Tis the season! From wrapping up the year’s wonderful campaigns to preparing for a big year in 2026, there’s still plenty to look forward to this December, and plenty of trends to keep an eye on. Here's what Truffle are expecting to see on socials this festive month.

Gift Guides

With social media now acting as a search engine, brands are turning to gift guides this season to simplify gifting by bundling trending items, niche finds, and easy “for anyone” picks into one quick scroll.

At Truffle, we love that social gift guides make gifting feel fun and less overwhelming. When creators share items they genuinely love, the result feels personal, inspiring, and creatively curated. They spark ideas, spotlight small businesses, and offer quick solutions for anyone stuck on what to buy - often reminding users of products and brands they might’ve otherwise overlooked.

3rd of December

Every December, we see the TikTok trend around the "Third of December," stemming from the Conan Gray song, Heather, coming back to our feeds.

This trend is a perfect reminder of how powerful emotionally anchored dates can be in social media marketing.

Despite the song being released in 2020, this single lyric tied to a specific day ignites massive engagement every year across socials, almost like a built-in seasonal campaign that the audience revives on their own and also relates to their own lived experiences. We have no doubt it will be back again! 

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"It's important you do that"

The trend revolves around a text-overlay format on TikTok that begins with “In your 20s there will be a ...” Creators then complete the sentence with something meaningful e.g. friend you meet at work, a calling to move countries, etc. It then ends with “it’s important you do that.”

This trend feels personal, as it taps into a universal experience and allows people to connect to the content on a deeper level.

In digital culture, people like to follow accounts that make them feel something, think something or in this case, do something. That’s why a simple line like “it’s important you do that” works, because it acts as a micro-call-to-action.

AI in public

Brands are turning to AI to create scroll-stopping moments out and about, helping to cut through Black Friday and festive season content.

Currently, it seems like brands can’t win when they use AI to create realistic moments. Either they are being praised for their creativity, or shamed for using the tool.

In the world of social media marketing, there is a time and place for everything - however, when used appropriately, AI allows brands to stay ahead of the curve, and compete with other brands.

Food merch

Food brands are swapping forks for fashion, creating food merch to get their name and brand out there. Ranging from t-shirts to hats to tote bags and more, some restaurants are even creating highly specific or quirky merch with limited-edition collaborations.

This form of self expression through fashion allows loyal consumers to publicly display their affiliations with their favourite brands and restaurants, helping an overall brands awareness and trust.

It’s a great way to show, don’t tell, both on socials and IRL.

We can't wait to see what else brands come up with this December, and as usual we will be keeping our eyes peeled across all social platforms to find out!