Holiday Editorial Tips

It’s the most wonderful time of the year—and the perfect moment to revisit some seasonal style points as we transition from one year to the next. If you’re wrapping up your storytelling and content creation for now, feel free to save these tips from the AP Stylebook for next year!

Happy holidays, merry Christmas, season’s greetings, happy birthday, happy new year:

• Lowercase these phrases except in exclamations (note: Christmas is always capitalized).
  • Example: Have a happy new year. Wishing you a merry Christmas.
  • Exclamation exception: Happy holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Season’s greetings!

New Year’s, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Happy New Year:

• Capitalize these for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, as well as in exclamations.
  • Example: We’re planning for New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year!
  • When referring to resolutions: New Year’s resolutions.

Years:

• Omit the year when referring to a month and day within the current year.
  • Example: The hearing is set for June 26.
• Include the year for past or future dates and set it off with commas.
  • Example: Feb. 14, 2025, is the target date.

Year-end:

Always hyphenate this term.

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