We’re not suggesting a clever promotion or a new event is going to solve any trading challenges facing the industry. But over winter we’re sharing a series of ideas, observations and examples that hospitality businesses may — or may not — have tried, to attract customers and give them a reason to come back. Some will be practical, some a little unconventional, and some may simply spark something with you.

This marketing tip focuses on winter itself as the hook.

With snow blanketing a lot of the country, it’s hard to ignore that we’re properly in it now. Rather than treating winter as something to get through, what if it’s something worth doing properly while it’s here? That’s the idea behind a Winter Bucket List — a simple checklist, foodie and otherwise, that gives your customers a reason to tick things off at your place rather than just think about them.

The list

A starter checklist you can adapt, add to, or trim to fit what you actually offer:

The idea behind a checklist

It gives you leeway to have some proper fun on your socials, without needing a new content idea every time — the list itself is the content, item after item, week after week. It’s also a genuine engagement play: a downloadable checklist with your own branding on it gives customers a reason to interact beyond a like or a follow, and gives you something worth capturing an email or a follow-up for. And it’s a nice one for the team too — something a bit different to get behind in the flatter winter months, rather than running the same specials on repeat.

It’s also a practical prompt in disguise. Each item is a soft nudge for customers to try something — and a check for you that it’s actually on offer. If red wine’s on the list, make sure there’s a full-bodied option by the glass that’s easy to recommend. If dessert’s on there, make sure winter pudding isn’t buried at the bottom of the menu.

How to use it

• Post it as-is, and let customers tick off what they’ve tried at your place specifically — a simple, shareable graphic works well here.
• Run it as a weekly series — one item a week, inviting people to share a photo when they tick it off.
• Build a single event around one item — a Roast Week, a Hot Chocolate Week, a proper Soup Sunday — using the list as the source of ideas rather than trying to cover everything at once.
• Make sure the list matches your menu. The whole point is customers can complete it at your place — if an item on your version isn’t something you actually do well, swap it for one you do.

Or just dip a toe in

None of this needs to be all-or-nothing. If a full checklist campaign feels like too much right now, pick two or three items that are genuinely already your strength — the soup, the roast, whatever you do best — and post those on their own, no list required. Even a single “tick this one off at ours” post can borrow the same spirit without any of the commitment. The list is there as a framework if you want it, not a requirement to use the whole thing.

It costs nothing to publish, it’s genuinely on-theme for the real winter we’re having, and it gives customers permission to treat winter as something to enjoy. And for you, it’s a built-in prompt to make sure the things people associate with a good winter — the soup, the roast, the red, the pudding — are all actually front and centre on your menu right now.

Check out our other Out of the Box articles:

• Out of the Box: What if your business felt more like a club?
• Out of the Box: What if the calendar became your creative partner?
• Out of the Box: Turning winter’s weather ups and downs into marketing gold
• Out of the box: The anti-hibernation winter marketing plan