Seasonal social media content provides great opportunities for businesses to engage their followers, and Thanksgiving graphics are no exception. The season is centered around gratitude, togetherness, and delicious food, and your designs should reflect these themes while aligning with your established brand voice.
Our list of 10 creative Thanksgiving graphic ideas will help your social media posts stand out and resonate with your followers. We’ll also outline the best tools to create eye-catching graphics and share some posting tips to take your engagement rate to another level.
Table of Contents
10 Thanksgiving Graphic Design Ideas for Social Media
Without further ado, let’s dive into our top suggestions for graphic design ideas for your Thanksgiving social media posts.
- Holiday greetings
- Gratitude
- Fun facts
- Family traditions
- Recipes
- Quotes
- Interactive prompts
- Shopping lists
- Donations and charitable activities
- Sales and promotions
1. Holiday Greetings
Thanksgiving is the most popular holiday in the United States, with millions celebrating all around the country and even worldwide. A simple Happy Thanksgiving graphic with a small, branded element is a succinct and easy way to greet your followers on social media.
Share warm wishes and use festive graphics featuring fall colors, seasonal dishes, or cozy family scenes to evoke the best parts of the holiday. They will spread positivity and strengthen community relationships during the holiday season.
A simple yet sincere caption like the one accompanying the graphic above (“Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 We're extra thankful today for having the best fans in basketball 💚”) commemorates the holiday and entices followers to respond with similar sentiments.
2. Gratitude
As the holiday is named for and centered around expressing gratitude, you can post graphics to address your loyal customers, clients, followers, and partners for their continued support. You can showcase your products and combine them with holiday graphics or backgrounds in your Thanksgiving graphic.
Starbucks’ post does this beautifully with a video showing the holiday-themed cups that customers have supported over the years. The accompanying caption is apt: “Thankful to celebrate each season with you. 💚 Here's to 25 years of holiday cup cheer!”
3. Fun Facts
Sharing educational content is another great way to engage audiences on any platform, including social media. Create a set of graphics containing fun facts and trivia about Thanksgiving and post them in a carousel to make your followers smile and give them something to share around the dinner table.
You can talk about the history of Thanksgiving and mention quirky statistics about the holiday. Make sure to stick to your brand identity in each graphic so your work can be traced back to your business — see Cheddar’s discreet logo in the example above.
4. Family Traditions
Ask your employees about their family traditions and share them through Thanksgiving graphics on social media. Include warm and inviting visuals that evoke the holiday spirit, such as extravagant tables set for dinner, homemade dishes, and cozy fall scenes.
In the caption, encourage your followers to share their own traditions in the comments. This creates a sense of community and fosters connections in your little corner of the internet.
5. Recipes
If you run a food and beverage business, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to share some of your best holiday recipes. You can go for the classics like turkey and stuffing or share some creative desserts, side dishes, and cocktails. Food photography and styling are crucial for recipe posts, along with clear instructions that even beginners can follow.
Schedule these posts a few weeks before the big day so your followers can prepare early. Include a link in your bio to all the Thanksgiving resources you have on offer. To maximize engagement, encourage your audience to share their favorite recipes in the comment section and tag your brand in the photos of their own creations.
6. Quotes
Tap into your followers’ sense of humor or dispense holiday inspiration by posting Thanksgiving quotes on social media. Add a lighthearted and uplifting touch to your content by sharing quotes about family gatherings, turkey-induced naps, or the joys of leftovers, along with messages of togetherness and gratitude.
Use autumnal color palettes and Thanksgiving-related graphics or backgrounds to make the quotes pop. Ask your followers to share their favorite quotes in the comments too!
7. Interactive
Engage your audience with Thanksgiving-related prompts on your social media accounts. Ask questions like, “What’s your must-have Thanksgiving dish?” or “What’s a unique side dish on your dinner table this Thanksgiving?” Polls and surveys of putting Thanksgiving dishes against each other (pumpkin vs. apple pie, turkey vs. sides) can further increase engagement and interactions on your socials.
These interactive prompts spark conversation and help build a community, creating a lively space for holiday sharing and connection.
8. Shopping List
In a 2023 consumer survey, 88% of respondents said they planned on purchasing food for Thanksgiving. Furthermore, 61% said they were hosting or attending gatherings for the holiday. Preparing for a massive dinner involves a lot of shopping, which is why sharing grocery lists on social networks is a great way to engage and dispense valuable information to your followers.
Create beautifully designed lists that include essential ingredients for stuffing, gravy, desserts, and cocktails. Integrate high-quality images to make the post eye-catching and encourage your followers to share their Thanksgiving must-haves in the comments.
9. Donations and Charitable Activities
Showcase your brand values and foster a sense of community and social responsibility with Thanksgiving graphics that evoke the spirit of gratitude and generosity. Highlight the importance of giving back during the holiday season and create graphics that promote local food drives, volunteer opportunities, or partnerships with charitable organizations.
Make sure to include all relevant details in the post so your followers know where to donate their time, money, or goods.
10. Sales and Promotions
In 2023, more than 200 million shoppers made purchases online and in physical stores in the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. Capture this massive group of shoppers with attractive offers for your eCommerce or brick-and-mortar shop.
Incorporate seasonal elements in the Thanksgiving graphic and use bold typography to highlight your offers. Include clear call-to-action (CTA) words and phrases like “Shop Now” or “Limited Time Offer” to encourage immediate conversions. In the weeks before the holiday, tease your promotions with countdown posts to build anticipation and excitement.
3 Tools for Creating Thanksgiving Social Media Graphics
These powerful graphic design tools will help you craft beautiful and engaging Thanksgiving graphics that will capture the holiday spirit and stand out on your followers’ feeds:
1. Canva
This versatile design tool makes creating high-quality, professional Thanksgiving graphics for social media a breeze. Canva offers an extensive range of customizable templates for grid posts, stories, and ads. The drag-and-drop interface is easy to navigate even for beginners — you can add and adjust images, text, and other elements with a simple click.
Pros
- Great for users of all skill levels
- Extensive template and graphics libraries
- Collaborative features
Cons
- Limited resources for free accounts
Pricing
- Free
- Canva Pro: $15/month (billed monthly) or $120/year (billed yearly) for one person
- Canva Teams: $10/month/person (billed monthly) or $100/year/person (billed yearly) for a minimum of 3 persons
2. Adobe Express
Adobe Express has an intuitive interface that allows you to create social media graphics effortlessly. With access to Adobe Stock’s extensive library of Thanksgiving-themed images, icons, and illustrations, you can find the perfect visuals to bring your holiday designs to life.
Pros
- Fully customizable templates
- Advanced text effects
- Branding features
Cons
- Limited free assets
Pricing
- Free
- Premium: $9.99/month (billed monthly) or $99.99 (billed annually)
- Teams: $6.49/month/seat (billed monthly) or $77.88/seat (billed annually), one-year commitment for a minimum of two seats
- Enterprises: Custom pricing
- Educators: Free for qualified K-12 educators
- Nonprofits: Free for qualified nonprofits
3. VistaCreate
Access a wide array of Thanksgiving templates specifically designed for different social media platforms, including posts, stories, reels, ads, etc. VistaCreate also has a large asset library with high-quality stock images, illustrations, and icons related to various themes and holidays. You can design on desktop or mobile.
Pros
- Drag-and-drop editor
- Brand kit integration
- Robust collaboration tools
Cons
- Not the best choice for complex or intricate projects
Pricing
- Starter: Free
- Pro: $13/month (billed monthly) or $10/month (billed annually)
Tips for Posting Thanksgiving Graphics
Now that you have your beautiful graphics, how can you ensure it garners the attention you expect? Read our list of tips to find out.
1. Use Optimal Image Sizes
Upload the appropriate image sizes so your Thanksgiving graphics look sharp and professional across different platforms. Here’s an up-to-date guide:
1.1 Instagram
- Feed post or ad: 4:5 aspect ratio, minimum 1080-pixel width, maximum of 20 images or videos in carousel
- Stories: 9:16 aspect ratio, minimum 1080-pixel width
1.2 Facebook
- Image: minimum 600x315 pixels
- Stories: 9:16 aspect ratio, minimum 1080-pixel width
1.3 X
- Feed post or ad: 16:9 aspect ratio, minimum 600×335 pixels, maximum of four images or videos per post
1.4 TikTok
- Image: 1080×1920 pixels
- Use JPG or PNG image formats for the best results.
2. Leverage Hashtags
Boost your content’s visibility by using holiday-related hashtags for your Thanksgiving graphics. You can connect with users interested in specific topics, such as recipes, shopping lists, promotions, and charitable activities.
Mix broad (e.g., #ThanksgivingRecipes) and niche hashtags (#VeganThanksgiving) to target a wider and more focused audience. You can also create a unique hashtag for your brand’s Thanksgiving campaign to consolidate your posts and encourage followers to share their own content and tag your account.
3. Stay On-Brand
Maintain a consistent brand identity even when posting Thanksgiving content so your followers instantly recognize your posts. Fostering familiarity increases recognition and trust, so make sure you emphasize your brand values in your graphics and captions so they will resonate with your established audience.
4. Specify a Call-to-Action
Guide your audience to take the next step by including clear and compelling CTAs in your social media posts. Invite your followers to engage with your post and interact with others in the community — this is a great way to increase content reach and visibility.
CTAs are especially crucial for promotional content and special offers, but it’s essential to make sure the linked landing pages and product listings are optimized for visitors to complete the conversion.
Thanksgiving Graphics Takeaways
Creating high-quality, engaging, and brand-centric Thanksgiving graphics for social media is key to capturing your audience’s attention and spreading holiday cheer. Combine festive visuals, consistent branding, and clear CTAs to guide your followers toward actions that align with your business goals.
Whether you create a simple greeting post, a detailed guide to your best recipes, or interactive content, your graphics should reflect the spirit of Thanksgiving.
If you need help creating top-notch Thanksgiving graphic designs to celebrate the holiday, partner with one of the top graphic design companies in our directory.
