A Christmas floral program is won or lost in the next three weeks. Christmas Day falls on Friday, Dec. 25, 2026, about nine weeks from now, and IFPA’s sales data shows that holiday bouquets, roses and arrangements were growing last December even as potted plants slipped. This guide pairs that data with a week-by-week buying timeline for grocery buyers and category managers.
What did last Christmas season sell?
IFPA’s Circana-based reports show a strong run from Thanksgiving through December 2025. The four weeks ending Nov. 30 produced $635.1M in floral sales, up 8.1% and about $85M more than October. The four weeks ending Dec. 28 produced $646.81M, up 5.6%, on flat units of 52.5M at $12.32 per unit.
| Category (four weeks ending Dec. 28, 2025) | Dollars | Dollar change | Unit change | Price per unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potted plants | $152.3M | -2.0% | -6.4% | $10.22 |
| Roses | $125.7M | +13.0% | +7.3% | $14.24 |
| Bouquets | $119.6M | +8.2% | +0.7% | $14.20 |
| Arrangements | $100.6M | +9.0% | +5.2% | $30.12 |
| Holiday bouquets | $36.8M | +7.2% | -1.4% | $20.03 |
Potted plants, led by poinsettias, still topped the month, but they lost dollars and units. IFPA’s holiday bouquet category earned more in the four weeks ending Nov. 30 ($57.5M, up 14.0% on units up 8.9%, at $23.72) than in the four weeks ending Dec. 28. IFPA’s Director of Floral, Colleen Fagundus, said holidays and special occasions remain times when consumers are “willing to spend a little more.”
The buying timeline
The dates below are our planning timeline, anchored to Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 and Christmas on Dec. 25, not IFPA guidance.
| When | Action |
|---|---|
| By Oct. 30 | Confirm poinsettia and holiday plant orders and set holiday bouquet specs and price points. See our poinsettia program guide. |
| Nov. 2-13 | Book freight and delivery windows for Thanksgiving week and early December, and lock ad plans. |
| Nov. 16-26 | Run the Thanksgiving push from our program checklist. |
| Nov. 27-Dec. 11 | Flip displays to Christmas after Black Friday and push centerpieces, bouquets and arrangements. |
| Dec. 14-23 | Replenish for last-minute gifting and protect in-stock on roses and arrangements. |
| Dec. 26 onward | Run planned markdowns, then turn to Valentine’s pre-books. |
Where did Christmas demand grow fastest?
Regional results varied. In the four weeks ending Dec. 28, 2025, South Central stores grew floral dollars 10.1%, the Northeast 7.1% and the Southeast 7.0%, while the Great Lakes was the only region to decline, down 0.9%. In the November period South Central led again at +14.2%, followed by the Southeast at +9.0%. Check your own scan data by region before setting store-level allocations.
What can go wrong with holiday-packaged product?
Supply, not demand, can cap holiday sales. In the four weeks ending Oct. 5, 2025, IFPA’s holiday bouquet category lost 13.6% in dollars and 52.8% in units, and the report suggested availability rather than demand may explain it. IFPA also noted that some retailers outside floral merchandise regular items during holidays instead of holiday-specific packaging. Our suggestion: lock supply for holiday-packaged SKUs early, and decide in advance which regular bouquets can carry a seasonal sleeve if packaged product runs short.
Where should the Christmas dollars go?
IFPA’s December numbers point to roses and arrangements as the units-and-dollars winners, so give them room in holiday ads. Plan plants on units, since potted plant units fell 6.4% even as price per unit rose 4.7%. Holiday bouquets sold at $20.03 to $23.72 per unit versus $14.20 for standard bouquets in December, so holiday packaging can carry a clear premium. For centerpiece strategy, read our piece on winning the holiday table.
Takeaways: your Christmas floral program checklist
- Set specs, price points and plant orders by the end of October.
- Plan a Christmas floral program that gives roses, bouquets and arrangements ad space, since all three grew dollars last December.
- Buy plants by units, not dollars, given the 6.4% unit decline.
- Book freight for Thanksgiving week and early December now. Our report on rising freight costs explains the pressure.
- Write the markdown plan before Dec. 25, not after.
Sources: IFPA U.S. Floral Retail Point of Sales, December 2025 and November 2025 reports (Circana Integrated Fresh, MULO). Photo: Don Starkey / Unsplash.
Travis Rigby is the publisher of SuperFloral, the news source for the mass-market floral industry. He leads its website and weekly newsletter, covering what matters to growers, breeders, supermarket floral buyers and category managers. Travis studied journalism at the University of Utah, founded and led PosterGarden.com for 27 years, and is president of FlowerBox.com.
