Some Steam Frame reservation holders won't be invited to order until 2027. Valve said in a news update that order emails are going out either by December or in 2027, and that people in the 2027 group will get more detail on their timing by January, as Road to VR reported.
Valve has also put each reservation holder's expected order window on the Steam Frame product page. You see it there when you're logged in to your Steam account, so there's no need to wait for an email to find out which group you're in.
Valve keeps a separate reservation queue and waitlist for each region, which means some buyers will move up faster than others depending on where they live. It only starts inviting people off a region's waitlist once it has reached the end of that region's reservations. "Importantly, no one on the waitlist is leapfrogging over anyone currently holding a reservation; we're only dipping into waitlists in a region when we reach the end of its reservation queue," Valve said.
If you're still on a waitlist, Valve says you'll hear from it if spots open up. Places are sequential, so the later you joined, the further down the list you sit.
If you were hoping to give or get a Steam Frame this holiday season, check that page. A December window means an order email before the year is out, though Valve's update doesn't say how quickly those orders ship. A 2027 window means the headset won't be under the tree, and January is when Valve says it will tell that group more.