With the holiday season prompting many families to celebrate at home, the coming weeks are expected to rank among the busiest food-delivery days of the year once again. This annual surge of orders impacts far more than the increased number of consumers; drivers, restaurants and third-party delivery platforms all make adjustments for the holly jolly jump in demand.
According to a 2025 restaurant delivery trends forecast from Uber Eats, holidays drive significant spikes in deliveries, with data showing consistent year-over-year growth. Similarly, this month, DoorDash reported the holidays represent a promising opportunity for restaurants to reel in additional revenue and secure customers who may stick around throughout the coming year.
February 2025 findings published by DoorDash revealed that late-December and early-January accounted for four of the 20 busiest holiday and special occasions last year: Christmas and New Year’s Day ranked first and second, respectively, with New Year’s Eve in 11th and Dec. 26 at 19th on the list.
While the holiday season brings some of the most order-heavy days of the year, it also attracts a flood of part-time delivery drivers looking to cash in on an abundance of work available through apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Sergio Avedian, a senior contributor for The Rideshare Guy, described the pattern of an increased number of drivers logging on to meet the holiday rush as one he’s noticed consistently throughout his nine years of delivery and rideshare gig work.
“Those are the days that a lot of part-timers also come online because they want to make the extra cheese that they are not going to make any other way,” Avedian said of the holidays. “Also, companies put out bonuses to entice drivers to come on the platforms — to turn the apps on — so they can have enough supply for the demand that’s going to show up.”
One factor contributing to the rise in holiday orders, Avedian said, is the push from 3PD platforms to deliver more than meals. Prescriptions, groceries, alcohol and even Christmas trees have joined the list of eligible delivery items.
In August, DoorDash published an article stating that holidays drive 38 percent of American consumers, 35 percent of Canadians and 28 percent of Australians to order alcoholic drinks for delivery.
“They have increased their verticals aggressively over the last couple of years, and it’s become busier and busier and busier,” Avedian said. …“Although demand (number of orders) is up, supply (number of drivers) is also up, and there is a little bit of an imbalance of oversaturated markets at the moment, because the demand increase is not keeping pace with the supply increase.”
According to Nov. 17 economic analysis from Goldman Sachs, research suggests that roughly 15 percent of people reported as unemployed or not in the labor force are actually engaged in gig work, and that one in five people who took a pay cut, lost their job or saw a decrease in work hours took up gig work in response.
The uptick in gig workers indicates the holiday surge of 3PD drivers will be prevalent again, helping lower potential delivery costs in many markets.
A Nov. 11 article from DoorDash directed at merchants reported that Christmas Day food delivery and takeout is an increasingly popular tradition for consumers, citing data showing a 150 percent year-over-year jump in searches for “Christmas Day dinner delivery near me.”
To help restaurants capitalize on the 3PD cash cow of Christmas and adjacent holiday celebrations, the DoorDash article suggested that operators consider holiday menus, specials, and promotions — including items like meal bundles exclusively for delivery.
