Did you hear that U.S. shoppers spent $241.4 billion during the 2024 holiday season (an 8.7 percent increase from the previous year)? That’s HUGE! Millions of marketers and retailers will continue putting the pedal to the metal on their email channel to offer promotions and connect with customers in the 2025 holiday season. But to drive results, they need to write compelling subject lines that make people actually want to open their emails.
Here are 70 holiday-inspired email marketing subject lines to get your creative juices flowing.
Best practices for subject lines
Well-crafted subject lines can make or break your holiday email marketing campaigns. In fact, 43 percent of people open an email based on the subject line alone—the first thing subscribers see.
In the inbox, a snap decision is made if the email’s content is worth a click, or if it’s time to keep scrolling through their overstuffed inboxes. Writing attention-grabbing holiday email subject lines is essential, and these best practices will help engage your subscribers, encourage conversions, and help you cut through a noisy inbox:
- Be concise: Short subject lines stand out amongst the clutter—we suggest no more than nine words and about 60 characters.
- Get personal: A personalized subject line is way more enticing than something generic. 74 percent of marketers claim a 20 percent revenue increase after implementing personalization.
- Segment your mailing list: By segmenting your audience, you can create targeted subject lines tailored to each group’s preferences and needs. Because the subject line is more likely to resonate with the receiver, there’s a higher chance they’ll open the email. Segmented email campaigns enjoy 760 percent more revenue than those not segmented.
- Create a sense of urgency and intrigue: Use language that drives subscribers to take action immediately. Limited time offers and scarcity can help ignite FOMO (fear of missing out) in your audience that can help get them to reach for their wallets.
70 holiday email subject lines
We’ve gathered some of the best holiday subject lines to help kick–start your brainstorming session for the upcoming season—feel free to use them as is or make them your own!
General holiday subject lines
Subject lines that reference no particular holiday are a great way to launch your campaign and get your subscribers feeling festive:
- Add some joy to your holidays with [brand]
- Celebrate the season with [brand]
- Seasons greetings from [brand]
- Here’s to sugar, spice, and everything nice!
- From our family to yours: Happy holidays!
- Wishing you a happy holiday season!
- Merry everything and a happy always!
- [Recipient], happy holidays!
- Let’s get festive!
Cyber Monday subject lines
Cyber Monday is a major shopping event for U.S. consumers. In 2024, it sparked a spend of $13.3 billion—a 7.3 percent increase from the year before.
This is the perfect time to use urgency in your subject lines to capitalize on subscribers’ willingness to spend. To get your foot in the door before competitors, use that energy and intrigue to help drive immediate action.
Here are some subject lines you can use to create a buzz before Cyber Monday:
- Get ready for the biggest shopping event of the year
- A sneak peek inside our Cyber Monday deals
- Cyber Monday is around the corner!
- Surprise! Another Cyber Monday special is here
- Cyber Monday: Get up to 50% off!
- Our Cyber Monday sale is live!
Use these toward the end of Cyber Monday:
- Don’t miss out! Last 2 hours to shop 70% off
- Only 1 day left! Get 50%-80% off everything
- This is it. Cyber Monday is almost over!
- Last chance to score a deal!
Holiday special offer subject lines
Beyond Cyber Monday and Black Friday, promotional emails are vital during other holiday events. Alert your subscribers to exclusive deals and special discounts in your subject lines to increase revenue:
- You’re invited: Here’s exclusive access to our holiday collection!
- Happy holidays, [recipient]! Here’s 15% off
- We’re spreading the holiday cheer! Here’s 20% off
- Get ready for [holiday] with 30% off!
- ‘Tis the season for some amazing deals!
- Celebrate the season with savings
- Here’s a holiday sneak peek
- Our holiday deals are here!
- Festive savings await you!
- Psst. Holiday deals inside.
Last-minute shopping subject lines
Though the weeks before specific holidays are the perfect opportunity to convert early shoppers, you should also target the procrastinators in a rush to buy gifts. Focus your subject lines on the urgency of a “last chance” deal, and provide the solution to their procrastination problem:
- Left it until the last minute? We have express shipping
- Last chance for delivery before [holiday]
- Have you forgotten someone? We’ve got you!
- Last chance: shipping deadline is tomorrow!
- Order by tomorrow, get it by [holiday]
- Last-minute shopping? We have you covered
- You can still get it in time for [holiday]!
- Attention all procrastinators!
- ‘Tis the season to hurry up!
- No gift yet? No problem!
Holiday emoji subject lines
Including emojis in your email subject lines for holiday communications is a fun way to drive engagement. A little splash of color can help your email stand out amongst the black-and-white text of your subscribers’ inboxes. There are plenty of holiday-specific emojis to choose from, and you can even use them to replace specific words or hint at the contents of your email.
Use emojis in a way that fit with your brand and audience and try not to go too crazy with them. Stick to one or two per subject line:
- Welcome another year with a new wardrobe 👠👗
- Experience the holiday magic with [brand] 🌟
- 🚨 This is not a drill! 70% off for Cyber Monday🚨
- Looking for stocking stuffers? We’ve got you! 🍬
- Them: Is it too early? 🎃 Us: Never!
- [Recipient], your 🎁 is here!
- Spooky savings are here! 👻🎃
- Need a gift? The ⏰ is ticking!
- Keep calm. Get a gift card! 💌
- ❄️ Winter deals are here!
Pre-sale subject lines
Hype up your next sale! These holiday subject lines for your email campaigns can notify your subscribers ahead of time so they will be on the lookout for exclusive deals:
- [Recipient], you have early access to our [holiday] sale!
- Your early access to the [holiday] sale, [recipient]
- Celebrate the season with savings! Get 30% off in 24 hours
- Mark your calendars! Our festive sale starts on [date]
- Countdown to [holiday] sale! Get 20% off
- Priority access: Enjoy exclusive season savings
- Are you ready? Shop our festive offers tonight!
- Get ready: [holiday] sale starts soon!
- [Holiday] sale starts tomorrow!
- Seasons savings in 72 hours!
Post-holiday subject lines
Whether you want to thank your subscribers or promote clearance sales, post-holiday subject lines require a lot of finesse. Many consumers could be tired of holiday emails, so be sure to strike a balance between attention-grabbing but not too over the top:
- What a holiday season! Here’s 20% off to say thanks
- The season is not over till we say it is! Here’s 10% off
- We’re ending the holidays with a bang! Get 40% off
- We’re welcoming another year with 30% off!
- You thought we were done? Here’s 30% off
- Didn’t get what you wanted? Get it on sale
- We still have some holiday cheer left in us!
- It’s the end of the silly season sale!
- It’s the after-[holiday] sale!
- Last sale of the holiday season!
The importance of email deliverability
In addition to crafting compelling subject lines, marketers should measure deliverability to keep track of their email lists’ health and sender reputation. A poor sender reputation might make mailbox providers think you’re a spammer.
Even the best holiday email subject lines won’t drive sales if your sends aren’t landing in an inbox. Email deliverability is your ability to reach subscribers’ inboxes instead of being flagged as spam or blocked. The better your deliverability, the more emails will reach subscribers, and the higher email ROI of course.
Unfortunately, millions of emails end up in spam folders each year, damaging marketers’ sender reputations with Google, Yahoo, and other mailbox providers. This eventually results in even more emails being marked as spam. Plus, monitoring and managing deliverability can be expensive, time-consuming, and challenging without expert support and the correct technology. This is where Validity’s email solutions can help you send with confidence.
Ensure your emails are delivered with Validity
Whether you’ve already planned your holiday emails or just started writing subject lines, ensure that recipients see your content. In addition to crafting engaging, relevant, and time-sensitive subject lines, a better deliverability rate will help you take advantage of peak sales season.
Looking to track your success and leverage data to make the most of peak sales season? Check out our guide on how to track email performance metrics beyond the surface level numbers you get from your email service provider.