The holiday season is almost here. Christmas, New Year’s, and all the festive excitement that comes with it. But if you’re a business owner, you also know what that really means. A flood of last-minute requests, surprise orders, overflowing inboxes, and all the hidden surprises here and there.
It’s a lot like an episode of your favourite holiday sitcom. Laughter, and maybe a few “oh no” moments. Last year, you probably found yourself running around trying to keep everything together while secretly wishing Santa could send a little helper to lighten the load.
Well, Santa might not be coming down from the North Pole this year, but we are here to help instead. We know you need support, the right people who understand your business, people who know how to handle the festive rush, and who can step in without constant supervision.
Instead of relying on just any freelancer who might not fully understand your business, you can hand off key tasks to trusted remote staff who keep your operations running. Whether it is marketing, admin, tech, or design, having skilled support makes all the difference.
At Arwana, we understand the holiday hustle. That is why we offer both full-time and part-time remote staff to help across different industries, making sure your business stays on track while you actually enjoy the season.
In this article, we will break down five practical tasks you can confidently delegate this holiday season, along with tips to make the process simple, stress-free, and effective so you can survive and even enjoy all the festive drama.
Task #1 – Marketing Support
The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for small businesses, and also one of the most lucrative. This makes December and early January prime time for engagement. Customers are browsing, scrolling, and shopping more than usual, which means this is the perfect time to keep your brand visible. If you’re a small team (or a solo entrepreneur), keeping up with marketing activities won’t be easy because you are already doing a lot.
Delegating some of your marketing tasks can help your business. Marketing tasks such as:
Social media management:
Social media is a major driver of engagement during this season. Holiday greetings, festive sales posts, and product spotlights are all essential this festive period. A remote marketing staff member can create and schedule posts in advance, making sure your brand stays active even when you are offline.
Email marketing:
This is another important marketing area to keep up with during the festive season. The holidays are the perfect time to keep your audience informed about discounts, festive promotions, or holiday newsletters. Your remote marketer can write, schedule, and track these campaigns, keeping your audience informed and engaged. With proper monitoring, they can also report on what is working and what is not, giving you valuable insights for future campaigns.
Content calendar planning for the New Year:
The holidays are also the perfect time to plan ahead. Your remote marketer can help create a content calendar for the first quarter of the New Year, organise ideas, and ensure that you start January on a strong footing. With a plan in place, you can hit the ground running.
Practical delegation tips
- Share brand guides and templates: Provide tone-of-voice documents, logos, post templates, and any visual assets your remote marketing staff might need. This makes it easy for them to stay on brand.
- Use scheduling tools: Tools like Buffer or HubSpot allow your staff to pre-schedule content, track engagement, and make adjustments without disturbing your holiday plans.
- Set clear expectations: Communicate priorities, deadlines, and any special festive promotions upfront. Clear instructions now save stress and mistakes later.
Task #2 – Administrative Tasks
During the holiday season, administrative tasks are easy to let slide, but neglecting them can quickly ripple across your entire business. Inbox management, scheduling, document organisation, and travel arrangements may not seem urgent, but these are the little things that keep your business running.
This holiday season, don’t let administrative tasks pass you by while you focus on other aspects of the business. If you struggled with this last year, it’s time to dedicate these tasks to a trusted remote administrative assistant.
Inbox and email management:
A remote admin can prioritise your emails, respond to simple requests, and flag the ones that need your personal attention, keeping your inbox manageable.
Calendar and booking management:
Holiday schedules can get tricky. Having a remote assistant manage appointments, team meetings, client calls, and check-ins keeps everyone aligned and prevents last-minute stress or mistakes.
Travel arrangements or personal scheduling:
If you’re handling client meetings, holiday events, or staff coordination, your admin can manage all the logistics.
Document and file organisation:
Year-end paperwork, invoices, spreadsheets, and digital assets can pile up quickly. A remote admin can organise everything in one place, making it easy to access.
Practical delegation tips
- Use shared tools: Platforms like Google Workspace, Notion, or ClickUp make collaboration transparent and easy to track. Everyone knows what is done, what is pending, and where to find documents or assets.
- Prepare clear workflows: Before handing over tasks, provide step-by-step instructions so your remote admin can work independently without needing constant guidance.
- Set clear expectations: Outline priorities and deadlines so your assistant knows which tasks to tackle first, keeping operations smooth and organised.
Task #3 – Tech Tasks
The holidays are great for business, but they are also a prime time for technical problems. Websites slow down, product pages need updates, and minor IT glitches can pop up at the worst possible moment. That’s why delegating tech and IT tasks to remote staff is a smart move.
Website updates:
Have your remote team update product availability, add seasonal offers, add new products, and adjust banners or promotional content. This keeps your website up to date and ready for holiday shoppers.
Monitoring and fixing minor tech issues:
Nothing ruins the festive spirit faster than a website crash in the middle of your Christmas sales rush. From broken links to slow-loading pages, small glitches can make big differences in user experience. A remote IT assistant can monitor site performance and fix issues before they turn into costly problems.
Data backups and security checks:
Before the holiday rush kicks in, ensure your systems are backed up and secure. Your remote staff can schedule regular data backups, update plugins, and run quick security scans to keep everything safe.
Practical delegation tips
- Provide clear instructions and secure access: Make sure your remote staff have the login credentials they need, and know how to use them safely.
- Set expectations on turnaround times: Let your staff know which tasks are urgent and which can be handled later.
- Use project management tools: Track ongoing tasks, updates, and issues in shared platforms like Asana or Trello so everyone can stay on the same page.
Task #4 – Design Tasks
The holidays are the perfect time to sprinkle a little extra creativity into your brand visuals, but creating designs that capture the festive spirit takes time, time you do not have. That’s why it’s a great idea to bring in a skilled remote staff member to handle this for you.
Creating holiday graphics for social media and email:
Festive visuals grab attention and boost engagement. Your remote designer can create themed creatives for your social media and email marketing campaigns.
Designing banners or flyers:
For your Christmas sale, New Year offer, or any festive campaign, your remote designer can create professional, on-brand visuals that make your promotions stand out.
Practical delegation tips
- Share brand assets: Provide your fonts, colour palette, logo files, and previous designs. This helps your designer create cohesive visuals that align perfectly with your brand identity.
- Set deadlines aligned with your marketing schedule: Make sure your designer knows when creatives will be needed so assets are ready well in advance.
- Encourage collaboration: Use tools like Canva, Figma, or Google Drive to review drafts and give quick feedback. This keeps revisions smooth and efficient.
Task #5 – Customer Experience & Support
The holidays are a busy time not just for businesses, but for your customers too. They’re shopping, asking questions, tracking orders, and sharing their excitement online. Even while you’re taking a break, your audience still expects timely responses. That’s why delegating customer support and engagement to remote staff can make all the difference.
Responding to enquiries via email or chat:
Your remote assistant can handle common enquiries like shipping timelines, product availability, or holiday hours, ensuring customers get quick, helpful responses without your inbox overflowing.
Managing social media comments:
A dedicated remote team member can reply to comments, thank customers for their support, and keep engagement alive while you’re offline. It keeps your page active and your brand approachable.
Sending personalised holiday messages:
Have your remote staff draft and send thank-you messages or festive notes to loyal customers. It’s a small gesture that strengthens relationships and makes clients feel appreciated.
Practical delegation tips
- Provide response templates: Share clear brand-approved replies for common scenarios. This keeps tone and quality consistent, even if you’re not the one typing.
- Set clear boundaries: Let your remote staff know how to handle urgent issues versus general enquiries so everything gets the right attention.
Conclusion
As you already know, the holiday season is always hectic for businesses, especially small businesses. Most small business owners simply cannot afford to hire extra staff to scale operations during this period, which often leads to stress and missed opportunities.
But what if we told you there is a much smarter, more cost-effective alternative?
Offshore staffing is that cost effective alternative you can consider.
Offshore staffing gives you access to skilled professionals who can step in quickly, understand your processes, and keep your operations running this festive season without the high cost of local hiring. It is the most practical way to manage the festive rush without sacrificing quality, or your own peace of mind.
At Arwana, we specialise in hiring full-time and part-time offshore staff tailored to your business needs.
