I would strongly prefer a January deadline, for two reasons. First, I kinda hate christmas (calling it "the holidays" is too often just a euphemism), but that's just me. Second, and probably more pertinent to other prospective participants, there is already so much going on in December for many (though not all) of us, in fandom and in other spaces. It's a good idea to spread the love. And that certainly doesn't preclude people from writing/requesting holiday themes, just because it's "out of season", does it? Perhaps if you set up a wide posting window, say the entire month of January--keeners/people who want to tie their work to some December holidays can post early, and it gives a little slack time/distance to other folks. Thoughts?