Coming up
What to post for the spring bank holiday
It's half-term as well as a bank holiday, a whole week of parents needing somewhere to take restless kids. Be the easy plan, not the effort.
Mon 31 May 2027the date 246 days to gofrom today 12 daysthe run-up
Pick your days and we write your own guide. Your first plan is free.
Pick your days below. Nothing is made until you say.
The run-up
Every day between now and then that is worth a post
Not one a day. These are the ones that do a job. What each is for is underneath it.
Wed 19 May 12 days before Post the ready-made plan Parents want a decision made for them this week. Spell it out, 'kids eat free, indoor space, open all week', so choosing you takes no thinking at all.
Write this one →
Sun 23 May 8 days before Remove every excuse Pram room, high chairs, colouring, parking nearby, name the little things that make bringing children easy. Each one is a reason not to stay home.
Write this one →
Wed 26 May 5 days before Have a wet-day answer Half-term weather is a gamble, so be the indoor fallback. 'Chucking it down? warm and busy in here' is the post people quietly save for later.
Write this one →
Sat 29 May 2 days before Post the week in one go One clear note of your hours and offers for the whole week, not a scramble each morning. Families sort the week on the Sunday before.
Write this one →
Mon 31 May The day Make it effortless on the day Walk-ins welcome, no booking, food out fast. On a frazzled family day, easy beats fancy every single time.
Write this one →
How many days will you post?
4
4 days, all free.
Your days
May 19 12 days to Spring bank holiday Wednesday 19 May Post the ready-made plan
May 23 8 days to Spring bank holiday Sunday 23 May Remove every excuse
May 29 2 days to Spring bank holiday Saturday 29 May Post the week in one go
May 31 Spring bank holiday day Monday 31 May Make it effortless on the day
The day itself is always one of them.
Written for · from About you
About you + a customer to write for
Your first plan this year, of 4 free. Nothing is posted anywhere.
The 99p pack: four more days on this plan. Paid once with a card. No account, no subscription.
Your plan · Halloween · 4 days Otley Barbers at Halloween Four days spread across the run-up, the day itself in. Each one is written for a barber in Chapel Allerton, and each one is a thing to think about while you work that day.
Kept on your profile Oct 11
20 days to Halloween Sunday 11 October · day 1 of 4
Suggested time · Sun 6 to 8 pm i Say it is coming
- One line, no photo: "Something is planned for the 31st."
- Photograph nothing yet. The wait is part of it.
- While you work: which dad would ask for a spooky colour spray for the kids? Note the name.
Why Sun 6 to 8 pm: Dads plan the week on Sunday night, after bedtime.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Oct 17
14 days to Halloween Saturday 17 October · day 2 of 4
Suggested time · Sat 9 to 10 am i Show it half-made
- The pumpkin in the window before it is carved.
- The kids' cut offer half-written on the board behind you.
- While you work: ask two Saturday dads if they would book the 31st.
Why Sat 9 to 10 am: Saturday dads book the morning of, from the school car park.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Oct 25
6 days to Halloween Sunday 25 October · day 3 of 4
Suggested time · Sun 6 to 8 pm i Show the proof
- The first kid with the Halloween colour, from behind, with the cape on.
- The chair by the window with the carved pumpkin on the counter.
- While you work: count the Saturday slots left and write the number down.
Why Sun 6 to 8 pm: Same slot as day one: they saw the first post here.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Oct 31
Halloween day Saturday 31 October · day 4 of 4
Suggested time · Sat 8 am and 4 pm i The day itself, twice
- Morning: what is still free today, with the opening time in the picture.
- Late afternoon: the last of it, "two chairs left till six".
- While you work: one photo of the busiest moment for next year.
Why Sat 8 am and 4 pm: The morning post catches the planners, the afternoon one the ones who forgot.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Want more days? The 99p pack adds four to this plan.
The idea most businesses miss
Be the path of least resistance
Thaler and Sunstein showed that people mostly take the easiest option in front of them, and small bits of friction, a booking to make, an unknown, a faff, quietly put them off. A tired parent at half-term picks whoever makes the choice simplest. So don't just be good; be the obvious, no-thinking-required option, and say so in plain words.
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, on how small design choices steer what people do · Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, Yale University Press, 2008
Questions
The questions people ask
- Half-term dates aren't the same everywhere.
- True, they vary by council and nation, so don't name a week. Say 'all half-term' and let each local family read it as theirs.
- I'm not a kid-friendly business.
- Then sell the opposite: 'a quiet cup while the school run's off'. The week frees up adults too, and some want calm, not chaos.
- The Monday, or the whole week?
- Both. The Monday is the peak, but the days around it are unusually free, a week-long message catches far more than a one-day one.
The other dates worth the effort
Mon 3 May 2027 Early May bank holiday 218 days to go The first May bank holiday is the starting gun for outdoor trade. Whoever says 'summer starts here' first is the place people picture. 5 posts to make →
Sat 24 Jul 2027 Summer holidays 300 days to go Through the summer holidays, parents aren't buying a coffee, they're buying a solved afternoon. Sell the calm hour, not the cup. 5 posts to make → Everything else The whole calendar
The rest of this year and all of next, with the British ones in the right place.
Open the calendar →