What to write / Christmas card messages
Christmas card messages
Christmas cards get written in a batch, usually at the kitchen table with a cup of tea going cold, and by the tenth one "Happy Christmas, love from all of us" has started to look like a signature and not a message.
Here are 59 things to write instead: for family, Mum and Dad, grandparents, friends you don't see enough, neighbours, colleagues, clients and teachers, with funny ones, a few with faith, New Year wishes and gentle words for someone who is having a hard Christmas.
The one thing that matters most: add a single line that could only be for them. It takes ten seconds, and it is the difference between a card that gets a glance and a card that goes on the mantelpiece.
How to write one
Write one line that is only for them
After "Happy Christmas", add one thing that belongs to that person: the new house, the puppy, a thank you for the lift to the station in March, a plan to meet in January. One line is enough, and it shows the card was written and not just signed.
A first Christmas after a loss
Still send the card. Leave out "merry" and say that you are thinking of them. It is kind to name the person who has died: they are on everyone's mind already. Offer something small and definite, such as a phone call on Boxing Day or a walk in the week after.
Cards for people of other faiths or none
"Happy Christmas" is a friendly greeting and is fine for most people, whatever they believe. If you would like to keep it neutral, or you are writing to clients, "Season's greetings" or "Best wishes for the New Year" does the job. Keep religious messages for people you know share the faith.
Your family's news, in one line
If you want to pass on your news, one cheerful line does it better than a typed page: who has grown, who has moved, how the dog is. Then ask after theirs.
When to send
Cards for the post want to go early in December, and earlier still if they are going abroad. Last posting dates change each year, so check them. If you have missed the post, a New Year card is better than no card.
Short Christmas card messages
Classic lines for when there are forty cards to get through.
Happy Christmas, with love from all of us.
Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. Here's hoping it's a good one.
Wishing you a warm, well-fed and thoroughly lazy Christmas.
Happy Christmas. May your fridge be full and your to-do list empty.
Merry Christmas. Eat well, sleep late and leave the washing-up till Boxing Day.
Christmas messages for family, and from the whole family
The last three give a year's news in one line.
Happy Christmas to my favourite people to argue with over a board game. See you on the day. I'm bringing the trifle.
Christmas isn't Christmas until we are all squashed round one table on a mixture of chairs. I can't wait. Lots of love to you all.
Merry Christmas to the whole noisy lot of you. Save me a seat near the roast potatoes.
From our house to yours: everyone is taller, the dog is no better behaved and we are all fine. Happy Christmas, with love from the lot of us.
Our year in one line: one new job, one new school, two lost teeth and a great deal of mud. Merry Christmas from all of us.
All well here: the kitchen is finished at last, the teenagers still speak to us now and then, and the cat remains in charge. Happy Christmas from us all.
Christmas messages for Mum and Dad
A thank you for the Christmases they made.
Mum and Dad, thank you for every Christmas you made feel like magic on not very much. I only see now how hard you worked at it. Happy Christmas, with all my love.
Happy Christmas, Mum and Dad. However old I get, it doesn't start until I've walked through your front door and smelt the kitchen.
Merry Christmas to the two people who still put a satsuma in the toe of my stocking. I hope you never stop.
Mum and Dad, this year it's your turn to sit down. We're doing the washing-up and nobody is to argue. Happy Christmas.
Christmas messages for grandparents
Written for Nan and Grandad. Change the names to whatever you call yours.
Happy Christmas, Nan and Grandad. Nobody does a Christmas dinner like yours, and nobody else lets me have seconds of pudding.
Merry Christmas, Nan and Grandad. Thank you for the stories, the sweets in your coat pocket and the best hugs going.
Happy Christmas to you both. I'm coming round on Boxing Day for a cup of tea, a mince pie and all the news.
Christmas at yours is the one I measure all the others by. Thank you for every single one. With lots of love this Christmas.
Christmas messages for friends you don't see enough
A card is a good place to promise a date in January.
Another year, and we still haven't managed that catch-up. Let's put a date in the diary for January and stick to it this time. Happy Christmas.
We don't see each other nearly enough, and I think of you far more often than I ring. Happy Christmas, lovely friend.
Happy Christmas. You are one of the people I'd like to see more of next year, so consider this fair warning.
This card comes with a promise: a long phone call before the decorations come down. Merry Christmas.
Christmas messages for someone far away
For family and friends abroad, or just a long drive off.
Happy Christmas from the other end of the country. We'll raise a glass to you at dinner and ring before the pudding.
We're keeping your place at the table for next year. Happy Christmas, with love from everyone at home.
Merry Christmas from grey, drizzly, lovely home. We miss you. Send a photo of your Christmas dinner, whatever the weather is doing there.
The miles feel longer at Christmas. Thinking of you today, and counting down to the next time we are all in one room.
Christmas card messages for neighbours
A thank you for the small things that happen over the fence.
Happy Christmas, and thank you for another year of taking in our parcels. We'd be lost without you.
Merry Christmas to the best neighbours on the street. Thank you for the borrowed ladder, the bins and the friendly wave.
Happy Christmas from next door. Apologies in advance for Christmas morning: somebody is getting a drum kit.
It's a comfort to know you are just over the fence. Do come round for a mince pie between Christmas and New Year.
Christmas messages for colleagues and clients
The first two are for workmates. The last three are professional enough for a client.
Happy Christmas. Thank you for all your hard work this year. I hope you get a good rest and don't look at an email until January.
Merry Christmas to the person who makes my working week a good deal easier. Enjoy the break. You've earned it.
It has been a pleasure working with you this year. Wishing you and your family a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Thank you for your business and your good company this year. We look forward to working with you again in the New Year. Happy Christmas.
Season's greetings, with thanks for your support this year and warm wishes for the one ahead.
Christmas card messages for a teacher
From a parent, or for a child to copy out in their best handwriting.
Happy Christmas, and thank you for a wonderful term. Our house is full of things learned in your class, and one song we can't get out of our heads.
Thank you for all your patience and hard work this term. We hope you have a very restful Christmas. You have certainly earned it.
Merry Christmas to a brilliant teacher. Thank you for surviving the nativity, the glitter and the last week of term.
Thank you for helping our child love coming to school. Wishing you a lovely Christmas and a long lie-in.
Funny Christmas card messages
Sprouts, the big shop and the tin of chocolates.
Happy Christmas. I wish you very few sprouts and a great many roast potatoes.
Wishing you strength for the big shop, patience for the queue and a parking space near the door.
Merry Christmas. Remember that the tin of chocolates is a marathon, not a sprint, and somebody always leaves the coconut ones.
By the time you read this, the tree will have dropped half its needles and you'll still be finding them in July. Happy Christmas.
I hope your cracker joke is the worst at the table. It is the only prize worth winning. Happy Christmas.
Merry Christmas from our house, where the lights are tangled, the sticky tape has vanished and nobody knows what day it is.
For someone having a hard Christmas
For a first Christmas without someone, or a year that has been unkind. No forced cheer.
I know this Christmas will be a hard one. I won't wish you a merry one, only a gentle one. Thinking of you.
Thinking of you this first Christmas without them. They'll be missed at every table they ever sat at, ours included.
There is no right way to do this Christmas. Do as much or as little as you can manage. There's a place at our table if you'd like it, and no hard feelings if you don't.
It has been a rotten year, and I'm sorry. I hope the next few days are kind to you. I'll ring on Boxing Day.
No need to be cheerful on my account. I'm thinking of you, and I'm only round the corner if you'd like company or a walk.
Christmas messages with faith
For people you know share the Christian faith.
Wishing you a peaceful and holy Christmas, and every blessing in the year to come.
As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are giving thanks for you and your family. A very happy and blessed Christmas.
May the hope of the first Christmas stay with you all through the year. With love and prayers from all of us.
A blessed Christmas to you. We'll remember you in our prayers at midnight Mass, and we hope to see you in the New Year.
New Year wishes for a Christmas card
To add after your Christmas line, or for a card that is running late.
Happy Christmas, and may the New Year bring more good news than the last one managed.
Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year. Let's make it the one where we see more of each other.
Here's to the year ahead: fewer worries, more weekends away and a summer that turns up.
Happy New Year. No resolutions from me, only a hope that it's a kind one for you and yours.
What to leave out
- A full page of the family's achievements: one line of news is plenty.
- "Merry" and forced cheer in a card to someone who is grieving or unwell.
- A signature and nothing else, when you haven't spoken all year.
- Jokes in a card to a client, unless you know them well.
- Religious messages for people whose beliefs you don't know.
Questions people ask
What do you write in a Christmas card?
A greeting, one line that is only for that person, and a wish for the New Year. "Happy Christmas. Thank you for looking after the cat in August. See you in January" is a complete and very good Christmas card.
Is it Happy Christmas or Merry Christmas?
Both are right, and both are used all over Britain. "Happy Christmas" is a touch quieter and "Merry Christmas" a touch jollier. Use whichever sounds like you.
What do you write to someone who has lost someone this year?
Say you are thinking of them this Christmas and that you know it will be a hard one. Mention the person they have lost if you can. Leave out "merry", and offer something definite, such as a phone call on Boxing Day.
What do you write in a Christmas card to a client?
Thank them for working with you this year and wish them a happy Christmas and a good New Year. Keep it to two sentences, keep it warm, and sign it by hand or with your own name, not only the company's.
When should you send Christmas cards?
Early in December for the post, and earlier for abroad. A card by message can go later: an animated card sent by WhatsApp or email on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning arrives when everyone is at home.
Is it all right to send a Christmas card to someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas?
Usually, yes: a card is a kind thought at the end of the year. Choose a plain greeting such as "Season's greetings" or "Best wishes for the New Year" and leave the religious wording out.