If you want a Christmas spare tire cover on the rig by Christmas Eve, order it by Wednesday, November 25. That is the day before Thanksgiving, and it surprises people every year. Covers are made to order, not pulled off a shelf, so the calendar works backward from production rather than from shipping. Here are the dates that matter, 12 designs worth running, and how to get the size right the first time.
The short version
- Tire covers and seat covers: order by Wednesday, November 25, to be safe for Christmas Eve delivery.
- Vinyl decals and stickers: order by Tuesday, December 8. They are quicker to produce, so you get nearly two extra weeks.
- Everything is made to order. Production is 10 to 14 business days for covers, and 5 to 7 for decals, and expedited shipping does not speed production up.
- Size is based on the mounted, inflated diameter of the spare, not the numbers on the sidewall. When you land between two sizes, round up.
- If the rig has a rear camera, choose the camera-hole version. On a Wrangler JL and a Ford Bronco, the lens sits in the spare wheel hub, behind the cover. A Gladiator carries its spare under the bed, so a cover never blocks its camera.
The order-by dates worked out
Most holiday shipping guides give you a carrier cutoff. That is the wrong number for anything made to order, because the clock starts when production does, not when the box ships.
Our published production times are 10 to 14 business days for tire covers, seat covers, and sunshades, and 5 to 7 business days for vinyl graphics and decals. Orders are processed Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, and November has two of those sitting in the middle of the run.
Working backward from Christmas Eve, allowing worst-case production and five business days for the carrier:
| What you are ordering | Order by (safe) | Cutting it fine |
|---|---|---|
| Tire covers, seat covers, sunshades | Wed, November 25 | Thu, December 3 |
| Vinyl decals and stickers | Tue, December 8 | Thu, December 10 |
The safe column assumes everything runs long. The second column assumes production lands at the fast end and the carrier behaves, which is a reasonable bet most of the time and a bad one in a storm week. If the cover is the gift rather than a decoration for your own rig, take the safe date.
One thing to know before you pay for faster shipping: expedited shipping moves the box faster; it does not move the sewing machine. Paying for overnight on November 30 does not get a cover made any sooner.
12 Christmas designs worth running
A spare tire cover is the largest flat panel on the back of most Jeeps and Broncos, which makes it the one piece of holiday decoration that reads from across a parking lot. Every design below is printed in full color on a UV-resistant polyester-and-nylon weave, slips on with a drawstring, and is machine washable when the season ends. All are $69.99.
The classics
If you want the cover to read as Christmas from fifty feet, these are the safe picks. Christmas Wreath is the most restrained of the lot and the one most likely to survive into January without anyone minding. Saint Nicholas and Silent Night lean traditional and warm. Stained Glass Snowman and Jolly Snowman and Reindeer Night both use a deep night-sky background, which holds up better against dark paint than a white-heavy design does.
The ones that make people laugh
Trail humor is half of why people buy covers at all. Goofy Santa Claus and Surprised Rudolph are built for a double take in the mirror of the car behind you. Dino Claus T-Rex is exactly what it sounds like, and it is consistently one of the most asked-about covers we make. If your family runs an ugly sweater competition, this is the vehicular equivalent.
The food group
Gingerbread House, Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Cookies, and Peppermint Christmas Candy make up the sweetest corner of the lineup. They photograph well, which matters more than it sounds, because these are the covers that end up on other people's phones at the trailhead.
That is 12, and the Holiday and Seasonal collection runs to 76 designs across Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's, and more. If the Bigfoot theme is more your speed, Jolly Holly Yeti sits in both camps.
Getting the size right
This is where holiday orders go wrong, and it is worth two minutes to avoid.
Measure the mounted, inflated tire, not the sidewall. A tire marked 33x12.50R15 is near enough 33 inches. A tire marked 285/70R17 doesn't look like anything until you do the math, and the answer is about 32.7 inches, which our size chart puts on a 33-inch cover. Put a tape measure across the face of the spare, top to bottom, and record that number, then look it up in our tire cover size guide. It has a calculator and a full chart by rim diameter. If you land between two sizes, round up: the drawstring cinches a slightly large cover down, and a small one will not stretch on.
Check for a rear camera. Plenty of modern rigs have one, and a cover without an opening will blind it. On a Jeep Wrangler JL and a Ford Bronco, the lens looks out through the spare wheel hub, in the middle of the wheel, so the cover lies straight across it. Choose the camera-hole option if yours has one. A Gladiator carries its spare under the bed from the factory and its camera in the tailgate, so a cover never blocks it.
If you are buying it as a surprise, you need the tire size without asking. The easiest route is a photo of the spare taken straight on, close enough to read the sidewall. Failing that, the tire size is usually on the driver's door jamb sticker, though that gives you the factory size rather than whatever is actually on the rig now. There is more on buying one blind in our guide to custom spare tire covers as gifts.
What happens after Christmas
A fair question, and the honest answer is that most people take the Christmas cover off in January and go back to their regular one. These are made to order, so you are buying a second cover rather than a replacement.
That is worth knowing up front. If you want one cover that works year-round, pick something seasonal-neutral from the full spare tire cover collection and save the Christmas design for the years you want it. If you like the idea of swapping with the calendar, the covers fold flat and store in a drawer, and the holiday collection includes Halloween and Valentine's designs in the same size.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need to order a Christmas spare tire cover?
By Wednesday, November 25, to be safe for Christmas Eve delivery. Tire covers take 10 to 14 business days to produce; we process orders Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, and Thanksgiving falls in the middle of that window. December 3 is the latest date with a reasonable chance, and it depends on production running at the fast end.
Will expedited shipping get my Christmas tire cover here faster?
It moves the parcel faster, not the production. Every cover is made to order, so expedited shipping shortens the transit leg only. If you are up against a deadline, ordering earlier helps, and upgrading shipping usually doesn't.
What size Christmas tire cover do I need?
Measure the mounted, inflated diameter of your spare, top to bottom across the face, and order that size. Do not use the numbers printed on the sidewall directly: a metric size like 285/70R17 works out to roughly 32.7 inches, which our size chart puts on the 33-inch cover. If you land between two sizes, round up.
Can I get a Christmas tire cover with a backup camera hole?
Yes. Choose the camera-hole option at checkout. It matters on the Jeep Wrangler JL and the Ford Bronco, where the lens looks out through the spare wheel hub and the cover lies across it. A Gladiator carries its spare under the bed and its camera in the tailgate, so a cover never blocks it.
Will a Christmas tire cover hold up to winter weather?
It will. The covers are printed in full color on a UV-resistant polyester and nylon weave, so cold, snow, and road salt aren't a problem for a few weeks in December. You can machine-wash them when you take them off.
Do Christmas tire covers fit a Ford Bronco as well as a Jeep?
Yes. Covers are sized by tire diameter rather than by vehicle, so the same design fits a Jeep Wrangler, a Gladiator with a bed-mounted carrier, a Ford Bronco, an RV, or a trailer, as long as you order the right diameter.
Order before November 25
76 holiday designs, made to order, sized to your spare. Order by Wednesday, November 25, to be safe for Christmas Eve.
Shop Holiday Tire Covers →Free shipping on orders over $59.99.
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