ll share, week by week, keeps you visible without it taking over.
5. Your cash flow
Materials, fair fees, postage, platform fees... it adds up. Writing down the money in and out every day shows you what you actually keep, and which products are worth making.
6. Help when you’re stuck, and a nudge when life gets busy
Making takes time. Marketing is the first thing to slide. Training, a community and a weekly reminder are what keep a planner open after February.
Plan backwards from your 2027 gift seasons
| Date (UK) | What | Start talking about it |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 14 February | Valentine’s Day | Early January |
| Sun 7 March | Mothering Sunday (UK and Ireland) | Late January |
| Sun 28 March | Easter Sunday | Late February |
| Sun 9 May | Mother’s Day (USA, Canada, Australia, NZ) | Late March, if you sell there |
| Sun 20 June | Father’s Day (UK, Ireland, USA, Canada) | Early May |
| Fri 26 November | Black Friday | October |
| Sat 4 December | Small Business Saturday UK | November |
| Sat 25 December | Christmas | September, plus your last posting dates |
All the key dates for six countries are in Key marketing dates for 2027.
How the Awesome Marketing Planner helps makers
I made the Awesome Marketing Planner for small business owners who want their marketing DONE, and that includes makers. The printed planner is all about the selling side, and stock and order-tracking pages to print will be in the Planner Portal downloads:
- Key dates for the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada and Australia, on every month-to-view calendar
- My 2027 promotions: your sales, launches and offers for the whole year on one page
- An events and workshops planner, with all 12 months on a page
- A social media plan for every month, and a visibility challenge to help you get seen
- Daily cash flow every month: what you sold, the money in and out, and what you kept
- Your sales target for the year, broken down so it feels doable
- Stock and order-tracking pages to print, in the Planner Portal downloads (opening in December)
And it’s not just a book. It’s a whole system of six parts:
- 📖 The printed PlannerA5 hardback with gold foil, so it comes to fairs in your bag.
- 🎓 The Planner PortalMy training for every page, plus downloads like stock and order-tracking pages.
- 📱 The planner appWhat you sell, your numbers, ideas for what to post, and your marketing streak.
- 👭 The Facebook groupPlan alongside other women in business using the same planner.
- 👢 The Monday Bum KickAn email from me every Monday with one thing to do that week.
- 🖍️ The ExtrasWorksheets, extra resources to print and colouring sheets.
If you make beautiful things and you want 2027 to be the year people actually SEE them, this is what I made the planner for.
Love, Claire x
Your questions
Is the Awesome Marketing Planner good for craft businesses?
Yes, if you want help with the marketing side: what to sell when, key gift dates, getting seen on social media, craft fairs and events, and your cash flow. And stock and order-tracking pages to print will be in the Planner Portal downloads, which open in December.
When should a maker start planning for Christmas 2027?
Most makers need to be talking about Christmas from September or October, and making well before that. Plan your big gift seasons at the start of the year, then count back from each one.
Is there a craft-specific 2027 planner?
There are craft business planners and printable templates around, but many are undated or from earlier years. The Awesome Marketing Planner System 2027 is dated for 2027 and comes with training, an app and a community.