{"id":94892,"date":"2026-09-25T06:46:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T06:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/?post_type=glossary&p=94892"},"modified":"2026-09-26T07:27:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T07:27:58","slug":"christmas","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lights in the streets, gift lists and inboxes packed with offers. For most brands, it’s the busiest end to the year. It’s also the season when a good email campaign makes the difference between selling a lot and going unnoticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Christmas?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christmas is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus, on 25 December<\/strong>. Over time it has also become a cultural and family holiday that many people celebrate without any religious meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every country celebrates it in its own way. In the UK and other English-speaking countries, the day after Christmas is Boxing Day<\/a>, a big day for sales. In Spain and much of Latin America, the main night is Christmas Eve, on 24 December, and the season runs until Three Kings’ Day on 6 January. And in Brazil, Argentina or Australia, Christmas arrives in the middle of summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the retail calendar, the festive season starts right after Black Friday<\/a> and Cyber Monday<\/a>, which falls on 30 November in 2026. From then on, gift shopping doesn’t stop until the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan your Christmas email campaign<\/p>

Design your festive emails, schedule your sends and combine email and SMS in the same campaign. With Mailrelay you can send up to 80,000 emails a month for free.<\/p>Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Christmas 2026: key dates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, Christmas Eve falls on Thursday 24 December<\/strong> and Christmas Day on Friday 25<\/strong>. Boxing Day is Saturday 26, New Year’s Eve is Thursday 31 and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027. Three Kings’ Day falls on Wednesday 6 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the 25th on a Friday, many countries get a long weekend. That means the last safe day to receive orders in time will fall, for many stores, between 18 and 21 December. Get that clear before you schedule your sends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Christmas matters for marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s the strongest shopping season of the year. In the United States, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reports that holiday sales in 2025, from November to December, passed $1 trillion<\/strong> for the first time, growing 4.1% on 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Europe, Latin America or Brazil the scale is different, but the pattern repeats. December concentrates gift shopping, food and dinners, travel and year-end sales. And every brand competes for the same customer’s attention at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why email marketing carries so much weight at this time of year. It reaches people who already know your brand, and lets you stay with them from the first gift idea to the last purchase of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to plan a Christmas email campaign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Christmas campaign works better as a story in several chapters than as a single send. Here’s the sequence we suggest:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Email<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the first week of December, right after Cyber Monday, send a gift guide. Sort it by price, by type of person or by interests. It’s useful content, and it helps customers decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mid-month is the time for offers and gift bundles. Remind people of the shipping cut-off in every email so orders arrive before the 24th. Once that date has passed, change the message: digital gift cards, click and collect or express delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 24th and 25th, send your greetings. An email of good wishes, with no discounts and no rush, strengthens your customers’ bond with your brand. It’s also one of the emails with the best open rates of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the 26th and the 31st, make the most of Boxing Day, year-end sales and gift returns. And if you have customers in Spain or Latin America, plan one last campaign for Three Kings’ Day on 6 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips to stand out in the inbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Design with care. A festive email template<\/a>, with a touch of red, a snowy GIF<\/a> or a small seasonal detail, is enough to set the mood. But the product and the buy button must stay the most visible elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personalise. Use the customer’s name and recommend gifts based on past purchases. Personalisation<\/a> increases clicks and makes the email feel less like a mass send.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Segment<\/a> by country. A Boxing Day campaign makes sense in the UK, a Three Kings’ Day campaign in Spain and Latin America, and a summer Christmas in the southern hemisphere. Adapt the message to each group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t forget abandoned cart<\/a> emails. In December many people compare prices and leave purchases half-done: a timely reminder recovers a lot of sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look after your deliverability<\/a>. December is the busiest month of the year for email, so check your authentication, clean your list and don’t multiply your volume overnight. If a problem occured last year, fix it now. And try to schedule everything before your holidays: the campaign will keep working while you rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Mailrelay helps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With Mailrelay you can prepare your whole Christmas campaign in advance. You design the emails with our editor and AI-assisted writing, segment by country or past purchases and schedule every send through to the new year. You combine email and SMS, and our real-time reports tell you which offer performs best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of that, the free plan includes up to 80,000 emails a month and 20,000 contacts, with multilingual support on every account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get your Christmas campaign ready before the holidays<\/p>

Schedule your Christmas emails, segment by country and track every send in real time. Get started with Mailrelay for free.<\/p>Try Mailrelay for free<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Christmas FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When is Christmas in 2026?<\/strong> On Friday 25 December 2026. Christmas Eve is Thursday 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When should I start my Christmas campaign?<\/strong> Right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, in the first week of December. If you sell physical products, even earlier, because many people shop weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should I send once orders can’t arrive in time?<\/strong> Digital gift cards, experiences or downloadable products. They save last-minute shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it a good idea to send a greeting with no offers?<\/strong> Yes. A good-wishes email strengthens your relationship with customers and usually gets very good open rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christmas is the most important season of the year for sales, and also the most competitive. Start early, tell your campaign in several chapters, keep the shipping cut-off front and centre and don’t forget to wish your customers well. Then get ready for the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related entries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n