How to Record a Holiday Video Message for Clients and Your Team

A holiday video message for clients works best at 20–60 seconds, with one person they recognize on camera. It needs one specific thank-you and no sales pitch. Write it at around 140 words per minute (so 45 words for 20 seconds, 140 for a minute). Record by the first week of December and send it in mid-December, before inboxes go quiet.

Below are scripts at three lengths and a quick way to personalize them for your top clients. There's also a desk setup that keeps your eyes on the lens. To size your own script, start with the word budget calculator.

Pick the right length for the audience

If it runs long, cut. A tight 30 seconds says "we thought about this." A rambling two minutes says "we had a slot in the calendar." Check the timing with the read-time estimator.

Rules that keep it from feeling like marketing

• No pitch, no offer, no Q1 teaser. The moment the video turns into "and speaking of next year…", the goodwill is gone. Keep promos for a separate email.
• Open with them, not you. "This year you trusted us with…" lands better than "This year we achieved…".
• Say one real thing. One project, one moment, one number your client will recognize. A list of milestones reads like a press release.
• Match the greeting to the audience. "Happy holidays" or "Season's greetings" is the safe choice for a mixed or international client list. Use "Merry Christmas" when you know it's right for the people watching.
• Add captions. Plenty of people open these at work with the sound off. Captions keep the message readable anyway.

Holiday video scripts for business

20-second personal note to one client

Hi Priya, it's Mark from Brightline. This year you let us rebuild your checkout, and you stayed patient through the launch-week bug we'd both rather forget. Thank you. I hope you get a proper break over the holidays. See you in January.

40-second thank-you to all clients

Hi, I'm Dana, founder of Northlight Accounting.

This year, you sent us a few thousand receipts, a few hundred questions, and more referrals than any year before. Those referrals are the reason we grew from four people to seven.

So, thank you. However you celebrate, I hope the next few weeks are calm and the numbers can wait. Happy holidays from all of us at Northlight.

60-second year-end message to your team

Hi everyone. Before we all log off, I wanted to say this on camera.

[Prompt: the March migration weekend. Name two people.]

This was not an easy year. The migration in March alone took a weekend nobody had planned to give up, and Jo and Marcus kept it on track at 2 a.m. That's the kind of team this is.

We finished the year with our best customer scores yet, and that's your work, not a strategy slide. Please actually switch off. Don't check Slack. Spend time with the people you love, and come back rested.

Thank you, all of you. Happy holidays, and see you in the new year.

Want more help with the writing itself? The guide on writing a teleprompter script covers short sentences, pauses, and how to mark emphasis.

Personalizing for your top clients without a whole day of takes

For your ten or twenty most important clients, a 15-second personal version beats any polished company video. To batch them quickly:

1. Write one short template with a placeholder line for the specific detail: "This year you [one thing they did]."
2. List each client's name and their one detail on separate lines beneath it.
3. Record them back to back in one sitting, same lighting and outfit. Read the template, glance at the next detail, record.
4. Say their name in the first three seconds. It's what makes them keep watching.

A desk setup that looks professional

Most business holiday videos get recorded at a desk with a webcam, and that's fine. Make the room feel a little warmer than a normal workday call, though.

• Light in front. Face a window, or put a lamp behind your screen. Turn off the overhead light if it puts shadows under your eyes.
• Camera at eye level. Raise the laptop on a few books so you're not looking down into the lens.
• A calm background. A plant, a shelf, or one lit string of lights. Leave the whiteboard out of shot.
• A real microphone if you have one. A wired headset or USB mic beats the laptop mic. Otherwise, a quiet room with soft furnishings.
• Keep the script right under the webcam. If the text sits low on the screen, you'll look like you're reading an email.

Recording it on a Mac, an iPhone, or in the browser

I build GoTeleprompter, so here's how it handles this kind of message.

On a Mac

The Mac app has a Move Below Camera option. It docks the script as a strip just under the webcam, so your eyes stay close to the lens. The built-in video recorder records at up to 1080p and saves to your Movies folder. Space starts the prompter and the arrow keys change the pace.

Recording with Loom or another screen recorder instead? The prompter can be hidden from screen sharing and recordings in apps that respect it. Some apps that capture your entire screen may still show it, so do a quick test recording first.

On iPhone or iPad

Read and record in the same take, with the script over the camera. Pick vertical for LinkedIn or Stories, or horizontal for email and your website. The video saves to Photos.

Voice Follow for a full script

Business messages are usually read word for word. That suits Voice Follow: the script scrolls as you speak and waits when you pause. It's free in all three apps. Voice Follow requires iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26 or later.

On Windows or a shared office PC

Use the free web teleprompter in your browser. Set the words per minute, narrow the window, and place it under the webcam. It's free, with no signup.

On pricing: the apps are free for up to 2 scripts. Batching lots of client messages? Put them all in one script. Or subscribe once to Pro for unlimited scripts on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

When to record and send

• Late November to early December: write and record. You'll want time for one re-take after someone else watches it.
• Mid-December: send to clients. Many offices wind down in the last week before Christmas.
• Your team's last working day: send the team message then, when it'll be watched instead of skipped.
• Missed it? A "Happy New Year" video in the first week of January works just as well and stands out more.

Recording something for family too? The holiday video message guide has personal scripts for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year. Making regular client videos all year? The guide to using a teleprompter on Zoom covers the same desk setup for live calls.