The biggest decision of the season—whether to flip your station to all-Christmas or simply sprinkle in the spirit. It explores the risks, rewards, and timing of going all-in, showing how a full commitment can deliver massive ratings while half-measures lead to confusion and coal in your ratings stocking. You’ll learn how to evaluate your brand, competition, and market conditions to make the right call—and how to own the season if you do.

Not every station can pull off a sleigh ride to the top. This chapter explains why certain formats—especially AC and CCM—thrive at Christmas while others struggle to get traction. Using Nielsen data and case studies, it breaks down who benefits most, who should stay Grinchy, and how to play your strengths even if you don’t flip the switch.

Everything changes in December. Ratings math bends under the weight of nostalgia and Mariah Carey. This chapter explains why Christmas upends listening habits, what causes cume to explode, and how to engineer your desired outcome whether you’re the full-time Christmas station or a smart counter-programmer. Learn how to manage the surge, protect your brand, and make the most of borrowed ears that can turn into long-term hearts.

Christmas ratings are won or lost in the music library. This section goes deep on how to build a winning playlist—one based on familiarity, not variety—and why “Play the Hits” still applies to the holidays. You’ll learn how to balance sacred and secular, structure rotations for freshness, and program the season’s seven tiers of tunes to keep listeners singing all December long.

The magic isn’t just in the music—it’s in how you wrap it. This chapter shows how to transform your station into an immersive Christmas experience through imaging, jingles, and presentation that make listeners feel like they’ve stepped into a snow globe. From sonic ornaments to The Santa Show, you’ll discover how to package your brand so it sparkles brighter than the star on top of the tree.

Talent makes or breaks a Christmas strategy. Here, you’ll learn how to coach on-air personalities to balance tone, emotion, and energy without burning out or sounding artificial. From avoiding “mall elf” cheer to finding authentic warmth, this chapter guides personalities through the tricky terrain of performing for new, often unfamiliar audiences while staying true to themselves.
 

Great Christmas promotions don’t just drive ratings—they define the season. This chapter unwraps dozens of winning ideas from Breaking and Entering Christmas to Home for the Holidays, showing how to design campaigns that make listeners feel something. It’s about creating traditions, not stunts—and weaving emotion, storytelling, and community spirit into every prize and payoff.

December 26 isn’t the end of the story—it’s the start of the next chapter. This final section shows how to transition out of the holiday glow, keep new listeners, and turn the “Dead Zone” into an on-ramp for January success. You’ll learn how to seize New Year’s Eve, launch a major January promotion, and keep the momentum alive long after the lights come down.