15 Fun Holidays in October to Inspire Your Next Promotion

Halloween is a big promotional holiday for many companies, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more fun to be had this month. There are all sorts of unique and exciting holidays in October ranging from food celebrations to family appreciation to bust-out-the-fireworks fun. If you’re looking for something unique to help you stand out from the crowd with your October marketing, check out these national and international treasures! 

How to Promote Your Business With Wacky Holidays in October

Weird national holidays like Howl at the Moon Night may seem like just something to fill a calendar, but these holidays are a great opportunity to engage with your customers and get them excited about your brand. Here are just a few ways businesses are using weird, silly, inspirational, and international holidays to create fun and tasteful marketing content. 

• Inspired Sales: Find the funny national holidays that connect to your industry and use them to inspire exciting deals for your customers. For example, restaurants can offer special discounts on pasta meals on World Pasta Day.
• Contests: Just like many businesses offer prizes for costume contests on Halloween, you can offer promotional merch as prizes for contests like “best pumpkin cheesecake recipe” on National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day.
• Social Media Content: Get customers engaged with your social media pages by asking how they’ll celebrate your favorite October social media holidays, such as Moment of Frustration Day, and share images of how you’re celebrating, too!
• Create Local Traditions: Found an exciting holiday that matches perfectly with your brand? Do something big to celebrate every year and get people coming to your door! Decorate, host an event, offer free samples, or even create your own branded giveaways to commemorate what you will make into a new local tradition.
• Coordinate With Another Business: Is a holiday not particularly relevant to your industry? Find another small business who can help you create an engaging promotion that both of you benefit from!

Pro tip: While October has engaging religious holidays like Yom Kippur, you don’t want to use these holidays purely for promotional reasons. It’s good to acknowledge the holidays of major religions, but using them to promote your business when you have no inherent connection is in poor taste and will offend more customers than it excites them.

15 Weird, Funny, and Inspiring October Holidays

1. International Frugal Fun Day

First Saturday of October 

A day all about having fun while saving money? This holiday is the perfect opportunity to show off your clearance sales, offer free samples, or launch a major sale that even the most thrifty penny pinchers can’t ignore. If you want to save your best sales for Halloween or the big holiday season, you can still get customers engaged with your social media by challenging them to show off how they’re celebrating this day of frugal fun. 

2. National Custodial Worker Day

October 2 

If you have a physical location for your business, odds are you also have someone doing custodial work. Take the opportunity to boost employee morale while showing off your essential talent with a day of appreciation for your hardworking custodians. Give them a highlight on your social media, post their picture in your business, and give them a thoughtful gift to commemorate their big day in the spotlight. 

3. Oktoberfest

Date varies 

While Oktoberfest is a German holiday, its popularity has long been enjoyed in the US (and we can guess why!) This holiday is all about toasting huge steins, playing classic drinking games, and enjoying large pretzels with friends. To celebrate, take a day to show off your best beer selection with a public event, or say “Prost!” as you party in lederhosen for your next company gathering.  

4. World Teacher’s Day

October 5 

Like custodians, teachers are one of the most underrated populations in the professional world. You can show them your appreciation by posting about influential teachers in your life, hosting a fundraiser for classroom supplies (many teachers have to pay for them out of pocket,) and sending coupons and gift cards to local teachers in your area. This is a great way to connect with your community as a small business and give teachers the support they deserve. 

5. Leif Erikson Day

October 9 

The Viking Lief Erikson is known as the first European to reach the North American continent nearly 400 years before Columbus. Whether you’ve got beef with Columbus or just love Viking history, this holiday offers a great opportunity for businesses to help customers celebrate Viking heritage, major explorers, or even just offer an opportunity to wear a Viking costume in exchange for discounts. 

6. It’s My Party Day

October 11 

Need a good excuse to throw a party? No excuses needed for this holiday! You can host a just-for-fun sale, invite customers for a celebration, make an employee party, or decorate with balloons and streamers for the fun of it. This day is all about celebrating for the sake of celebrating, so don’t hold back. 

7. Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day

Second Wednesday of October 

This holiday is one of the most versatile October social media holidays, because who doesn’t love teddy bear pics? Set up teddy bears around your business, stage them as employees for adorable Insta posts, and let employees share their favorite fluffy companions with their coworkers. You can also hold a majorly fun sale with discounts for any customers that take their teddies to your business, or show pictures of them at their own workplace. 

8. National Dessert Day

October 14 

One of the tastiest October holidays, this day is ideal for restaurants, grocers, and other food-based businesses. Other companies can still join the fun by bringing desserts to the office, sharing treats with customers at the door, and posting your favorite recipes on social media. Challenge your customers to share their favorite treats and post pics of how they’re celebrating this sweet, sweet holiday. 

9. Evaluate Your Life Day

October 19 

While this holiday may seem funny at first glance, introspection is an essential part of practicing good mental health. Therapists and other counseling services can benefit a great deal by marketing with this holiday, and other companies can join in by offering branded personal planners and journals, and advocating for greater mental health awareness on their social media. 

10. International Nacho Day

Mexican restaurants rejoice, this one is for you! Nachos are a delicious American twist on Mexican cuisine that is the living staple for many teens and college students, and you can bet a lot of your customers have their own nacho style. Share your best nachos recipe and challenge your customers to do the same on this savory holiday. 

11. Make a Difference Day

Fourth Saturday of October  

Need an opportunity to build community connections? This holiday is all about neighbors coming together, whether that means organizing a cleanup, offering free meals to the homeless, donating to local charities, or any other act of good will. You can also encourage customers to share how they are helping their neighbors. 

12. Mother-In-Law Day

October 23 

Mother-in-laws get a bad rap, but the truth is that they are mothers, and they deserve all the love and appreciation they can get. Fight the stereotype and ask your customers to share their stories of amazing mothers-in-law. You can also offer mother-in-law specials, gift packages, and more to help your customers celebrate and increase your own sales outside of the Valentines season. 

13. Hindu Diwali

October 24 

Yes, we did say not to get promotional about religious holidays, but this one is a little different. Diwali is a major world-wide holiday celebrated by Hindus and other Indians, commemorating the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. They celebrate by lighting candles, lanterns, and FIREWORKS. If you have any fireworks in stock, join in with this explosively fun holiday with your own sale and fireworks display. 

14. International Artist Day

October 25 

Whether they’re creating statues or cat memes, we all benefit from the work of artists. If your business works with artists, take a day to celebrate them and others who are using their creativity to make our lives better. You can also reach out to local artists in your area with an art contest, or create a space for them to display their art at your place of business to help upstarts get more exposure.

15. Plush Animal Lovers Day

October 28 

Looking for another holiday to help you cash in on cute? This day is made to celebrate our button-eyed buddies and their human companions! Decorate your business with your favorite stuffed animals, donate toys to a children’s charity, share cute pics on your social media, and explore other ways to make this holiday all your own.  

There’s a holiday for every brand out there, and this isn’t even all of them for October! If you didn’t find what you were looking for here, there are plenty more holidays in the month of October alone for you to use in your next marketing campaign. Everyone loves a reason to celebrate, so give one to your customers and employees when you introduce an exciting new holiday.