200+ Ready-made holiday email subject lines to improve your open rates

It’s that time again — Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas… Marketing your business around the holidays is non-negotiable — and can be particularly effective with the right email subject line. 

Every holiday is an excuse to run a promotional deal, launch and sell new products, and check in with your customers. People are expecting to hear from your business — so you better jump on it!

Effective holiday emails aren’t one-size-fits-all. The success of your email is directly related to the holiday, your customers, and what you sell. A costume company will have a lot more success with a Halloween email than a consulting firm. But a good subject line can help them both.

There are 2 main types of emails to send on every holiday: promotional or educational.

1. Send a promotional email to make a direct sale. Promotional emails could include teasers, discounts, coupons, new and relevant products, or a storewide sale.

Promotional emails are best when they’re simple and to-the-point, like this teaser holiday discount email from Sonos:

2. Send an educational email to build a relationship with your audience. Give your customers and prospects industry news, useful local information, store updates, holiday music playlists, or other helpful information that isn’t directly tied to a sale.

This email from fitness app FitOn offers a fun challenge and recipes for Halloween:

If you have something to sell this holiday — sell it! If you want to have a sale — do it! Otherwise, still send an email with helpful information — your customers will love it!

With that in mind, here are 200+ ready-made holiday email subject lines for your sales / ecommerce emails and also educational emails.

Jump to the holiday subject lines you need today:

Black Friday

Cyber Monday

Christmas

Halloween

Thanksgiving

What makes a good holiday subject line?

More than any other time of year, you will compete for your audience’s attention during holidays — especially holidays with high sales numbers.

Keep that in mind when deciding on a subject line. Here are a few general best practices:

You can use puns, but try to avoid the very cliché ones.Be direct about your offering. Get to the point of a discount or time-frame.Keep it short and sweet. In a busy inbox, less stands out more than more.Use emojis sparingly when they add depth to your subject line.

Lastly, look at the emails stacked in your own inbox. What stands out to you? Use similar words, length, and tone to the subject lines that you find yourself drawn to.

Related: Email Subject Line Best Practices to Get More Opens

Black Friday email subject lines 

Black Friday promos are a must for any business. Whether you sell potential Christmas presents or software, everyone and their mom expects you to offer a discount the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Got a winning idea for your Black Friday promo? Great! Find a few catchy email subject lines to make sure your audience sees your promo in the crowd.

If you’re not sure what to offer, try starting with a subject line first — then hammer out the details. Either way, make sure you follow our guidelines for promoting Black Friday and Cyber Monday with an email marketing campaign.

The key to a good Black Friday email and its subject line is brevity. Keep it short and get to the point: What’s the discount, what products does it apply to, and when does it end?

This is an excellent example of simplicity in a Black Friday email from Onsen:

Towels? 30% off? Sitewide? Sold! I’m clicking that Shop the Sale button just to see what they offer.

If you sell physical products, it’s a common practice to offer free shipping too. That way your customers can get all their shopping done from home without penalty.

Okay, let’s get to the good stuff: Your Black Friday Weekend email subject lines. Note: You won’t see any newsletter subject lines in this list. Black Friday is all about promotions — it’s not the time for education.

Black Friday email subject lines for ecommerce

Teaser

It’s that time of year again… ⚫That Black Friday feelingIs It time for Black Friday already?Coming this Friday… our biggest sale yetCheck back tomorrow for our Black Friday release

Sneak peek

Sneak peek at Black FridayEarly access to Black Friday — only for our best customersEarly bird specials… they’ll run outFirst 10 people who sign up get [small gift]

Countdown

Sale Starts Tomorrow — get it while it’s hotX hours left until X% offSet your timer — the sale starts in XInventory will run out! Set an alarm for midnightTreat yourself this Black Friday 😉

Launch your promotion

Black Friday starts now — see the dealsBest sale of the year starts nowShop HUGE sales nowGet the Black Friday SaleX% off — today onlyBlack Friday Sale — 24 hours onlyBlack Friday deals — up to X% offX% off in-store and onlineBlack Friday bargains you won’t want to missTGI Black FridayX% off everythingX% off [specific product or collection]X% off [your product] until inventory runs outBlack Friday is here3-day sale starts todayBlack Friday sale drops nowToday-only: X% off

Resend your promotion

Only X hours left on this Black Friday saleRun, don’t walk to these dealsGet all your holiday shopping done todayLast chance — presents at half the priceX hours left to get X% offSale ends at midnightYou’ll Never Get A Better Deal

Subject line emojis to help you get that extra sale:

🚨
💥
⏱/⏰
🖤
🤑
🏃
🎁
🛍️
🛒
💰 
💵 
💸 
💳
⚫
📣

Cyber Monday email subject lines

In a time when more people are working remotely, and many are still uncomfortable shopping in person, Cyber Monday is a big day for sales. In 2021, buyers spent $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday alone. So make sure you have an ecommerce sale running, and be sure to promote it via email.

Here are some plug-and-play subject lines to hype up your Cyber Monday specials:

Pre-Cyber Monday email

Countdown: Cyber Monday starts in 3 … 2 … Big savings coming tomorrowThe weekend isn’t overX% off in X hoursX% off starts at midnight

Day-of Cyber Monday email

Beep Boop: Cyber Monday is hereAmazing Sale: Online Only$X off couponX% off all online coursesX% off everything plus free shippingYou could be done buying presents today!Everything ships free todayX hours left on the best sale of the yearSkip the lines, shop Cyber Monday salesShop this sale from your couchSocial distancing? Here’s the sale for you!Spin the Cyber Monday wheel — get a discountGet a special Cyber Monday discountX% off plus free shipping — today only!TGI (Cyber) Monday

Send more people to your ecommerce store with these emojis:

💻
👨‍💻/👩‍💻
✅
💰/💵
👜

Christmas email subject lines

Whether you’re running a special promotion, or just want to send a little holiday cheer, don’t miss the second most lucrative opportunity to sell to your audience — when everyone is buying presents.

Let’s start with a checklist for Christmas email subject line success:

Highlight your offers: Everyone loves savings. If you’re running a special sale, make sure to highlight it in your subject line.Understand your subscribers’ pain points: Who are they shopping for this season? Are they strapped for time? What do they need help with this season?Bring the holiday cheer: You can include (not overused) puns, classic Christmas and Hanukkah references, and/or emojis.Use the following power words: Now, You/Your, Thanks, New, Easy, and Free. Dynamically enter the subscriber’s name, too!

Related: The most powerful words to use in your email campaigns

Inspiring holiday email subject line examples

Get inspired by these holiday email subject lines from real, recognizable brands:

Instacart: Check-off your holiday shopping list with Instacart gift cardsToms: Your holiday style guide 🎄 | 35% off ends tonightFrancesca’s: Last Chance To Get It Under The 🎄 for 50% off!Groupon: Holiday stress? How ‘bout a nice massage?Bed Bath & Beyond: 🎁 5 most-wanted gifts at prices YULE love.Drybar: ‘Tis the season for blowouts!Michael’s: Happy Haul-days! Fill your cart with daily deals Trek Bicycle Store: Win the holidays with our best-loved giftsWine Insiders: 40% off to get ahead of the holiday rushTarget: 2 days ‘til Christmas & still need to shop? We can help.Paper Source: Wrap up your holiday shopping 🎁J. Crew: Image a world where all your holiday shopping is done early…M.Gemi: Shimmer or shine? 4 shoes to glam up your holidayDecorist: Alert: the holiday season is here, is your home ready?Bombas: Merry, Bright, And So Colorful

Naughty 😈 and nice 😇 Christmas subject lines

In general, positive subject lines are better than negative ones. Most companies want to be associated with positivity.

But this Christmas, we’re urging you to think outside the box with our naughty and nice list. Nice subject lines to promote positivity and naughty ones that are provocative or nod to a naughty Christmas character.

😇 Nice subject lines

Santa’s gift to you: Free shippingOne-stop-shopping for the holidaysChristmas is coming…From the shelves of the elvesRudolph’s sale: X% offCindy Lou approved presentsX% off. Our present to you[Your product] for your loved ones’ stockingI’m dreaming of a [detail related to your product] ChristmasGifts from Santa to make the kiddos smileTop holiday gifts for lessSave More! With this week’s holiday deals

😈 Naughty subject lines

Santa Baby, slip a [your product]under the treeTreat yourself to [your product] this season (we won’t tell)Baby it’s cold outside — warm up with [your product]Don’t tell our boss we’re giving you X% off todayFeeling like the Grinch this season? Try [your products]Presents for the Scrooge in your lifeWe won’t tell Santa you bought this ;)[Your product] so good it’ll be hard to keep a secretShopping last minute? We got youThis gift is from Bad SantaYou can’t always get what you want…[Except Today]

Halloween email subject lines

Businesses that sell halloween costumes and decorations should seek out ecommerce promotional email subject lines this time of year. In-person pumpkin farms, mazes, and haunted houses should send teasers, ticket sales, and event time/location information. And if you sell candy, you better make sure everyone knows it!

All other businesses should still be sending an educational Halloween newsletter. Here’s what yours could include:

Nearby mazes and haunted houses for local businessesA spooky Spotify playlistThe best neighborhoods for young trick-or-treatersTips on candy to avoid, or how to burn off those sneaky treatsPictures of your employees’ animals in costumesMust-watch horror movies once the kids are in bed

Here’s are a few of my favorite eye-catching subject lines from past years:

They’re direct, to the point, short, and engaging.

Oh dear, this local liquor store went cliche and I’m not a fan:

Check out our list of read-made subject lines to inspire your Halloween email this year. Simply copy-and-paste one, or modify it for your business content and products.

Halloween email subject lines for ecommerce

Halloween Sale ends XX% off. Get your wicked-good deal nowHalloween deals on [product or collection]Deals as sweet as candy this halloweenTrick-or-treat! Sale starts todayBone chillingly good dealsNo tricks, just treats for the kiddosBOO! Halloween specials for the whole familyScary good — up to 50% off store salesHappy Halloween: X% off storewide Monster deals waiting for youDeals that will chill your bonesSale ends on HalloweenLike grown-up trick-or-treating

Halloween email subject lines for your newsletter

Trick-or-treat at our store all monthWithout a mask: Our behind the scenes storyDIY Halloween costumesBone chilling inspirationScare your neighbors with these Halloween decorationsWicked good costumes you can wear all yearChase away the goules with these dealsHow to avoid candy cravings this HalloweenBest neighborhoods for trick-or-treating in [your state]Magical Halloween savingsStay safe this Halloween10 pets who wore it bestOur office dog’s 5 favorite costumesJust for Boo(mers)Treat yourself, no tricksJack-o-lantern carving ideas for the kids3 laws to pay attention to this trick-or-treat seasonCalorie counter — Halloween candy editionLast-minute Halloween costumesWorkouts to burn off those candy calories

Use these Halloween emojis to give your subject lines some magic:

🎃
👻
🕸
🕷
🍫/🍬
🧛🏻‍♀️
🏚️
💀/☠️
😳
😱

Thanksgiving email subject lines

For Americans stateside or abroad, Thanksgiving is a heartfelt holiday. It’s also a day everyone has off — and most people have some time in the day to check their email. Black Friday weekend comes the next day (see our next section), but any business with U.S. customers should also send out an email specifically for Thanksgiving.

Companies that sell food, alcohol, or decorations will want to send several promotional emails — all with striking subject lines since there’s competition in inboxes. If you have an Etsy store selling anything for a table setting, house decor, or food prep, make sure to send emails promoting everything you’ve got. Sell clothing? Everyone needs a cute Thanksgiving outfit that has some give around the waist.

Is your business completely unrelated to Thanksgiving? Simply say Happy Thanksgiving, and maybe send out some tips and tricks for leftovers, cleaning, or what to watch during the day. Here’s some newsletter ideas:

Workouts to stay fit around the holiday feastColors, themes, products, to design your tableThanksgiving treat ideas for your family, kids, and petsFun things to do before or after dinner

You can have some fun with a Thanksgiving email — use one of the gifs available in our Fall Gif Guide. This one is my favorite:

Thanksgiving email subject lines for ecommerce

Happy Thanksgiving! X off storewideGobble up these dealsWe’re thankful for you — [specific deal for customers]X% off as a thanks to youTurkey and Football go together like [2 products of yours]Wines that pair with a food babyThanksgiving sale? That’s gravy babyCrust us, you won’t want to miss this saleStuff yourself with these Thanksgiving dealsTasty deals this ThanksgivingX off our course — this tasty deal ends FridayThanksgiving deals gone by Black FridayWe’re offering X% off — Thanksgiving onlyCelebrate with X% off 

Thanksgiving email subject lines for your newsletter

Give thanks this seasonHappy Thanksgiving, from our Family to YoursThanksgiving or Friendsgiving this year?Family, Feast, and Fun this Thanksgiving10 family chat topics — no politicsBelly expanding outfits for ThanksgivingFall colors for your Thanksgiving tableFamily games — fun on a full stomachDIY table settings to wow your familyDesserts for the whole familyStarters your kids will loveThanksgiving recipes for calorie watchersWork off that turkey comaPre-Thanksgiving workouts to make room for turkey ;)Feeling thankful for… Give your pet a Thanksgiving dinnerWhat to do with your leftovers — 10 recipes

Emojis that are the gravy on your subject line:

🦃
🤤
💕
👪
🍁/🍂
🥔
🥕
🌽
🍗
🍽️/🍴
🏈
🧣

Stay tuned…

We’re not done giving you fresh subject lines. Stay tuned for Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, 4th of July, and more!

With AWeber, you can send holiday emails using one of our beautiful premade templates, split test your subject lines, and even create an ecommerce store to sell online. Get started for free today!

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