The Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving Emails: Ideas, Tips and Examples (2025)

Why send out Thanksgiving emails

Thanksgiving week is the time when most customers shop for the holiday season. In 2024, a record 197 million Americans shopped online and in-store. In 2025, Thanksgiving Day alone is about to bring businesses $6.4 billion in revenue. 

This year, over a third of Americans are budget-conscious; foreground clear value and incentives.. However, these concerns have been relevant for a long time. In 2022, for example, concerns over inflation and the economy dominated people’s minds. That’s why you should still explore Thanksgiving marketing and try to make holiday sales using email campaigns. Just remember that this year, your audience is probably focused on budgeting and may be reluctant to purchase products without appealing incentives.

The festive period is a great marketing opportunity to remind customers about your brand, treat them with special offers and discounts, and simply thank them for their loyalty. It will make your relationships warmer and more effective.

What is the best time to start your Thanksgiving email campaign?

Good timing matters a lot for your email campaign because it affects open rates, sales, and even your brand’s reputation. Follow these simple steps and your Thanksgiving emails will be a success:

1. Maximize the possible buying period by sending your emails in advance. Start the campaign several days before the holiday — subscribers are often busy on the day. In 2023, 59% of people started browsing and buying even before November. A good time for a Thanksgiving email is at least a day before the date. Plan your campaigns and schedule a holiday email series using automation.
2. To stand out from the crowd, you can send your emails a week after Thanksgiving. For example, you can let your contacts know that the holiday sale has been extended or is still ongoing. 
3. Include a Black Friday mention in your Happy Thanksgiving email. It’s an elegant way to let your customers know you appreciate them without asking them to make a purchase.

For precise day of the week and hour recommendations, check out our article on the best time to send emails.

How to write a perfect Thanksgiving email

If you are not sure where to start your Thanksgiving message, follow our step-by-step guide to win the hearts of your customers during this time of the year.

Target US citizens

Thanksgiving is celebrated mainly in the United States, so make sure your festive campaigns reach the right audience. 

Segment your list by country or location to send Thanksgiving emails only to US subscribers. In Selzy, you can do this easily with email segmentation. This simple step will help you avoid confusing international customers.

Create a catchy subject line

The email subject lines are the first thing your customers see when they open their inboxes. They should be enticing enough to make the prospects read a message.

There are several ways to craft your Thanksgiving subject line:

1. Express gratitude. That’s the most common marketing tactic. Thanksgiving is a nice occasion to say thank you to your customers and convey the spirit of the holiday.

Good examples:

• With Gratitude
• We’re EXTRA thankful today
• Thankful. Grateful. Blessed
• Giving Thanks
• Thanks for being you
• What we’re thankful for
• A little thank you treat for you
• A thank you from our CEO

2. To stand out in your subscribers’ inboxes, spice up your subject line with cute themed emojis. They may be related to the holiday or not —  it depends only on your taste and your marketing strategy goals.

Good examples:

• Ready to FALL? 🐿️🍁🌲 Start with these candles + $10 off
• Fall-nomenal deal: 😮Your 15% OFF coupon awaits
• Flying to the feast? ✈️ 🦃
• Happy Thanksgiving from [Your business] 🦃
• 2 tips for bringing the holiday party to you 🍴🎉
• ❤️ Featuring YOU: Happy Thanksgiving From Brandless!
• Exclusive Thanksgiving offer 🦃

3. You can start your email marketing campaigns 2-5 days before the holiday season. That’s a great chance to give people more time to read them, as many of your prospects may be busy on Thanksgiving. In this case, your subject may look as follows:

• Happy Thanksgiving Eve!
• Thanksgiving Eve! 40% Off EVERYTHING!
• Pre-Thanksgiving done right with overstuffed pizza
• Thanksgiving prep made easy: 20% off your order – in stores & online
• Turkey Talk: Preorder Your Willie Board Today!

4. Anticipate your customers’ needs right from the get-go. For example, you can send a timely shipping deadline on the last day you can guarantee an order’s arrival before Thanksgiving. Or, a last-chance email for those who still haven’t bought any gifts. The point is, make sure your subject lines underline the email’s value.

• Thanksgiving shipping cut-off TODAY
• Last chance to shop for less
• [Name], discounts are disappearing
• 5 last-minute gifts inside 🎁

Other great Thanksgiving subject lines examples:

• Feeling Fall. Feeling Sweaters
• It’s Decorative Gourd Season!
• Thanksgiving Deals
• Your Thanksgiving begins here
• The perfect Thanksgiving outfit
• So Fresh and So Fall
• A Thanksgiving we’ll never forget
• Live the give
• Gobble Up These Deals
• What Thanksgiving means to us

Want to see more examples? Check out our article on Thanksgiving email subject lines and grab your subscribers’ attention.

The contents: Show some gratitude to subscribers

As soon as you’ve determined the subject line, it’s time to write a sweet but persuasive message.

Thanksgiving is a great occasion to express gratitude. Keep your email short and to the point but convey appreciation, which is the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Remember that this day your customers have a lot of other things to do ( 🦃 won’t cook itself), so don’t make it too long.

Here’s a nice example from a plant-based supplement company JoySpring that uses all the best practices of writing Thanksgiving messages. It has appealing visuals, thanks the customers while sharing the company’s values and vision, and also subtly announces the upcoming sale.

This email is short but sweet, looks festive, and expresses love and gratitude to the customers. A perfect blend for marketing success!

Reward your customers

Sometimes just saying thank you may not be enough. Show your customers how valuable they are to your business with an exclusive offer in your email message.

This message by Postmates leverages the opportunity to treat customers and grow their business at the same time. Offering a free credit for Thanksgiving day is an easy and elegant way to remind your clients how thankful you are to them. Plus, it is a great marketing opportunity since not all of their subscribers are going to cook, some will definitely order takeout. 

Use humor

If the tone of your brand allows that, add some humorous vibes to your copy. Sure, there is no need to turn the whole message into puns and comics like in Halloween-themed emails or Black Friday campaigns, but adding a couple of fun paragraphs or a funny subject line could be appropriate.

You can make a fun landing page or article to go along with your ironic holiday email marketing campaign. For example, this humorous email from a content studio and strategy agency 8AM Creative persuaded us to click on the link and read the perfect speech this company prepared for its subscribers.

Be creative with your email design

Holiday-related emails are perfect for expressing creativity in texts, email templates, and designs. Let’s look at several Thanksgiving email examples we especially loved:

That’s an example of a Thanksgiving email marketing campaign by Uber. Adding a GIF to your email is a nice idea: it makes a message more vivid. The creators neatly wrapped educational contents up in bespoke illustrations –– looks fresh, festive, and conveys a proper holiday atmosphere.

An email by Casper looks minimalist yet tasty and interesting. A big pumpkin pie is the main accent in the design, standing out among the total gray background. This contrast makes it look even more mouthwatering.

Vegamour chose a creative way to thank their customers. Just look how beautifully they added a heartfelt message under a cute design!

Another Happy Thanksgiving email example by Anthropologie. Again, a sweet and pretty GIF with a Thanksgiving dinner set on it –– a cute way to design your festive message and delight your email contacts.

Send more than one email

Sure, you can send one email on Thanksgiving Day and call it quits, but there’s merit in continuing the sequence. You can create relevant content and connect with your audience based on their post-holiday experiences and needs. 

Apart from announcing the end of the sale, you can suggest the best Thanksgiving leftover dishes or ways to ground oneself after spending a lot of time in group settings.

Olive oil producer Graza made an email focused on cooking fatigue. This campaign is funny and relatable with easy recipes for those who don’t really want to prepare anything complicated anymore.

Best Thanksgiving email examples to get inspired by

We’ve hand-picked the best examples of Thanksgiving that combine all the recommendations mentioned in this article.

The Sill

This email with the company’s founder’s personal thoughts not only strengthens the brand’s relationship with its clients but also announces an early start of the Cyber week sale. 

Urban Outfitters

As we’ve already mentioned, it is appropriate to mention your Black Friday sales in Thanksgiving emails. Urban Outfitters makes it funnily and memorably. Such an approach helps make your messages stand out among countless samey-looking Thanksgiving and Black Friday campaigns.

Ibotta

That’s an example of sales-oriented Thanksgiving email campaigns. But it’s still short, sweet, and conveys a festive mood with warm colors and slices of a pie. By the way, the design is clean and simple, and the whole email may be used as a successful Thanksgiving email template to base your own sales emails on.

Sakara

Here the brand neatly uses an opportunity to thank the customers and express appreciation for their loyalty. What is also special about this email? It shows gratitude not only to the customers but also to the team, chefs, and farmers. Such a message may not drive sales right away, but it gives a good showing to your brand.

Brandless

Brandless is one of the companies that understand the importance of expressing gratitude to their customers. The unique feature of this email is the usage of UGC –– User Generated Content. The company took the images from customers shared on Instagram with their branded hashtag and added them to the email body. It’s not only a nice way to convey the festive spirit, but also good social proof.

Toms

Toms chose to add some personal approach to their festive campaign showing their employees and what they’re thankful for. Adding a face to your brand is almost always a good idea: it inspires your customers and shows that your product is created by folks just like them.

Anthropologie

This Thanksgiving email campaign is stylish and attracts subscribers’ attention thanks to the GIF. Plus, it plays well with the subject line that advertises Black Friday as an early-bird special. 

AfterShokz

This email conveys the holiday spirit and shows three possible ways to give thanks. Interestingly, the brand offers its subscribers to convert reward system points into donations. This is a convenient and feel-good way to celebrate and express gratitude.

Pattern Brands

Wondering how you can wish your customers Happy Thanksgiving and at the same time announce the upcoming sale? Here is an aesthetically pleasing email that does just that. The short copy celebrates the company’s customers and at the same time gently pushes them toward conversion. 

UN/DN LAQR

Personalization is one of email marketing’s key benefits. It’s commonly used in the subject lines but can extend far beyond them. For example, you can make different versions of one copy to address distinct customer segments. 

Nail polish brand UN/DN LAQR changed its holiday message based on the fact that the customer hasn’t purchased anything yet. This subtle reference in the copy makes the email sound more targeted.

FAQ: Thanksgiving email marketing

Why should I send a Thanksgiving email at all?

Sure! It’s a prime moment to warm relationships, thank customers, and nudge holiday sales. Shoppers are active around this time, so a short, appreciative message (with or without an offer) can perform well.

When should I start sending Thanksgiving emails?

Send them in advance (a few days or even a couple of weeks before the holiday) to maximize reading time. You can also follow up right after Thanksgiving. Use automation to schedule a short series.

Is it okay to mention Black Friday in a Thanksgiving email?

Yes. A light, elegant reminder about upcoming Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals fits naturally into a Thanksgiving message of gratitude.

How many emails should I send for Thanksgiving?

Consider a mini-sequence rather than a single blast: a pre-holiday note, a Thanksgiving Day thank-you, and a brief post-holiday follow-up (for example, about leftovers content or extended sale).

What makes a strong Thanksgiving subject line?

Keep it short, lead with gratitude, and feel free to add seasonal emojis. Options include pure thank-you lines (“With gratitude”) and value-driven hooks (“A little thank-you treat for you”). You can also send “Thanksgiving Eve” or last-chance reminders.

What should the body copy focus on?

Be brief and appreciative. A sincere thank-you is enough. You can also include values/mission notes, subtle sale announcements, or a simple perk for the day.

Should I include a discount or offer?

It’s optional but effective. A small, timely incentive (free shipping, a credit, or a limited-time code) pairs well with a gratitude-first message.

Can I use humor?

If it fits your brand, yes. A playful subject line, a cheeky checklist, or a light gag can make the email memorable — no need to turn the whole message into jokes.

How should I approach design?

Keep it festive and simple. Seasonal visuals (pumpkins, leaves, tablescapes), tasteful GIFs, or a single strong image can carry the message. Minimalist layouts work well, too.

examples of angles that work?

Gratitude notes from founders, UGC collages, “why we’re thankful” lists, simple sale announcements, and helpful post-holiday content (like easy recipes) all resonate.

How can Selzy help me create and send these quickly?

Use Selzy’s AI email editor and holiday templates to build on-brand messages fast — no HTML needed — then schedule the series with automation.