Biggest Holiday and Sales Days for Email Marketing in 2021

It takes a lot of time and resources to have efficient email marketing campaigns. Sometimes we aren’t able to do everything on time. There’s always something unexpected that pops up on our list to be sent out. That’s why you should plan your campaigns ahead of time. Doing so will help you speed up your email production process.

Why plan email marketing campaigns in advance?

Knowing every holiday months in advance and having an email marketing calendar can help you to be on time with every email in the campaign, organize your lists, and send the right emails to the right audiences. Use a marketing calendar to avoid confusion, miscommunication, and prevent team conflicts or last-minute mishaps.

You can be more productive and focus on other tasks, planning, and execution, which leads to your email marketing being more effective. If you are working in a team of 5+ (designer, copywriter, manager, proofreader, etc.) in your email marketing team, you probably know how much time it takes for a designer to design an email, a copywriter to write the copy, a proofreader to proofread, the manager to approve, and so on. An email marketing calendar can help keep these tasks organized and speed up the turnaround time.

Why holidays and sales are important?

Since there are many holidays every year, you have many chances to create an effective holiday email and increase your sales. You don’t want to let any of them slip through your fingers.

To help you plan, we’ve compiled the biggest sale days and holidays that can be used in email marketing campaigns. With the help of the tips and tricks here on how to design and create an effective holiday email, you will be able to grow your business this year.

In November 2018, Adobe said that Cyber Monday broke online sales records with $7.9 billion. Buying from mobile devices has definitely become a huge trend. More than 46% of consumers prefer to use their smartphones to complete the entire process from researching to buying. You can surely expect that number to increase every year. That’s why it’s vital for your emails to be fully responsive (mobile-friendly).

Source: Outerbox

In this article, you will find important information about the holidays and sale days, products that are most purchased, subject lines that will help you get great open rates, email design examples that will guarantee better email conversions, and free email templates for the particular holiday that you can customize to work for your brand and products.

Let’s go through each of them.

New Year’s Day

January 1st (Worldwide)

New Year’s Day has always been about resolutions. You already knew that, but maybe you didn’t know how you can use this day in your email marketing. The best thing you can do for this occasion is notified your customers about what your yearly resolutions are, remind them of what are your company objectives for the new year, and let them know what have you achieved in the past year. This is an easy way to show them how much you improved, and it’s great for the re-engagement of your subscribers

You must know by now that customer retention is cheaper than acquiring new customers, and existing customers are more likely to convert than new ones. Use it to introduce new features or products that you plan to release this year. If you’re in the e-commerce industry, there are various New Year sales that you can use to promote your special offers. We have written tips for successful seasonal e-commerce emails, and we have some predesigned e-commerce email templates that you can use for free.

Products: bedding and linens, TVs and electronics, and fitness equipment, because retailers know that everyone’s new year resolution is to finally start working out. If you are in the SaaS field, focus on new features and what have you accomplished last year (how many new users, market share growth, employee number, etc.)

New Year’s Day subject lines ideas

• New Year, new software design
• With the New Year, We Are Introducing New Features
• With the New Year, Have a New look
• New Year. New Stuff.
• New Year’s Resolutions & Motivation

New Year’s Day email design examples

Canva- Start this New Year fresh

In this example, you can see how Canva used this occasion to introduce their New Year’s resolution, which is to have more templates, more features, and to empower the world to design. It has a CTA button that invites the subscribers to ‘’refresh their look’’, aka make new designs. They actually sent this email on the 24th of December. You can play around with dates also (end of December-beginning of January).

Grammarly- Oh the Places You’ll Go

Another great example of a New Year’s Day email comes from Grammarly, which used this opportunity to communicate with their subscribers about their New Year’s goals. They also have a section with a special New Year’s Day offer. They sent it on the 3rd of January using the subject line: ”2019: Goals, Inspiration, and Getting the Most from Our Product”.

Read more | Full guide to New Year email marketing campaigns

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Monday 18 January 2021

On January 20th, in the US, there is a big celebration for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This holiday has become an occasion for many businesses to connect with their clients. Since the main theme is not commercial, the objective of your email is to promote offers that relate to activities where families get together.

Products: Events for families

Martin Luther King Jr. subject lines

• Enjoy family togetherness on MLK day!
• Honor Dr. King With A DIY Keepsake

Martin Luther King Jr. Day email design examples

Kmart- Martin Luther King Jr. Day SALE

Kmart used this occasion for their email marketing campaign where they promote their MLK Day sale and free shipping with coupon code: MLKDAY. Red colors match their brand and the holiday. Since this is a holiday that many people say it should not be commercialized, I wouldn’t use email to promote any sales like this example.

Valentine’s Day

Friday 14 February (Worldwide)

February 14th is Valentine’s Day. It is a day when people around the world celebrate feelings of love, feelings, and friendship toward each other. Many like to engage in different activities such as romantic dinners, sending happy valentine email greeting cards, and buying gifts. Typical Valentine’s gifts are usually chocolates, jewelry, perfumes or flowers to their partners. CNBC.com predicted that people aged 25-to-34 will be spending the most on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2018, with an average of $202.76 per person.

Products: Jewelry, TVs, winter gift item

Valentine’s Day subject lines

• Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤
• ❤ Love is in the air! Happy Valentine’s Day
• Hey, Valentine. Here’s your XX% OFF..
• PSST…Today Is Valentine’s Day!
• Don’t forget…today is Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day email design examples

Net-A-Porter – Happy Valentine’s Day with love

This Valentine’s Day email from Net-a-porter.com is not an example of typical Valentine’s Day email colors but the title and the feminine products that are promoted- women’s clothing, makeup, and jewelry are a bingo.

Dr. Martens – Made to break hearts

This is a beautiful example of a typical Valentine’s Day email with traditional Valentine’s colors. I just love the Hero ‘’Made to break hearts’’ and the image with the main focus on the products within the heart. You can use this as an inspiration to design your Valentine’s Day email and promote your Valentine’s Day sale.

Steve Madden – Be mine

Here we have another awesome example of a more business-like Valentine’s Day email. It’s a great example that shows how Valentine’s Day emails don’t always have to be girlish.

👉 We’ve designed some Valentine’s Day templates that you can use.

International Women’s Day

Monday 08 March 2021

International Women’s Day is a global event celebrating women and their achievements all over the world. Women’s day is a great occasion for any brand to celebrate their female clients and employees.

👉 Discover more about international women’s day email marketing in our complete inspiration guide.

Presidents’ Day

Monday 15 February 2021 (USA)

Presidents’ Day, is a US holiday held on the third Monday of February. (This year it will be on February 17th.). If you are not from US, and you are wondering what is Presidents’ Day all about, this day honors presidents of the US, sometimes specifically Washington and Lincoln. Most businesses and stores have sales. You can send a happy Presidents’ Day email to your subscribers and promote your best deals. Give your subscribers from US an opportunity to find their best buy for your Presidents’ Day sale through your email.

Products: Home goods, furniture, and apparel

Presidents’ day subject line ideas

• Presidents’ day SALE! All XX off!
• BIG Presidents’ day sale!
• X% OFF on Presidents’ day!

Presidents’ Day email design examples

Girlzlyfe.com – Presidents’ Day SALE

A patriotic Presidents’ Day email example from GirlzLyfe.com promoting free shipping and a sale on this occasion. You can use this email design as an inspiration, no matter in which industry you are working at.

Home Decorators Collection – Presidents’ Day sale

Another Presidents’ Day themed email design example from Home Decorators Collection promoting free shipping and discounts on furniture and home goods.

👉 More Presidents’ Day templates that you can use in your campaign, you can find here.

Easter Weekend

Sunday 4 April 2021 (Worldwide)

Easter is a holiday that falls on a different date each year and also it’s on a different date for Eastern Orthodox countries.
That’s why you need to take special precautions when planning your email campaigns. Also, since it’s lasting the whole weekend, you can send several emails or just one, depending on your goals and audience. According to NFR, Easter spending was expected to be a total of $18.2 billion in 2018. A total of 81 percent of Americans was planned to celebrate this holiday and spend an average of $152.

Products: Home goods, easter candy, plastic eggs, plush animals, and similar items.

Easter email subject lines

• Have Your Easter Basket- Savings Up to X% 🐰
• Happy Easter – 🐰
• Happy Easter: Free Shipping!
• Hoppy Easter!! 🐰
• 🐰 Hop for Easter sales

Easter email design examples

Chicmarket – These deals are CRACKIN’

I don’t know about you, but I love humor in emails and it’s proven that emails with humor work better to get conversions. This example is just hilarious for me. Even the call to action, ‘’Get to Crackin’’, makes me want to click it — even though I don’t really need to buy anything. This is definitely my favorite example from this article.

Hotel Chocolat – Easter Shopping Day

This Hotel Chocolat Easter email design is another beautiful Easter email example. Images of eggs and Easter bunnies usually work well in most Easter emails. It doesn’t use humor like in the previous example, but it’s simple and well designed.

Mother’s Day

Sunday 9 May 2021 (USA), Sunday 14 March 2021 (UK)

Mother’s Day is a day for all mothers around the world. It’s not a public holiday but you can use it for your email marketing campaign. Here is why this email campaign might get tricky. Mother’s Day in the US and most of the countries in the world happens on the second Sunday in May, which in 2021 is going to be on May 9th, while in the UK. Mother’s Day in 2021 will be on Sunday, March 31st. This is why you need to plan the dates and your email list in advance. Avoid sending a Mother’s Day email to your American subscribers in March.

Many retail and e-commerce shops offer special promotions on this occasion. According to USA Today, the average consumer spending for Mother’s Day is $224. Mother’s Day shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 are most likely (62%) to use smartphones to research their purchases and compare prices, so having a responsive email design and website is vital. Try using a countdown timer in your emails to increase the sense of urgency.

**Products: Gifts for mothers, concert tickets, clothes, jewelry, flowers.

Mother’s Day subject line ideas

• Mother’s Day must-haves
• What Moms Really, Really Want…
• Unique Gift Ideas for Moms 🎁
• Mother’s Day gift ideas 🎁

Mother’s Day email design examples

Dr. Martens’ Mum’s the word

We just love Dr. Martens’s email designs, and we won’t keep it a secret! They did well with the Valentine’s Day email and they keep on surprising us with their designs. Mother’s Day emails should be all about mothers, and that’s exactly the main focus of this email. ‘’Mum’s the word’’ headline, women’s clothing, and the flowers make it a wonderful Mother’s Day email.

Terrain – For Mom, for you

Mother’s Day emails don’t need to have their own special colors (the same goes for Father’s Day) but if you promote products that are targeted to the right audience, your email will work well. This depends on your email list, so pay special attention to which products you decide to promote on this day.

Memorial Day Weekend

Monday 31 May 2021 (USA)

Memorial Day is a holiday in the US which occurs on the last Monday of May, which is the 30th this year. Many people go to cemeteries to honor all those who have died in military service. Many use this opportunity to do outdoor activities.
Offers.com’s survey of over 1,000 consumers shows 36% of people plan on traveling this Memorial Day. That’s why, for email marketing, this holiday is a particularly good opportunity to promote travel in your emails. Create a well-designed Memorial Day travel email to boost your profits.

Products: Travel, spring apparel, furniture, home decor, small kitchen appliances.

Memorial Day email subject lines

• Memorial Day savings – save 25% off EVERYTHING!!”
• Memorial Day travel deals
• Up to XX% OFF for the Memorial Day
• Memorial Day Super Sale

Memorial Day email design examples

Brighton – Pretty Patriotic

Not only the thematic colors, but Brighton used the headline ‘’Show your American spirit’’ in their Memorial Day email. Since Memorial Day is all about patriotism, you can use these colors and the design. Doesn’t matter which industry you are working in, you can’t go wrong with this. My advice is to be more creative and use GIFs to grab your subscribers attention, or try an interactive email because many will go with a patriotic design and you want to stand out so your subscribers remember your email.

Shoedazzle – Memorial Day weekend sale

This email doesn’t really have a classic Memorial Day design but the colors are not too far away from it, and the headline makes it a Memorial Day email. The only thing missing is their company name that should be somewhere at the top. Also, since travel is popular on this holiday, they really did it right.

Alex and Ani – On this memorial day

This Memorial Day email from Alex and Ani is targeting women, and it shows that even patriotic email design can be very much feminine.

Father’s Day

Sunday 20 June 2021 (USA, UK, France, Canada, India, China, Japan)

This day celebrates fathers, stepfathers, and fatherhood around the world.

Each year, Fathers Day spending increases and reaches high record levels, growing by 70% since 2009.

The National Retail Federation estimates that Fathers Day spending will reach a breaking record of 16$ Billion in 2019.

According to the same study, 34% of all respondents are interested in gifting a monthly subscription box to their dads.

The most popular gift ideas also include clothing, books, and special outings.

This is valuable data for marketers and e-commerce business owners who are still hesitant about launching an email marketing campaign for Fathers day.

Just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is celebrated on different days of the year, depending on where you live.

Fathers Day is on the third Sunday of June in the USA, UK, Canada, France, India, China, and Japan.

It is celebrated on different days for the rest of the countries in the world.

It is crucial that you send out your Fathers Day email campaign on the right date, according to where your target customers live.

It’s also essential that you send out your email campaign to the right audience: you want to target women (wives, girlfriends, and daughters- who usually do the buying for the gifts on Fathers Day) and younger men (sons).

Products: Men’s apparel, men’s perfumes, subscription boxes, books, special outings- big gestures.

Father’s Day email subject lines ideas

• What to Give on Father’s Day? We know.
• The Best Father’s Day Gifts are here.
• Don’t Worry, We Know What Dad Wants

Father’s day email design examples

Men’s Wearhouse – Thank Dad In Style

Men’s Wearhouse launched this email campaign for Father’s Day, and they were obviously prepared.

Why this Fathers Day Email Example is Good?

• Clear offer that suits the occasion: “Ready-to-Go gifts” for anyone who wants to spoil their dad but is out of inspiration. Men’s Wearhouse highlight different items that their target customers can’t refuse. Easy, instant, and meaningful gifts that fit any dad stereotype. Men’s Wearhouse packaged and branded their men’s wear into different categories: office dad and vacation dad.
• Multiple CTAs (Call to Action): Under each product, subscribers can easily find and click on a call to action that makes the shopping experience quick and easy.
• Contest to increase engagement: Men’s Wearhouse stands out from the other Fathers Day email campaigns. They included a fun bonus contest where subscribers can win Fathers Day gifts. This increases engagement and click-through rates.
• Email design and copy coherence: The subject line or catchphrase “Thank Dad in Style” works very well with the colors that are toned down, and are perceived as “classy,” and timeless colors.

Dollar Shave Club – Uh, Oh, Forgot about Father’s Day?

I think we can all relate to Dollar Shave Club’s hero “Uh Oh, forgot about Father’s Day?”, because it sounds familiar to a lot of us. Fathers Day is not hyped as much as Mothers Day, that’s why people tend to forget about it and leave it to the last minute.

Here’s why this Father’s Day Email works

• Relatable: As we mentioned previously, we all tend to forget about Father’s Day. If you send your Fathers Day email campaign a few days before, you might actually remind some of your subscribers to buy a gift and TADA: increased conversion rates!
• Problem – Solution – Call To Action Structure: Dollar Shave Club presented the problem (forgetting about Fathers Day), then they gave the solution (their product) and finally, they provided a clear action plan (call to action button). This structure is smooth and straight to the point!
• Double Call To Action: One big call to action button at the beginning of the email and another one at the end, making sure that the subscriber knows what he is supposed to do if he wants to purchase.

Bearbrand – Happy Fathers Day

Keep it simple and straight to the point. If you don’t have a particular offer or promotion for Father’s Day, you can simply wish your customers a “Happy Father’s Day.”

This type of Fathers Day emails can be easily personalized. It will help you get closer to your subscribers and build a closer bond.

We like Beardbrand’s email for these reasons:

• Awesome Fathers Day Email Copywriting: Beardbrand included a funny and sweet message in their Fathers Day email that doesn’t really have anything to do with their products. The text shows that Beardbrand actually care about their customers and don’t only contact them if they want to sell them something. This email would make any reader smile and grow a better liking to the brand. The picture of one of the employees with his daughther humanizes the brand.
• Include Call to Action anyway: Even though Beardbrand simply wished their customers a Happy Fathers Day, they still included a couple of Call To Action buttons, leading to their main landing pages (Home, Products, Blog). They also made sure to include their social links for more exposure

Independence Day

Sunday 4 July 2021 (USA)

Independence Day is a holiday in the US which is celebrated on the 4th of July. It is the anniversary of the beginnings of national independence. Patriotic displays and family events are organized in the US.

According to a report by the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend more than $7 billion on 4th of July celebrations. An estimated 44.2 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home between Friday and Tuesday, according to AAA. This is a great opportunity to promote your travels that occur on that weekend in an email.

Products: Apparel, patriotic items, red, white, and blue products (and items that are all three colors), sporting goods, jewelry and furniture, personal electronics.

Independence Day email subject lines

• Happy Birthday, USA!
• Go Fourth in Red, White, & Blue!
• Show your American spirit by having all red, white, and blue!
• We’re saluting you- with these 4th of July deals!

Independence Day email design examples

Ralph Lauren – Fourth of July Sale

The 4th of July is all about celebration and fireworks and this email pretty much sums it all up. It matches their brand colors and the main thematic of the holiday.

Sephora – Celebrate with red, white, or blue

You can’t go wrong with a 4th of July email if you use this Sephora Independence Day email with red, white, and blue colors. These products will also be one of the most purchased because people will wear red, white, or blue on this day. That’s how they invite their clients to use these products. We are a huge fans of Sephora’s email designs so you will probably see Sephora’s email designs often in our articles.

Back to School

Early August – late August (Worldwide)

Before the new school year starts for many children and students around the world, there is a time period that we call Back to School. It lasts from early August to late August, when the new school year starts. University and high school students and their families are buying school supplies and new clothes, and so there are many Back to School sales being promoted.

Products: Children’s clothing, school supplies, student supplies.

Back to school subject line ideas

• Ready for school? 📘
• Have all your school supplies? 📚
• Back-to-School Checklist: √ Backpacks √ Supplies
• Back To School Sale! Don’t miss out!

Back to school email design examples

Ban.do – Back to school

Back to school email design example from Ban.do. They usually sell clothes, bags, and tech as well, but they took this opportunity to promote their school supplies. It’s colorful and makes an awesome back to school email.

Grammarly – Meet your secret weapon- Grammarly premium

Not everything has to be retail shops and e-commerce. Here we have an example from Grammarly which used this period of the year to promote their discounts for students as a ‘’Back to School’’ campaign. Since they are SaaS, of course, the main focus of the email is their software’s features, but with this image, headline, and a special student promotion, it makes for a great example of a Back to School promotional email.

American Apparel – Hey, students!

This example from American Apparel can definitely be used as an inspiration for clothing for high school and university students.

Labor Day

Monday 6 September 2021 (USA, Canada)

Labor Day is another holiday in the US which occurs on the first Monday of September. (Labour Day occurs on different dates in the rest of the world, mostly on the 1st of May. Also, note that the US one is spelled without the “U”, while the Canadian one is spelled with the “U”.) This year it will be September 2nd. Previously, it was a parade to honor different labor unions and workers. For many, Labor Day is the opportunity to travel. Also, it is the unofficial start of the school year. Many shops have special Labor Day promotions.

Products: Clothing sales, back-to-school shopping leftovers, appliances, and mattresses

Labor Day email subject lines

• 🎉 The Labor Day Sale, XX% OFF!!
• This Offer Will Make Your Labor Day Weekend.
• Treat Yourself With This Special Labor Day Travel

Labor Day email design examples

Thertastore.com – Labor day kitchen & bathroom SALE

This patriotic-themed email from Thertastore.com is one of the best Labor Day email design examples we could find. You can use this example for designing your Labor Day email campaign. Be sure to have matching headline and images. Keep your Laboy Day email message short and to the point, whether it’s promoting your event for that weekend or travel.

Zoho’s templates collection – Happy Labor day

Another thematic Happy Labor Day email we took from Zoho.com templates library collection. It even has the text copy so actually, all you have to do is add your company info and it’s ready to be sent out.

Halloween

Sunday 31 October 2021 (Worldwide)

Halloween was originally celebrated as a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest. The Americanized version of that celebration has become international in recent years, and people around the world have started to celebrate Halloween. It’s held every year on October 31st. On this occasion, people usually dress up in costumes. Children go trick-or-treating. There are also many Halloween parties on that day.

If you are in the e-commerce field, you can use this opportunity to offer special deals on costumes, Halloween makeup and candy. You can also promote Halloween parties in your email campaign. If you want to send an event reminder email for a Halloween event, be sure to check out our event reminder best practices.

Products: Masks, costumes, Halloween makeup, cosplay, candy

Halloween email subject line ideas

• 🎃 Last Chance on Halloween Sale!
• Don’t forget your Halloween treat 🎃
• Open Your Halloween Treat!
• Happy Halloween! Save Up to XX%!
• All treats, no tricks! 👻

Halloween email design examples

Lands’ End – A haunting affair

This is a true example of a real Halloween email design. You don’t actually have to spend too much time designing a scary Halloween email when you can just add an image that makes the whole email — a ghost image in this case. No more effort needed here, it’s effective enough. Good work Land’s End!

Shein – Halloween sale

If you thought that a feminine brand like Shein couldn’t do a spooky Halloween email design, you were dead wrong. If you are selling feminine products, you can use this example as inspiration. They have a long email with many products, but unfortunately we couldn’t fit the whole email in this post.

Read more | Spooky Halloween email inspiration for 2021!

Thanksgiving

Thursday 25 November 2021 (USA)

Thanksgiving Day is a day for people in the US to give thanks for what they have. It’s celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. There is also Canadian Thanksgiving, in October. Families and friends usually gather for a meal which is known as Thanksgiving dinner. In some cities and towns, there are parades during Thanksgiving weekend. You can use email to thank your clients or subscribers. Thanksgiving is a major event in the US. We have a more in-depth article about the best Thanksgiving email design practices.

Products: Food and culinary (turkey, mash potato, gravy) clothing

Thanksgiving subject line ideas

• Happy Thanksgiving! XX% Off ON EVERYTHING + Free Shipping!
• Happy Thanksgiving! Treat yourself!
• Turkeyed out? Dish up XX% off!
• We’re Thankful For This Sale!

Thanksgiving Day email design examples

Brandless – We’re Thankful for You

This is a good example from Brandless where they used this ocassion to thank their clients.

J. Crew – Dream about the feast, shop, repeat

Like J. Crew, you can use images of traditional Thanksgiving food or families enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner.

Black Friday

Friday 26 November 2021 (Worldwide)

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday was originally a US shopping holiday, but in recent years it has become a global event. It is typically recognized as the start of the Christmas shopping season. According to the research from Finder.com, Black Friday was expected to be bigger than ever in 2018, with 74% of Americans planning on shopping that day. The average person expected to spend $483.18 on this shopping day.

Products: Electronics and TVs

Black Friday subject lines

• Black Friday offers!
• Open for your Black Friday deal!
• Black Friday starts now + free shipping!
• Your Black Friday deal is here

Read more | Black Friday subject lines and email inspiration

Black Friday email design examples

Lee – Black Friday 30% off everything

Lee used this opportunity to promote their special Black Friday promotion. They used a black and white Black Friday email design.

Tanner Goods – 20% off site-wide

Unlike the previous example, Tanner Goods showcased several of its product categories in the email. Subscribers have more options to see here which increases the chances they will see something they want to purchase. Since Black Friday is a huge event in email marketing, we’ve designed some Black Friday templates according to best practices, which you can use.

Small Business Saturday

Saturday 27 November 2021 (USA)

Small Business Saturday is a shopping holiday that first occurred in 2010. Today, Small Business Saturday has a significant meaning for small businesses in the US and UK. It occurs on different dates in these countries. In the US it’s going to be held on 30th November (it’s always on the day after Black Friday), while in the UK it will be on December 4th, 2021. Many local companies use this occasion to promote their local products.

Products: Local products

Small Business Saturday email subject lines

• Buy local! XX% OFF on all local products!
• Support local products!
• Let’s buy local!
• Every local product XX% OFF!

Small Business Saturday email design examples

Constant Contact’s template collection – Small Business Saturday is coming

This example we took from Constant Contact’s email template library. You need to register to use their templates.

Cyber Monday

Monday 29 November 2021 (Worldwide)

Cyber Monday is held on the Monday after Thanksgiving. In 2017, it was the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. In recent years, the same as Black Friday, it has become an international event. It was originally created to boost online purchasing. According to Adobe Digital Insights, online shoppers spent $6.6 billion in 2017, 16.5 percent more than in 2016. Online transactions on Cyber Monday were expected to have a record of $7.8 billion last year.

Products: Travel, hotels and cruise lines, amenities, electronics, and TVs

Cyber Monday subject line ideas

• Get Ready, CYBER MONDAY EVENT Starts Now!
• Cyber Monday: XX% off
• Cyber Monday: up to XX% off online only!

Cyber Monday email design examples

Bluefly – Cyber Steals

In this email example from Bluefly you definitely can’t miss that it’s a Cyber Monday email. They used colors which are themed for Cyber Monday (blue with dark purple). Placing the two CTAs next to each other is a bit tricky in a responsive email; you need a reliable column system for that.

Glamsquad – Cyber Monday

In this example, Glamsquad actually used neon lights, which are a common theme for Cyber Monday. The design style is strong, while the copywriting somewhat muddled, a combination that makes this promotional email interesting; I think their click rate was fair enough.

Christmas

Saturday 25 December 2021 (Worldwide)

Christmas Day is a holiday in many countries. It is celebrated on 25th of the December. Many families are decorating their Christmas tree and putting up other Christmas-y decorations a few days before Christmas Day. Companies are having Christmas parties also before December 25. Families get together and children (adults as well) receive gifts from family and friends. According to Wearetop10.com, Christmas shopping is one of the biggest shopping holidays, with shoppers spending over $1 trillion in the United States and shoppers in the UK spend over £2 billion. Christmas is a huge holiday with huge sales and a lot of spending, so if you want to know more about how to create the most effective Christmas email campaign, you can check out our article about the best Christmas email design examples. Make a matching Christmas email signature too, because they are also great for promoting your business, upcoming events, or new blog posts for instance.

Products: Toys, gifs, holiday decor

Christmas email subject lines

• Merry Christmas with 70% SALE 🎁🎄
• Free 2-Day Christmas SALE — 🎄
• 🎄 Merry Christmas! Here is your X-mas 🎁

Christmas email design examples

Lush – Make it a merrier Christmas!

This Christmas email from Lush may not have the typical red-themed colors, but the images and the headline make it Christmas-y enough. It looks like they opted for the easier way: using the usual promotional template with a great Christmas stock photo. I know, making a new email design just for one holiday is hard. Planning, coding, and reviewing can take weeks and precious hours. That’s the main reason we wrote this article and made Chamaileon, a collaborative email design platform. With the help of those assets, your team will be able to create more versions of email design for every campaign in the year.

Francis lofts & bunks – Last chance

Now, this is a real Christmas email design example. The GIF really grabs my attention. It’s up to you whether you will use GIFs or static images. It depends on your audience, but I suggest using GIFs even for the more rigorous segments. You can also always A/B test your designs to see which one has higher CTR rates. Remember: A well-placed animation always catches more attention in the direction of your desired CTA. We have a more in-depth publication on how big brands successfully use GIFs in their email designs to boost engagement.

Boxing day

Sunday 26 December 2021 (UK, Ireland, AUS, Canada)

Boxing Day occurs on the 26th of December and is a national holiday in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Canada. Many take this occasion to attend sports events on this day. Many stores are open and start their post-Christmas sales on Boxing Day. According to Independent.co.uk, Boxing Day 2017 was set to be the biggest shopping day ever, with people from UK spending £4.5 billion.

Products: Sports events, clothing

Boxing day email subject line

• Boxing Day Deals Are Here — XX% Off. 🎁
• Boxing Day After Christmas Sale Everything Must Go
• You Nailed Christmas❄. Next Up… Boxing Day…!
• Don’t Miss The After Christmas Sale! 🎁

Boxing Day email design examples

Justfab. – Sitewide Boxing Day Sale!

I didn’t know this myself until I wrote this article, but Boxing Day really does literally symbolize boxes and the selling of everything that is left over after Christmas. Justfab used an image with a hidden box and a text over the image with their special Boxing Day promotion. If you don’t know how to put text over an image, you can check out our article on how to do it here.

TunnelBear – Boxing Day Sale

Using stunning and original imagery that aligns with your brand look always pays off. Tunnelbear did exactly that. They asked the company graphic designer to make a nice, funny picture of their brand mascot, and that grizzly steals the show here. But you have to spot the little-but-important pieces of creative ingenuity in their email design. Firstly, the huge SALE text. Secondly, the eye-catching heavily contrasted the big button. And lastly, the “Audited” badge they used for building trust.

New Year’s Eve

December, 31st (Worldwide)

New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest international celebrations. It’s such a big event because it’s a time to celebrate the end of the year and welcome the new one. Some people reflect on their accomplishments. Many people start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. An estimated 70% of Americans plan to make some kind of New Year’s celebration. In this email, you can communicate with your subscribers about your accomplishments. On the other hand, if you are working in the entertainment industry, this is a great opportunity to promote your New Year’s celebrations.

Products: New year’s eve parties, travel, new features

New Year’s Eve email subject lines

• Last Sale of the Year! 🎉
• Last Chance for New Year Essentials
• End the Year in Style! 🎉

New Years Eve email design examples

American Eagle Outfitters – Happy New Year!

This is a classic New Year’s Eve email because the main theme is fireworks and celebrations. This email is another great opportunity to use GIFs in your email to boost engagement. Just search for them in Giphy.com, save as an image, and upload in your email design. If you want to see a video tutorial on how to add a GIF to your email, you can check it out here. Now let’s look at a similar example with another GIF.

Mutual of Omaha – Happy New Year!

You see? Doesn’t it look 100x better just because there is a GIF instead of a static image? It’s just one minute more of your time to find a good one, and it will give you much better click-through rates.

Email marketing planning calendar 2021

Creating a successful holiday email marketing campaign isn’t easy. It requires months of planning in advance to ensure it will be a successful email campaign with great open and click-through rates. What you can do is to have an email marketing calendar for the upcoming year with all the important holidays and sale days, which will help you with your planning and execution.

We’ve got you covered there.

We made a calendar that contains every major holiday and sales day, to help you in the preparation.

👉 You can download your email marketing calendar here for free.

Share it with your colleagues so that you can plan your email designs or your copies with them. We also have free email templates for most of the holidays, created by our professional email template designers.

Wrapping up

Use a collaborative email builder to work faster on these email designs. You can easily work with your colleagues or clients together on your holiday email designs and campaigns.

Invite the members who are involved in the email production process to your account, and create teams for specific projects. You can share the media library and save emails, specific blocks, or projects, organization or project-wide — it’s up to you.

Good luck with your emails in 2021! I wish you many kick-ass email campaigns. If you think there is any holiday or a sale we didn’t mention, just comment in the section below and we’ll add it to the article!