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.
Table of Contents
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 25th). 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 7th 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
- Happy New Year!
- Start the new year on a great note – Shop deals now
- New year, new you – Cozy winter looks you can’t miss
- Shine like a diamond – Sparkly New Year’s Eve styles
- A gift for you on New Year’s
- Make those resolutions count!
- Counting down our top sellers of the year
- End-of-year sale: Our lowest prices EVER!
- Party in style with hot New Year’s Eve looks
- Start the new year with a 40% off sale
- Last chance to get your hands on these awesome deals
- The ball is dropping, and so are our prices
- Cheers to a great year ahead
- New Year’s Eve BOGO deals
- What are your New Year’s Eve plans?
- Make this the year you achieve more
Martin Luther King Day email subject lines
- King’s dream – Celebrate MLK Day
- Happy MLK Day!
- How to make the most of MLK Day
- Today, we celebrate MLK!
- Donate today for MLK Day
- Our commitment to MLK’s vision
- 40% off for MLK Day
- Celebrate MLK Day all February
Presidents’ Day email subject lines
- Don’t miss the Presidents’ Day savings!
- [Name,] we thought you’d like this for Presidents’ Day
- Our Presidents’ Day sale is ON!
- Extended! Shop Presidents’ Day savings all week long
- A hot deal on a cold day – Shop Presidents’ Day
- Get 30% off on our Presidents’ Day Sale
- It’s time to get patriotic for Presidents’ Day!
- These Presidents’ Day discounts won’t last long
- Happy Presidents’ Day! Shop sales now
Valentine’s Day email subject lines
- We ❤️ you
- Happy Valentine’s Day!
- Single and ready to mingle? Shop our collection
- The gift your sweetie wants – on sale!
- This V-Day, give him/her what they REALLY want
- Deals sweeter than chocolate
- Valentine’s Day is next week? There’s still time to order your gift!
- Free shipping on all Valentine’s Day orders
- Cupid’s on call – Will you answer?
- Don’t forget about Valentine’s Day!
- The last-minute save you need – Our top gifts
- Go gaga for these great deals
- The 50% Valentine’s Day savings won’t last long
- What are you doing this Valentine’s Day?
- Love at first sight – Shop our new collection
- That special something for a special someone
- Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day!
Read also: Engaging February Newsletter Ideas Beyond Valentine’s Day
Easter email subject lines
- Hop to it – Our sale starts now!
- Egg-citing deals you can’t miss
- Some-bunny loves you! Shop 40% off
- Spring cleaning! Make more space for these new looks
- Your free Easter gift inside
- Celebrate Easter with our biggest spring savings!
- Fill your basket with these great goodies
Memorial Day email subject lines
- The red, white, and blue – Sparkling sales
- Here’s to you this Memorial Day
- Happy Memorial Day!
- Fire up the grill with spring’s hottest deals
- The unofficial start of summer is here!
- Hot looks to hit the beach
- Take 45% off your order this Memorial Day weekend
- Sun, surf, and sales
- Have you put together your Memorial Day look yet?
- Memorial Day grilling made easy
Juneteenth email subject lines
- This year, we celebrate Juneteenth
- Our hat’s off to you this Juneteenth
- How to celebrate Juneteenth
- In honor of our roots
- How to give back on Juneteenth
Independence Day email subject lines
- A firecracker of a deal!
- A celebration of freedom
- Happy Fourth of July!
- Happy Independence Day
- Cheers to freedom
- Your beach day essentials
- Best spots to see fireworks this weekend
- The hottest deal of the summer starts NOW
- A rocket of a deal for Independence Day
- Sweet like apple pie – Shop our new arrivals
- Save big on our Fourth of July sale!
- Free shipping for Independence Day
- We extended our deal just for you!
- Enjoy this taste of freedom
- Celebrating America’s birthday
Labor Day email subject lines
- Happy Labor Day!
- Keep the grill firin’ a little longer with red-hot deals
- Is it too soon for fall deals?
- This just in – Our Labor Day deals start now!
- Goodbye summer, we’ll miss you
- How to have the best Labor Day ever
- Here’s what your Labor Day needs
- Our Labor Day clearance sale is underway!
- We started our Labor Day sale early
- Awesome deals to close out summer
- Our biggest summer sale!
- Hurry up! Our Labor Day sale is one more day
- These savings don’t come often – Save 30% for Labor Day
- We salute you
Read also: 75 Captivating Labor Day Email Subject Lines for Small Businesses
Halloween email subject lines
- No tricks – all treats!
- Spooky good savings this Halloween
- Spin the spooky wheel to reveal your savings!
- Here’s what your Halloween needs
- Sweet like candy – Great deals for Halloween
- Is your costume ready?
- Our frightfully good sale starts now!
- Get ready for trick-or-treaters
- Halloween hijinks – We extended our sale
- Brew up something delightful
- Hot Halloween deals
- Boo! Here’s free shipping when you shop today
Read also: The Best Email Subject Lines For Any Occasion [2024]
Thanksgiving email subject lines
- Happy Thanksgiving!
- A time to be thankful
- Today, we thank you, [name]
- We’re grateful for your support
- Stores are closed today; shop Black Friday tomorrow
- Go on, have seconds
- Turkey, pie, and our Black Friday sale
Read also: 103 Cyber Monday Email Subject Lines for High Impact Campaigns
Black Friday/Cyber Monday email subject lines
- The Black Friday deals are ON!
- It’s not over yet! Shop Cyber Monday savings
- Everything you need for gifts they’ll love
- Check one more gift off the list
- Shoppin’ like Santa on Black Friday
- Our Black Friday sale starts at 8 a.m.!
- Black Friday dealbusters you can’t miss!
- Go on, stay home – Shop Cyber Monday
- The deals just don’t stop!
- Exclusive offer: Cyber Monday deals begin NOW
- Black Friday savings extended one more day!
Read also: 9 Foolproof Black Friday Marketing Strategies
Christmas email subject lines
- Merry Christmas Eve! Your LAST chance to shop!
- Merry Christmas!
- Yuletide greetings to you
- Baby, it’s cold outside – stock up on winter gear
- No blue Christmas here: Get the gifts they want
- Making a list, checking it twice
- Are you done with your holiday shopping yet?
- Gifts for that person on your list who never wants anything
- A personalized selection of gifts for you
- The season of giving
- This year, we’re giving back + a Christmas gift inside!
- Reflecting on the end of the year
- Unwrap the savings! Your deal is inside
- The biggest savings of the season! Shop 50% off
- Shop now for your gifts to arrive on 12/24
- Free shipping on holiday orders over $50
- You won’t believe your eyes!
- 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!
EngageBay is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer support software with email subject line personalization, marketing automation, free email templates, A/B testing, contact segmentation, email campaigns, and more.
Sign up with EngageBay for free, or book a demo with our experts.
