What to say in a holiday email to a client
- Address your client by name, mention one real detail from working together, thank them, and wish them well for the holiday or coming year.
- Use a specific holiday greeting only if your client has told you they celebrate it.
- A goodwill note doesn't need to ask for a reply or a sale.
- Send separate emails when you're including different personal details for each client.
A holiday email to a client
Year-end thanks
Hi Morgan,
I've been thinking about the afternoon we reviewed the final pages before your website launch. Your clear feedback helped us get the site ready.
Thank you for the care you put into that review and for working with me on the project.
Wishing you a happy new year.
Best,
Alex
How to write your own holiday email
Use a plain subject like "Year-end thanks" and greet the client by their first name.
Replace praise that could go to anyone with something that happened while you worked together. For example, "It was a pleasure working with you" could become "I've been thinking about the afternoon we reviewed the final pages before your website launch." Keep the detail about your work together, without bringing in the client's health, family, or finances.
Don't hesitate to express your appreciation. Your client is likely to be happier to get your thanks and find them less awkward than you'd guess, as recipients did in three experiments. Thank the client for what they contributed, such as the clear feedback in the example, without playing down your appreciation.
Close your note with a year-end or new-year wish and your usual sign-off.
Which clients to write to
If you can recall one true moment from working with a client, write them a holiday note. Otherwise, you don't owe them one.
You can write to a former client you haven't spoken to recently when you remember a moment from working together. A former client is likely to appreciate hearing from you more than you'd guess, especially when the note is unexpected or you aren't close, a finding from 13 experiments involving nearly 6,000 people.
If you have a work question or a useful update for a former client, write a check-in email about it instead. Keep the holiday note for the thanks and wish you want to send.
Choose a greeting and language for the client
Use a specific holiday greeting when the client has told you they celebrate it, including when they've used that greeting with you. Otherwise, choose a general year-end wish. People don't all observe holidays in the same way. A name, location, or background isn't a reason to choose "Merry Christmas," "Happy Thanksgiving," or another specific greeting.
Write in the language you and the client normally use. If your business carries on activities in Quebec and your note includes service information such as office closing dates, you must offer that information in French as part of your email service.
When to send the holiday email
Send a holiday wish before the client's celebration, or a year-end note before their office closes. Choose a send time around the client's plans, without trying to find one weekday or hour for everyone.
If you write to clients on both sides of the US–Canada border, use each client's Thanksgiving date. Canadian Thanksgiving is Monday, October 12, 2026, while US Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026.
If December has already passed, a January note is fine. Adjust the wish to the date you're writing.
If you're sending a December or New Year greeting, plan around these dates:
- Hanukkah begins at sundown Friday, December 4, 2026, and ends after nightfall Saturday, December 12.
- Christmas Day is Friday, December 25, 2026.
- New Year's Day is Friday, January 1, 2027.
If you're using Gmail on a computer, schedule your individual note for later.
Compose the client's holiday note.
Click the Down arrow beside Send.
Select Schedule send and choose the delivery date and time.
Send each client their own note
Send a note with a client-specific detail to that client alone. You can send an identical notice to several clients together, or use Gmail mail merge to prepare many personal notes without writing each from scratch.
Send personal notes one at a time
If you're writing to a handful of clients, send each one a separate note about their own moment from your work together. The rest of the note can be the same for everyone, so if you use Gmail, save it as a template and change only the moment.
Use Bcc for an identical notice
If everyone needs the same notice, such as office closing dates, use blind carbon copy to hide recipients' addresses from one another. Find Bcc and put the clients' addresses there to keep their names and email addresses private.
A long Bcc list can still land in spam: spam filters can flag bulk messages, and Google doesn't publish a number of Bcc recipients that's safe.
Use Gmail mail merge for many personal notes
If you're writing to many clients and have a Workspace account, consider mail merge. You send each client their own copy, and their replies arrive in separate conversations. Everyone gets the same note, with a different personal line for each client.
Put each client's line in a column in a linked Google Sheet. You can then use that column as a custom field in your message, so each client receives the detail you've written for them.
You can use mail merge with Workspace Individual, Business Standard or Plus, Enterprise Standard or Plus, and Education Standard or Plus. A personal Gmail account isn't eligible.
Before you add a promotion
Keep sales offers out of a holiday note. An offer can bring your email under the commercial-email rules in Canada or the US, depending on what the message is for. You can leave the greeting as a goodwill note and handle business in a separate email.
In Canada
Canada's anti-spam law, CASL, covers a message when one of its purposes is encouraging commercial activity. Writing one email by hand or sending it to an existing client doesn't settle whether the law applies.
Check which consent you have for this client before sending an offer. Express consent lasts until withdrawn. Implied consent through an existing business relationship is generally available for two years after a purchase or transaction, or six months after an inquiry or application. Check the relevant date to see whether that consent has expired.
A commercial message covered by CASL needs these details:
- Identify the business or person sending the message.
- Provide a current mailing address and another prescribed way to contact you.
- Include a working unsubscribe method.
If your client is a business, check the exemption before relying on it. The business-to-business exemption requires a relationship between the organizations and a message concerning the client's business activities. A general holiday offer may not qualify simply because you're sending it to a business address.
In the US
Which CAN-SPAM rules apply depends on what your email is mainly for, which the law calls its primary purpose.
You don't automatically send a transactional or service message just by writing to an existing client. If your holiday email with an offer is mainly commercial, include the following:
dreamif.ai
Draft individual follow-ups with dreamif.ai
When a client replies about work or you have a useful update to share, you’ll need an individual email. After you connect Gmail, dreamif.ai drafts replies in Gmail Drafts from the thread and earlier emails with the person. You review and edit each draft, and nothing sends until you approve.
Holiday email questions
Yes, in new Outlook or Outlook on the web, open the menu beside Send and select Schedule send to choose a later delivery time. Find the waiting message in Draft until delivery. If you use classic Outlook for Windows, delay delivery instead and find the waiting message in Outbox.