Community management guide for the holiday period

by Maddie Duke December 06, 2025

The end of year brings a unique mix of challenges for online communities. Many businesses close across the Christmas and New Year period, and team members take well-earned breaks to enjoy summer festivities and time with loved ones. Digital spaces, however, can remain as busy as ever. In fact, this period can amplify the pressure on community management teams, as seasonal stress, boredom, and loneliness can lead to heightened conflict and an increase in mental health crises.

Team working around an meeting table with laptop in foreground

Good planning and preparation can protect both your community and the wellbeing of your community management team. Below is Quiip’s guide to ensuring you and your community are safe, supported and covered.

Carefully review scheduled content

Whether content is scheduled in advance or managed by a skeleton crew, the holiday period amplifies the need for careful review of upcoming posts. Knowing what’s ahead is important when considering staffing and allows you to anticipate and plan for risks and fluctuations in engagement.

Double-check copy and scheduling for time-sensitive references and cultural sensitivities.
Identify any upcoming campaigns that could prompt an influx of questions or activity.
Consider pausing or scaling back paid campaigns.
Review themes that have caused issues in previous years and adjust accordingly. Leaning heavily into specific holidays such as Christmas can be divisive or irrelevant to some communities.
If appropriate, scheduled an announcement setting expectations around holiday staffing, slower response times and alternative resources.

Plan for fluctuations in engagement and anticipated risks

Community members can behave and engage differently during December and January. Using past insights can help forecast what may arise.

If previous years indicate that you can expect peaks or lulls in engagement over certain days, prepare for these and ensure you have coverage and escalation procedures in place.
Review recent community trends: are there any issues likely to escalate, or misinformation likely to spread? Ensure anyone providing holiday cover knows what they can respond to independently and what requires escalation.
Update any keyword filters or auto-responses in anticipation of specific risks.

Update coverage windows and escalation procedures

Anticipated risks and changes in community behaviour will allow you to effectively plan for sufficient coverage and escalation procedures.

Decide when and how often community checks will be done.
Communicate any changes to availability of community support or other relevant services.
Update internal primary, back-up and escalation contacts based on staff availability and make them easy to access.
Ensure crisis and escalation procedures for low, medium and high-risk incidents are current and accessible.
Check third-party availability. Confirm whether key agencies, legal advisers or other external contacts have reduced availability over the period, and document alternative contacts where necessary.

Protect your team’s wellbeing

One of the leading challenges for community managers is the negative impact on personal mental health and wellbeing, as highlighted in the State of Community Management Report 2025.

This can intensify during busy or high-risk periods like December and January, when staffing levels are often reduced. It’s equally important to ensure that those working through the holiday period are supported as it is to allow those on leave to properly switch off.

Set clear boundaries and realistic workloads around leave and public holidays.
Ensure anyone working remotely or from a different location or device has access to the platforms and tools they need. Test logins and two-factor authentication (2FA) before key staff go on leave, rather than discovering an access issue during an incident.
Consider enabling access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for support when managing distressing content online and encourage employees to take time out when needed.
Ensure clear escalation procedures are in place and accessible.

Secure holiday cover

If you anticipate needing external community management or moderation support for overflow, increased engagement or risk, or full coverage for your team, Quiip can help. Our experienced team of community managers is equipped to handle busy, sensitive, and high-risk communities, 24/7.