The Dutch WhatsApp Campaign Calendar: November 2026 to December 2027
Fourteen months of real Dutch dates, what to send around each one, which template category it falls under, and when not to send at all.
Short answer: the Dutch year has five big WhatsApp moments: Black Friday (Friday 27 November 2026) running straight into Sinterklaas (pakjesavond on Saturday 5 December), Kerst and Oud en Nieuw (school holidays 19 December to 3 January), Koningsdag (Tuesday 27 April 2027, inside the meivakantie), the May holiday cluster (Dodenherdenking 4 May, Bevrijdingsdag 5 May, Hemelvaart 6 May, Pinksteren 16 to 17 May) and a zomervakantie that starts on three different dates depending on region. Because a Dutch marketing message costs EUR 0.1323 against EUR 0.0414 for a utility update, plan fewer, sharper promotions, send them only to opted-in customers, and let order, delivery and opening-hours updates do the everyday work.
How to use this calendar
Every public holiday below comes from the Rijksoverheid list of official holidays for 2026 and 2027, and every school holiday from the Rijksoverheid overview for school year 2026–2027. Dates that are estimates (Islamic holidays) or our own calculation (carnaval) are marked as such. Three reminders before you plan:
- An official holiday is not automatically a day off. The government notes that whether employees are free depends on their cao or contract. Bevrijdingsdag in particular is a working day for many people.
- Promotions are marketing templates at EUR 0.1323 per delivered message to a +31 number. Order, delivery, booking and closure updates for existing appointments are utility at EUR 0.0414. Our Dutch pricing guide works through real budgets.
- Submit templates early. Approval is often quick, but a rejection the day before pakjesavond leaves no time to fix it. Aim for three to four weeks ahead of each big date, and write them in Dutch (language code nl).
The calendar at a glance
| When | Occasion | What to send | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Nov 2026 (Wed) | Sint-Maarten (regional children's tradition) | Lantern and sweets offers in regions that celebrate it; otherwise skip | Marketing |
| 14 Nov 2026 (Sat) | National Sinterklaas arrival, in Grave this year | Start of surprise and gift season; early-bird offers to opted-in customers | Marketing |
| 27–30 Nov 2026 | Black Friday (Fri 27) to Cyber Monday (Mon 30) | Early access for opted-in customers, then order and track-and-trace updates | Marketing, then utility |
| 1–3 Dec 2026 | Last order days before pakjesavond | Delivery cut-off reminder to opted-in customers | Marketing |
| 5 Dec 2026 (Sat) | Pakjesavond | Nothing promotional on the evening itself; delivery updates only | Utility |
| 19 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027 | Kerstvakantie (all regions); Kerst on Fri 25 and Sat 26 Dec | Kerstpakket and gift offers, holiday opening hours, last delivery dates | Marketing; hours for booked customers as utility |
| 31 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 | Oud en Nieuw, Nieuwjaarsdag (Fri) | A short New Year greeting, or nothing at all | Marketing |
| Jan 2027 | Winter sales season | Sale launch to recent buyers; win-back of December customers | Marketing |
| 6–9 Feb 2027 | Carnaval in the south (our calculation from Easter) | Costumes, horeca, travel offers in Brabant and Limburg | Marketing |
| ~8 Feb – ~9 Mar 2027 | Ramadan (estimate), Suikerfeest expected 9 or 10 Mar | Respectful greetings, evening opening hours, family-meal offers where relevant | Marketing |
| 13–28 Feb 2027 | Voorjaarsvakantie (Zuid 13–21, Noord and Midden 20–28) | Ski, city-trip and day-out offers by region | Marketing |
| 14 Feb 2027 (Sun) | Valentijnsdag | Flowers, dinner and gift offers a few days before | Marketing |
| 26–29 Mar 2027 | Goede Vrijdag, Pasen (28 and 29 Mar); clocks go forward on 28 Mar | Paasbrunch bookings, spring collections, opening hours | Marketing; hours as utility |
| 24 Apr – 2 May 2027 | Meivakantie (all regions) | Short-break and family offers | Marketing |
| 27 Apr 2027 (Tue) | Koningsdag | Orange offers, horeca and event bookings | Marketing |
| 4 May 2027 (Tue) evening | Dodenherdenking, two minutes' silence at 20:00 | No promotions that evening | — |
| 5–7 May 2027 | Bevrijdingsdag (Wed), Hemelvaartsdag (Thu), bridge day Fri 7 | Closure notices for booked customers; long-weekend offers | Utility; offers as marketing |
| 9 May 2027 (Sun) | Moederdag | Gift offers, with an early order cut-off because of the holidays that week | Marketing |
| 16–17 May 2027 | Pinksteren; Offerfeest expected around 16 May | Garden, terrace and day-trip offers; greetings where relevant | Marketing |
| 20 Jun 2027 (Sun) | Vaderdag | Gift offers in the week before | Marketing |
| 10 Jul – 5 Sep 2027 | Zomervakantie, staggered by region | Holiday hours, travel offers, then back-to-school | Marketing; hours as utility |
| 31 Oct 2027 (Sun) | Clocks go back | Check your sending window and scheduled campaigns | — |
| 26–29 Nov 2027 | Black Friday (Fri 26) to Cyber Monday (Mon 29) | As in 2026, with a cleaned list | Marketing, then utility |
| 5 Dec 2027 (Sun) | Pakjesavond | Order cut-off reminders in the week before | Marketing, then utility |
| 25–26 Dec 2027 | Kerst (Sat and Sun) | As in 2026 | Marketing |
November–December 2026: Black Friday meets Sinterklaas
No other stretch of the Dutch year packs so much buying into so few days. The national arrival of Sinterklaas is on Saturday 14 November 2026 in Grave, in the municipality of Land van Cuijk, and from that weekend families start thinking about presents and surprises. Black Friday follows on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November, and pakjesavond falls on Saturday 5 December. For a webshop, that means two campaigns and one hard deadline inside three weeks.
Black Friday: send one good message, not five
At EUR 0.1323 per message, a list of 10,000 costs EUR 1,323 per send. Pick one moment, usually early access the evening before or the morning itself, and send only to customers who opted in and bought in the last year. Everything after the purchase (order confirmation, track-and-trace, delivery) is utility at a third of the price.
Hoi {{1}}, Black Friday bij {{2}} is begonnen: tot 40% korting op de wintercollectie, alleen tot en met maandag. Shop via de knop hieronder. Geen aanbiedingen meer? Stuur STOP.
Hi {{1}}, Black Friday at {{2}} has started: up to 40% off the winter collection, until Monday only. Shop with the button below. No more offers? Reply STOP.
The pakjesavond cut-off
The most useful Sinterklaas message is not an offer but a deadline. Work back from Saturday 5 December using your own carrier's cut-off, and remind opted-in customers a day or two before it.
Hoi {{1}}, nog op zoek naar een cadeautje voor pakjesavond? 🎁 Bestel uiterlijk woensdag 2 december vóór 22:00 uur, dan ligt je pakje op tijd in huis. Geen aanbiedingen meer? Stuur STOP.
Hi {{1}}, still looking for a present for pakjesavond? 🎁 Order by 10 pm on Wednesday 2 December and your parcel will arrive in time. No more offers? Reply STOP.
On the evening of the 5th itself, families are busy with presents and poems. Send delivery updates if a parcel is late, and nothing else.
Kerst and Oud en Nieuw
The kerstvakantie runs from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 in all three regions. Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December. For B2B suppliers, this is kerstpakket season and orders are often placed in November. For physio practices, hairdressers and other appointment businesses, the useful message is a utility template to people with an existing booking: "our practice is closed on 25 and 26 December; your appointment on 28 December goes ahead as planned". A general holiday-hours broadcast to everyone on your list is marketing in Meta's eyes.
New Year greetings are pleasant but rarely worth EUR 0.1323 each. If you send one, keep it short and do not attach an offer that turns it into a sales message on the first day of the year.
January–March 2027: sales, carnaval, Ramadan and Easter
January is winter-sale and win-back month: message customers who bought in December, not the whole list. In the south, carnaval runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February 2027 (our calculation: Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter Sunday on 28 March). Bars, costume shops and bakeries in Brabant and Limburg see their busiest days; a business in Groningen can ignore it.
Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February 2027, with Suikerfeest (Eid al-Fitr) on 9 or 10 March, depending on the moon. Many Dutch customers with Turkish or Moroccan roots observe it. A short, respectful greeting from a business that genuinely serves that community works; a generic discount blast does not. Turkish (tr) is a supported Meta template language, but send it only to customers who chose it.
Hoi {{1}}, het team van {{2}} wenst jou en je familie een fijn Suikerfeest! Deze week zijn we tot 22:00 uur open. Geen berichten meer ontvangen? Stuur STOP.
Easter follows on 28 and 29 March, with Goede Vrijdag on 26 March. Clocks also go forward on Easter Sunday itself, so double-check any campaign scheduled for that weekend. Restaurants should push paasbrunch reservations about ten days ahead.
April–May 2027: Koningsdag and the holiday cluster
The meivakantie runs from 24 April to 2 May 2027 in every region, and some schools add an extra week. Koningsdag falls on Tuesday 27 April, in the middle of it. Orange-themed offers, terrace bookings and party supplies are the obvious campaigns; keep them light and fun.
Fijne Koningsdag, {{1}}! 🧡 Alleen vandaag 15% korting op alles wat oranje is bij {{2}}, met de code ORANJE15. Liever geen aanbiedingen? Stuur STOP.
Happy King's Day, {{1}}! 🧡 Today only, 15% off everything orange at {{2}} with code ORANJE15. Rather not receive offers? Reply STOP.
4 and 5 May: when not to send
On Tuesday 4 May the Netherlands remembers its war dead with two minutes' silence at 20:00. Schedule nothing promotional for that evening; check that no automated campaign lands then. Bevrijdingsdag on Wednesday 5 May is a celebration, Hemelvaartsdag follows on Thursday 6 May and many people take Friday 7 May off. For appointment businesses, a utility message to booked customers about closures is helpful:
Beste {{1}}, op donderdag 6 mei (Hemelvaartsdag) is {{2}} gesloten. Uw afspraak op vrijdag 7 mei om {{3}} gaat gewoon door. Wilt u toch verzetten? Reageer dan op dit bericht.
Moederdag is Sunday 9 May. With two holidays earlier in that week, delivery capacity can be tight, so send gift offers and the order cut-off before the holidays rather than after. Pinksteren is on 16 and 17 May; Offerfeest (Eid al-Adha) is expected around the same weekend, on 16 or 17 May.
Summer 2027: three regions, three start dates
| Region | Major cities | Voorjaarsvakantie 2027 | Zomervakantie 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noord | Amsterdam, Groningen | 20–28 February | 10 July – 22 August |
| Midden | Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht | 20–28 February | 17 July – 29 August |
| Zuid | Eindhoven, most of Noord-Brabant | 13–21 February | 24 July – 5 September |
The voorjaarsvakantie dates are advisory and individual schools may differ; the regions follow provinces, with a few municipal exceptions on the government's list. If you know customers' postcodes, segment summer campaigns by region: a holiday-hours message or a back-to-school offer sent to all of the Netherlands on the same day will be early for one third of your list and late for another. Vaderdag (Sunday 20 June) comes just before the first region breaks up.
During the holidays, the useful WhatsApp messages are mostly utility: changed opening hours for booked customers, delivery times, a holiday auto-reply. A summer-sale broadcast is worth sending once, timed to each region's return.
Autumn and the run-up to 2027's holidays
Clocks go back on Sunday 31 October 2027. Black Friday is on 26 November and Cyber Monday on 29 November 2027; pakjesavond falls on a Sunday, 5 December, and Christmas on a Saturday and Sunday. The date and town of the 2027 national Sinterklaas arrival had not been announced when we checked. Before you repeat 2026's campaigns, clean the list: remove everyone who opted out, and everyone who has not opened a WhatsApp message from you all year.
When to send: practical windows
- Weekday daytime and early evening for promotions; avoid late night, and go easy on Sunday mornings.
- Utility at the moment it is useful: a reminder the day before an appointment, a delivery update when the parcel moves.
- No promotions on 4 May after about 19:30, and none on the evening of pakjesavond.
- Use a sending window. QuickWA lets you set one in Settings; it is off by default, and once on, scheduled broadcasts wait until it reopens.
- Answer fast. Replies to customers who wrote in are service messages, free up to 1,000 a month per number, and they convert better than any broadcast.
Every promotion here assumes the recipient opted in, or is an existing customer covered by the Dutch rules; see our guide to WhatsApp marketing rules in the Netherlands. Shopify and WooCommerce order updates, appointment reminders and broadcasts to segments are all part of QuickWA, which starts at $5/month; more on our Netherlands page.
Sources
- Rijksoverheid, official holidays 2026 and 2027: rijksoverheid.nl (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Rijksoverheid, school holidays 2026–2027: rijksoverheid.nl and regions: rijksoverheid.nl (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Hart van Nederland, national Sinterklaas arrival in Grave on 14 November 2026 (published 24 February 2026): hartvannederland.nl (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- The National, expected Ramadan and Eid dates for 2027 (astronomical estimates): thenationalnews.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Khaleej Times, likely Eid al-Adha 2027 dates (16 or 17 May): khaleejtimes.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Meta, pricing and template supported languages: pricing, supported languages (checked 26 Oct 2026)
Frequently asked questions
When is Koningsdag 2027? +
Tuesday 27 April 2027, according to the Rijksoverheid list of official holidays. It falls inside the meivakantie, which runs from 24 April to 2 May 2027 in all regions.
When is pakjesavond in 2026? +
Saturday 5 December 2026. The national Sinterklaas arrival is on Saturday 14 November 2026 in Grave. Send order cut-off reminders a few days before the 5th, based on your carrier's deadline.
When is Black Friday 2026 in the Netherlands? +
Friday 27 November 2026, followed by Cyber Monday on 30 November. In 2027 they fall on 26 and 29 November.
When does the zomervakantie 2027 start? +
Region Noord on 10 July, Midden on 17 July and Zuid on 24 July 2027, ending on 22 August, 29 August and 5 September respectively. Amsterdam is in Noord; Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht are in Midden.
Should I send WhatsApp promotions on 4 May? +
Not in the evening. The Netherlands holds two minutes' silence for Dodenherdenking at 20:00 on 4 May. Keep promotions for Bevrijdingsdag on 5 May or later.
Which Dutch holidays fall close together in May 2027? +
Dodenherdenking on Tuesday 4 May, Bevrijdingsdag on Wednesday 5 May, Hemelvaartsdag on Thursday 6 May, Moederdag on Sunday 9 May and Pinksteren on 16 and 17 May. Plan delivery cut-offs and closure notices early.