100 of the Best Thanksgiving Subject Lines

When it comes to sending emails, far too many marketers focus all of their time on the contents of the email and making sure it’s designed well. And while this is undoubtedly important, they end up neglecting one of the most important parts of any email: its subject line.  

Unfortunately, this is a mistake many brands are going to make with their Thanksgiving campaigns as well. 

No matter how great your email is, if you don’t have an equally good Thanksgiving email subject line to go with it, it’ll never live up to its true potential. 

Why? Because when people open their inboxes, the only part of your email they see is its subject line. 

This means your subject line has a substantial effect on your open rate. So much so that a third of your subscribers base their decision on whether to open an email or not solely on its subject line.

So to help ensure your customers open and read your Thanksgiving campaigns, here is a collection of 100 different Thanksgiving subject lines other top brands have used in the past. 

Use this list as a source of inspiration and guide for coming up with your own subject lines. 

Thanksgiving email subject lines

Subject lines expressing gratitude

One of the most common Thanksgiving email marketing strategies is simply to send an email expressing your gratitude to your customers for their support. 

These brand-building types of emails are a great way to strengthen your loyal customer base. And if you decide to send an email to convey the spirit of the holiday season, you’ll want a subject line to match like these examples. 

• With Gratitude – Artifact Uprising
• We’re EXTRA thankful today – Bloomingdale’s
• Happy Thanksgiving from Casper – Casper
• Thankful. Grateful. Blessed. – Christian Care Ministry
• dōTERRA Thanksgiving Letter – dōTERRA Leadership
• Happy Thanksgiving + Black Friday Preview! – GrubMarket
• Giving Thanks – Move Loot
• Our thanks to you. – Nisolo
• Thank you for being a friend – Nordstrom
• Thanks for being you. – Orvis
• Happy Friendsgiving! Love, Mom – Postmates
• Happy Thanksgiving from Ralph Lauren – Ralph Lauren
• Share the Love with your Community – Subaru
• What we’re thankful for – The Broadsheet
• A Special Gift to Thank You for All You Do – The Marine Mammal Center
• Happy Thanksgiving from the Fracture Team – Fracture
• A little thank you treat for you – Food52

Examples containing emojis

Adding an emoji or two to your subject line is a great way to help it stand out in people’s inboxes. 

When it comes to Thanksgiving subject lines, the most popular emojis to include, according to ReturnPath, are: a Turkey (🦃), fall leaf (🍁), and drumstick (🍗). The same study also found that the Turkey emoji did the best job at improving open rates achieving an average of 22% compared with 19% for all Thanksgiving email campaigns. 

You aren’t, however, stuck with just these emojis. The examples below show how you can also use different emojis too. 

• ready to FALL? 🐿️🍁🌲 start with these candles + $10 off – Bath & Body Works
• Fall-nomenal deal: 😮Your 15% OFF coupon awaits – Expedia
• Flying to the feast?  ✈️ 🦃 – Uber
• Happy Thanksgiving from Ibotta 🦃 – Ibotta
• 2 tips for bringing the holiday party to you 🍴🎉 – Uber
• ❤️ Featuring YOU: Happy Thanksgiving From Brandless! – Brandless

For more usage tips, check out our guide on using emojis in subject lines here.

Pre-Thanksgiving day examples

You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving day to send your holiday email. 

Instead, getting your email out a day or two early will give people more time to read it (something many will be too busy to do on Thanksgiving) which can be especially helpful if you’re running a sale. 

• Yappy Thanksgiving Eve! – Barkbox
• Thanksgiving Eve! 40% Off EVERYTHING! – Heavenly Couture
• 20% off — early bird gets the sale – Jonathan Adler
• PRE-THANKSGIVING: EVERYTHING 30% OFF – Mango
• Pre-Thanksgiving done right with overstuffed pizza – Pizza Hut
• Thanksgiving prep made easy: 20% off your order – in stores & online – Pottery Barn
• Turkey Talk: Preorder Your Willie Board Today! – Williams Sonoma

Sale announcement subject lines

You always want your subject line to reflect the juiciest part of your email. So if you do decide to run a Thanksgiving day sale, you’ll want to mention it in your subject line like in these examples.

• This is HUGE. Shop our Thanksgiving sale – Dillard’s
• It’s OK to have seconds (or thirds) of this sale – J. Crew
• It’s a Holiday Blitz! 3 Days of Must-Shop Deals – Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store
• Happy Turkey Day! The BIGGEST Black Friday doorbusters start NOW online – Old Navy
• Best. Thanksgiving. Ever. It all starts here. – Plated
• A sale so good, you’ll want seconds – Ties.com
• They’re here!! Pre-Black Friday Deals to gobble up – West Elm

Examples containing offer details

Instead of just simply mentioning your sale, you should also consider including details of your offer just as these examples have done. If your offer is enticing enough, it’ll help boost your open rate.

• 40% off with a cranberry on top – American Eagle
• 50% Off + Free Shipping. Feast On This! – American Eagle Outfitters
• Enjoy 40% Off: A Happy Thanksgiving, Indeed – Barneys New York
• ONE-DAY SALE: 50% off – Edible Arrangements
• Give thanks with Farmgirl Flowers — now 10% off! – Farmgirl Flowers
• From Us To You: Happy Thanksgiving! Plus: Enjoy 20% Savings – LivingSocial
• Good gravy! 20% off – Orbitz
• Get $3 OFF Your Pumpkin Spice Needs – Postmates
• Thanksgiving Stuff-a-Tote Event—Free Tote + 20% Off Everything Inside – Sur la Table
• A BIG Thank You + even BIGGER deals. Shop up to 50% off. – True&Co
• GOBBLE. THIS. UP. 50% off ALL Thanksgiving Essentials +$10 coupon – World Market

Subject lines phrased as questions

One strategy you might want to try to make your subject lines more engaging is phrasing them as a question.

When the vast majority of subject lines are just written as statements, questions will immediately stand out to customers which increases the likelihood of them being clicked on. 

• So are you pre- or post-food coma??? – Dormify
• You guys are amazing, you know that? – Lyft
• Where will you go for Thanksgiving? – Southwest
• Turkeyed out? Dish up 50% off! – Vera Bradley
• Thanksgiving got you stressed? Not anymore with 365. – Whole Foods
• Holiday guests coming over? – Framebridge

Short subject lines

The length of your subject line strongly correlates with open rates.

A Litmus study found that the shorter your subject line, the more opens your email tends to get. In fact, having between 4 and 15 characters achieves the highest open rates whereas having over 50 characters saw the worst number of opens.

So in the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, here are some examples of short subject lines. 

• Feeling Fall. Feeling Sweaters. – Anthropologie
• It’s Decorative Gourd Season! – McSweeney’s
• Thanksgiving Deals – Groupon
• Your Thanksgiving begins here – Hickory Farms
• The perfect Thanksgiving outfit – LOFT
• So Fresh and So Fall – Madewell
• A Thanksgiving we’ll never forget – Anthropologie
• Live the give – TOMS
• Gobble Up These Deals! – Vacationist
• A Thanksgiving treat for 2 – Leesa
• The Thanksgiving Table – Anthropologie

Final reminder / last chance examples

If you’re running a sale, you might want to consider sending a ‘final reminder’ or ‘last chance’ style email toward the end of Thanksgiving day to play on people’s FOMO (fear of missing out).

If you want to send this style of email, here are some subject line examples that might help when coming up with your own.

• Put your fork down – this sale is almost over! 40% Off Everything – Bluenotes
• Happy Thanksgiving! Get 3 FREE Ends Tonight – The Body Shop
• Because those leftovers won’t last long – Blue Apron
• Don’t Forget To Order By Thanksgiving! – Mrs. Fields

Other general examples

Now that we’ve gone through various different types of subject line examples, here are some general, all-purpose ones you can get inspiration from. 

• How to stay healthy and fit this Thanksgiving – Aetna
• Thanksgiving hosting, toasting & roasting must-haves – Anthropologie
• Tips and Ideas for a Stylish and Stress-free Thanksgiving – Bed Bath & Beyond
• Charcuterie Board Inspo for Fall! – Bloglovin‘
• What to Wear to Your #Friendsgiving. – Brooks Brothers
• Everything You Need for the Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner – Calphalon
• Dean & DeLuca Thanksgiving Virtual Catalog. – Dean & DeLuca
• Your Holiday Shopping Is On Us! – Dwell
• The Best Vegetarian Thanksgiving Main – Epicurious
• Wines That Go With Turkey (And All The Sides) – Expressions of the Vine
• 15 Thanksgiving Drinks to Start on While Cooking – Food & Wine
• Designing a Beautiful Thanksgiving – Homepolish
• Let’s give them something to gobble about – Ibotta
• Give Espresso Made Simple. Thanksgiving machine event. – Illy
• Your Holiday Parties Need These Festive Cocktails – Liquor.com
• These are the Tools You’ll Need For Thanksgiving — Get Them Now – Martha Stewart
• Thanksgiving Dinner Has Never Been Easier – Munchery
• The Perfect Thanksgiving: Coming to a restaurant near you – OpenTable
• Dress up your Thanksgiving table in sweet style – See’s Candies
• Happy Thanksgiving, from our Family to Yours – The Body Shop
• 14 Delicious Ways to Eat Thanksgiving Leftovers – The Dish from Food & Wine
• Thanksgiving is Thursday, Let Las Ramblas do the Cooking  – The Hotel Contessa
• Paleo and AIP Thanksgiving meal plans INSIDE – The Paleo Mom
• Harvest decor. Thanksgiving prep now, pie later – Wayfair
• Happy Thanksgiving! Special Savings Inside Just for You – Williams-Sonoma
• A Different Kind of Turkey! 97-Pt Wild Turkey Master’s Keep 17 Year Straight – Wine Enthusiast
• Start A New Thanksgiving Traditions + A Home for the #PAWLIDAYS – Zappos

Conclusion

Your subject line is an essential part of your email marketing campaign which will never reach its full potential without a decent subject line to match.

Having now gone through 100 different Thanksgiving email subject line brands have used in the past, you hopefully have the inspiration to come up with your own. 

If you’re looking for more inspiration for the rest of your Thanksgiving campaign, such as email design, check out our collection of Thanksgiving emails here.