149 Captivating Holiday Email Subject Lines That Work

Happy holidays! It doesn’t matter which holiday it is; there’s an email subject line to go with it.

However, here’s the caveat.

Open rates are notoriously down around any major holiday. Think about it – if you have a day off, are you checking your inbox?

Probably not.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t launch holiday campaigns. It’s just that you need to be smart — with your email timing and your subject lines.

In this blog post, we’ll show you various holiday email subject lines to help you inspire your own. We’ve categorized them for different holidays, including Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s, and Christmas.

Dos and Don’ts for Writing Holiday Email Subject Lines

DO use segmentation

I know this seems like a strange suggestion, especially for holiday subject lines. However, segmentation plays a crucial role during the holiday season campaigns.

For example, there’s Thanksgiving. In Canada, this holiday is celebrated in October, whereas in America, it’s in late November. Then, many other parts of the world don’t acknowledge the holiday at all.

If you send a mass email to your entire audience wishing them a happy Thanksgiving in November, you might feel like you’re doing the right thing, but you aren’t. That message will only resonate with a small portion of your contacts and leave the others confused or annoyed.

Segmenting customers by holidays celebrated is one of the easiest (and most fun) ways to divide your list. You’ll also feel ready for the December holiday season, certain that you’ll send Kwanza celebrators their greetings versus those celebrating Christmas or Hannukah.

DON’T go overboard on the emojis

It’s a festive time; what does an extra emoji or two hurt? Nothing, if you keep it to an extra or two.

However, if your holiday subject lines are nothing but emojis or contain a few words and mostly emoticons, that’s overdoing it. Too many look spammy and detract from the quality of your message.

Read also: Should You Use Emojis in Email Subject Lines?

DO keep it simple and short

Remember, open and click-through rates are already lower around holidays. If your holiday subject line is too wordy, you will make your reader’s eyes gloss over when they’re barely engaged as it is.

More so than that, you risk your subject line getting cut off mid-sentence, confusing the reader, and failing to get the click.

DON’T be insincere

You don’t have to send a holiday greeting for every occasion on the calendar. Instead, focus on the ones that mean the most to your business and team.

A short and sweet greeting is sometimes all you need. Be authentic and showcase the emotions of your message in your subject line, where you use copy that’s near to the heart.

Read also: 103 Black Friday Email Subject Lines to Outshine Your Competition

DO offer discounts to drive open and click-through rates

If not a holiday greeting, you can count on better email marketing performance by discounting your stock. A steep sale, say, 30% or 50%, will get people clicking and buying. Use action-oriented language in your subject line to inspire readers to open the email.

DON’T mislead readers

It’s the holidays, so don’t be a grinch (even if the holiday is nowhere near December 25^th). There’s a greater temptation around major holidays to drive up the usage of extraordinary language to increase email metrics, but don’t do it.

Misleading or blatantly lying to your audience for clicks never pans out well. Your messages will get reported for spam, hurting your sender reputation. What’s worse, you’ll lose subscribers, especially if you regularly send emails with a dishonest copy.

Read also: 37 Reminder Email Subject Lines That Get Results

DO personalize your subject lines

Whether you’re part of a small niche or a large industry, you can count on your competitors to engage with your target market like you are on an upcoming holiday. If you don’t use personalization, you will lose out to your competitors.

Personalizing holiday email subject lines starts with segmenting your audience. Incorporate their name, purchase history, and product or service interests into the subject line as well.

For instance, you could send an email at Christmastime that says, “Bob, you loved our vacuum cleaner. Why not buy it for a friend this holiday?”

DON’T skip split testing

You may rush to get your holiday emails out in time, but you should never pass on A/B testing. That goes for every element of your emails, the subject line included.

If you don’t test, how do you know how your audience will react to your messages? With some minor tweaks, your campaign could have been successful, but you didn’t bother to test it, so it flopped.

I won’t pretend A/B testing is quick, but it’s always worthwhile. Holidays aren’t surprises on the calendar. If you know Valentine’s Day is coming up, don’t wait until February 7^th to start split testing. Plan it around late January. Use a good email marketing software with A/B testing feature for the best results.

DO connect emotionally

Writing expressive subject lines for the holidays is critical when your email is already competing so much harder for reader attention than during non-holiday periods.

Fostering an emotional connection builds stronger bonds between your business and the customer and can motivate them to open your email.

FOMO is a popular emotion around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and even Presidents’ Day (which has largely been commandeered as a sales occasion).

For other holidays that are less about the sales, using warm, friendly language will tap into the nostalgia that holidays are all about.

Read also: 106 Winning Christmas Email Subject Lines For Higher Open Rates

DON’T use ALL CAPS

If you’re sparingly on the emojis, capitalizing letters is the next best way to grab a reader’s attention. I’m a big believer in letting the quality of the copy speak for itself, but if you must use capitalization, a lighter hand is better.

You should only capitalize one word in your subject line, like “Get These Great Deals NOW.” If you capitalize all the characters, it sounds like you’re yelling, and no one likes that.

Read also: Catchy Email Subject Lines for any Occasion 

149 Holiday Email Subject Line Examples for Your Next Campaign

Take a look at 149 engaging holiday email subject lines for various occasions:

New Year’s Eve email subject lines

1. Happy New Year!
2. Start the new year on a great note – Shop deals now
3. New year, new you – Cozy winter looks you can’t miss
4. Shine like a diamond – Sparkly New Year’s Eve styles
5. A gift for you on New Year’s
6. Make those resolutions count!
7. Counting down our top sellers of the year
8. End-of-year sale: Our lowest prices EVER!
9. Party in style with hot New Year’s Eve looks
10. Start the new year with a 40% off sale
11. Last chance to get your hands on these awesome deals
12. The ball is dropping, and so are our prices
13. Cheers to a great year ahead
14. New Year’s Eve BOGO deals
15. What are your New Year’s Eve plans?
16. Make this the year you achieve more

Martin Luther King Day email subject lines

17. King’s dream – Celebrate MLK Day
18. Happy MLK Day!
19. How to make the most of MLK Day
20. Today, we celebrate MLK!
21. Donate today for MLK Day
22. Our commitment to MLK’s vision
23. 40% off for MLK Day
24. Celebrate MLK Day all February

Presidents’ Day email subject lines

25. Don’t miss the Presidents’ Day savings!
26. [Name,] we thought you’d like this for Presidents’ Day
27. Our Presidents’ Day sale is ON!
28. Extended! Shop Presidents’ Day savings all week long
29. A hot deal on a cold day – Shop Presidents’ Day
30. Get 30% off on our Presidents’ Day Sale
31. It’s time to get patriotic for Presidents’ Day!
32. These Presidents’ Day discounts won’t last long
33. Happy Presidents’ Day! Shop sales now

Valentine’s Day email subject lines

34. We ❤️ you
35. Happy Valentine’s Day!
36. Single and ready to mingle? Shop our collection
37. The gift your sweetie wants – on sale!
38. This V-Day, give him/her what they REALLY want
39. Deals sweeter than chocolate
40. Valentine’s Day is next week? There’s still time to order your gift!
41. Free shipping on all Valentine’s Day orders
42. Cupid’s on call – Will you answer?
43. Don’t forget about Valentine’s Day!
44. The last-minute save you need – Our top gifts
45. Go gaga for these great deals
46. The 50% Valentine’s Day savings won’t last long
47. What are you doing this Valentine’s Day?
48. Love at first sight – Shop our new collection
49. That special something for a special someone
50. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day!

Read also: Engaging February Newsletter Ideas Beyond Valentine’s Day

Easter email subject lines

51. Hop to it – Our sale starts now!
52. Egg-citing deals you can’t miss
53. Some-bunny loves you! Shop 40% off
54. Spring cleaning! Make more space for these new looks
55. Your free Easter gift inside
56. Celebrate Easter with our biggest spring savings!
57. Fill your basket with these great goodies

Memorial Day email subject lines

58. The red, white, and blue – Sparkling sales
59. Here’s to you this Memorial Day
60. Happy Memorial Day!
61. Fire up the grill with spring’s hottest deals
62. The unofficial start of summer is here!
63. Hot looks to hit the beach
64. Take 45% off your order this Memorial Day weekend
65. Sun, surf, and sales
66. Have you put together your Memorial Day look yet?
67. Memorial Day grilling made easy

Juneteenth email subject lines

68. This year, we celebrate Juneteenth
69. Our hat’s off to you this Juneteenth
70. How to celebrate Juneteenth
71. In honor of our roots
72. How to give back on Juneteenth

Independence Day email subject lines

73. A firecracker of a deal!
74. A celebration of freedom
75. Happy Fourth of July!
76. Happy Independence Day
77. Cheers to freedom
78. Your beach day essentials
79. Best spots to see fireworks this weekend
80. The hottest deal of the summer starts NOW
81. A rocket of a deal for Independence Day
82. Sweet like apple pie – Shop our new arrivals
83. Save big on our Fourth of July sale!
84. Free shipping for Independence Day
85. We extended our deal just for you!
86. Enjoy this taste of freedom
87. Celebrating America’s birthday

Labor Day email subject lines

88. Happy Labor Day!
89. Keep the grill firin’ a little longer with red-hot deals
90. Is it too soon for fall deals?
91. This just in – Our Labor Day deals start now!
92. Goodbye summer, we’ll miss you
93. How to have the best Labor Day ever
94. Here’s what your Labor Day needs
95. Our Labor Day clearance sale is underway!
96. We started our Labor Day sale early
97. Awesome deals to close out summer
98. Our biggest summer sale!
99. Hurry up! Our Labor Day sale is one more day
100. These savings don’t come often – Save 30% for Labor Day
101. We salute you

Read also: 75 Captivating Labor Day Email Subject Lines for Small Businesses

Halloween email subject lines

102. No tricks – all treats!
103. Spooky good savings this Halloween
104. Spin the spooky wheel to reveal your savings!
105. Here’s what your Halloween needs
106. Sweet like candy – Great deals for Halloween
107. Is your costume ready?
108. Our frightfully good sale starts now!
109. Get ready for trick-or-treaters
110. Halloween hijinks – We extended our sale
111. Brew up something delightful
112. Hot Halloween deals
113. Boo! Here’s free shipping when you shop today

Read also: The Best Email Subject Lines For Any Occasion [2024]

Thanksgiving email subject lines

114. Happy Thanksgiving!
115. A time to be thankful
116. Today, we thank you, [name]
117. We’re grateful for your support
118. Stores are closed today; shop Black Friday tomorrow
119. Go on, have seconds
120. Turkey, pie, and our Black Friday sale

Read also: 100+ Original Thanksgiving Email Subject Lines to Inspire Your Campaigns

Black Friday/Cyber Monday email subject lines

121. The Black Friday deals are ON!
122. It’s not over yet! Shop Cyber Monday savings
123. Everything you need for gifts they’ll love
124. Check one more gift off the list
125. Shoppin’ like Santa on Black Friday
126. Our Black Friday sale starts at 8 a.m.!
127. Black Friday dealbusters you can’t miss!
128. Go on, stay home – Shop Cyber Monday
129. The deals just don’t stop!
130. Exclusive offer: Cyber Monday deals begin NOW
131. Black Friday savings extended one more day!

Read also: 9 Foolproof Black Friday Marketing Strategies

Christmas email subject lines

132. Merry Christmas Eve! Your LAST chance to shop!
133. Merry Christmas!
134. Yuletide greetings to you
135. Baby, it’s cold outside – stock up on winter gear
136. No blue Christmas here: Get the gifts they want
137. Making a list, checking it twice
138. Are you done with your holiday shopping yet?
139. Gifts for that person on your list who never wants anything
140. A personalized selection of gifts for you
141. The season of giving
142. This year, we’re giving back + a Christmas gift inside!
143. Reflecting on the end of the year
144. Unwrap the savings! Your deal is inside
145. The biggest savings of the season! Shop 50% off
146. Shop now for your gifts to arrive on 12/24
147. Free shipping on holiday orders over $50
148. You won’t believe your eyes!
149. Our Christmas wish for you

Read also: Christmas Email Marketing Templates to Copy & Send Now

Wrapping Up

Get excited when the holidays come around with these holiday email subject lines that inspire curiosity, wonderment, nostalgia, happiness, and maybe a little FOMO in your readers. You can still achieve awesome open rates even when email engagement is lower, and it all starts with the holiday subject line!

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