Custom Graduation Tassels for December and Mid-Year Commencement
school colors for the winter ceremony.

Published October 15, 2026. Last updated October 15, 2026.

Where can a school get custom graduation tassels for a December ceremony?

Custom Grad Tassel makes custom graduation tassels for December and mid-year commencement as a stand-alone order, so a winter class does not have to borrow from spring stock or settle for a generic catalog color. You send your school colors, the graduating year and an approximate headcount through the quote form, and a free mockup comes back within 24 hours.

Winter ceremonies are usually smaller than spring commencement, and that is where many suppliers struggle. A grad tassel order here starts at 12 pieces, which covers a single department, a graduate program or a high school that recognizes early finishers at semester break. The process is the same one used for full spring classes, described on the how it works page: mockup, unlimited free revisions, approval, then production.

Because nothing is charged until you approve the design, a registrar or activities coordinator can request a mockup early in the fall term, share it with the committee, and lock the order once the graduate list settles.

How early should we order grad tassels for winter commencement?

Order grad tassels for a December ceremony by the middle of the fall term, leaving comfortable time beyond the production window before the event. Standard production takes about 2 weeks after design approval, and the extra margin covers proof review, holiday shipping volume and any late additions to the graduate list.

Work backward from the ceremony date with this sequence:

1. Request the mockup. Send colors, year and a headcount estimate; the mockup arrives within 24 hours.
2. Confirm colors with the committee. Use unlimited free revisions to settle thread colors and the charm.
3. Finalize the count. Add a few spares for graduates who clear requirements late in the term.
4. Approve and produce. Production runs about 2 weeks from approval.
5. Ship with a buffer. Choose express shipping if the ceremony falls close to the holiday break.

Ceremonies held in January, after the break, need the same planning. Campus offices often close for the holidays, so the approval and delivery should both land before the closure rather than after it.

Should mid-year graduates wear the same tassel as the spring class?

Mid-year graduates should wear the same custom grad tassel design as the spring class whenever the institution treats them as one graduating cohort. Matching colors and charm style tell families and future employers that a December graduate earned the same credential, and the photos look consistent in yearbooks and on alumni pages.

There are good reasons to vary the design, too. Some schools give winter graduates their own year charm because the calendar year differs from the spring class. Graduate programs may use degree-specific colors, which the master’s graduate tassels and doctoral graduate tassels pages cover in more detail.

Which year goes on the charm for a December graduate?

The year charm on a December graduate’s tassel should match the year printed on the diploma, which for a December ceremony is usually the current calendar year. A January ceremony for students who finished in the fall term may still use the prior year, so the registrar is the right person to confirm before you approve the mockup.

Custom Grad Tassel shows the charm on the mockup so the committee can check the year, the finish and the placement before anything is produced. If your school hosts both a December ceremony and a spring ceremony in different calendar years, order them as two separate runs. Mixing two charm years inside one shipment creates sorting work for staff and a real risk that a graduate walks with the wrong year.

More detail on finishes and styles is on the custom graduation tassels with year charm page.

How do small winter classes meet the minimum order?

Small winter classes meet the minimum by ordering at least 12 grad tassels, which most December ceremonies reach easily once spares are counted. A department graduating a handful of students can add tassels for faculty marshals, a keepsake set for the program office, or spares for late completers to reach the minimum.

Several practical ways schools handle a short class list:

• Combine programs. Several departments sharing a ceremony and the same school colors can order together.
• Keep spares. Extra tassels cover replacements and graduates added after the count.
• Plan for the next ceremony. If the design and year charm match, leftover tassels can serve the following ceremony in the same year.

A headcount from the registrar plus a small buffer is usually enough. If you are unsure of the final number, request a quote with your best estimate and adjust the quantity before approval.

What goes wrong on a mid-year tassel order?

The most common problem on a mid-year grad tassel order is timing around the holiday break, followed by a wrong year charm and colors that do not match the spring tassels. Each one is avoidable with a short checklist before you approve the mockup.

• Late approval. A mockup sitting in an inbox during finals week pushes production into the holidays.
• Wrong charm year. Confirm the diploma year with the registrar, not the academic-year label.
• Color drift. Share the spring order details or official color references so both runs match. The color-matched graduation tassels page explains how matching works.
• Delivery to a closed office. Ship to an address that is staffed the week of delivery.

Custom Grad Tassel flags these points during the mockup stage, and you pay nothing until you approve the final design.