What to write / Thank you card messages

Thank you card messages

57 messages · ready to use or change · Thank you cards

A thank you card takes two minutes to write and is remembered for a long time. The trouble is the blank space after 'Thank you for the'.

The answer is to be specific. Name the thing, say what you did with it or what it meant, and look ahead to seeing them. Three short sentences and you are done.

Here are 57 messages for presents, money, weddings, teachers, nurses, hosts, neighbours and the people who got you through a hard patch. Swap in your own details: the jumper, the casserole, the lift to the station.

How to write one

1. Name the thing

   'Thank you for the blue jumper' beats 'thank you for the gift'. It shows you know who gave what, and that you noticed the care that went into choosing it.

2. Say what you did with it or what it meant

   It is on the shelf, it has been worn twice, it went towards the new sofa, it made a hard week easier. This is the sentence people remember.

3. Look ahead

   Finish with the next time you will see them: come and see it on the wall, the kettle is on whenever you are passing, see you at Christmas.

4. Say what the money will go towards

   When you are thanking someone for money or a voucher, leave the amount out. Tell them what it is going towards, or what you bought, so they can picture it.

5. Late is fine, so send it

   A thank you three months late is still a thank you. Say sorry in half a sentence, do not grovel, and get it sent.

Short thank you messages

For when a few words are enough, or to start a longer note.

• Thank you. It was exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you so much. You really didn't have to, and I'm very glad you did.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Just a quick note to say thank you. It made my week.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for thinking of me. I haven't stopped smiling about it.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• A thank you in writing, because a text did not seem enough.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for everything. I noticed all of it.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a gift

Name the present if you can. 'The lovely present' is there for you to swap.

• Thank you for the lovely present. It is already in use, and I think of you every time I pick it up.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• How did you know? It is exactly what I would have chosen for myself, if I had your taste. Thank you so much.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for such a thoughtful present. It has pride of place on the shelf, where everyone who visits can admire it.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• You are far too generous, and I'm not going to argue. Thank you. I love it, and I'll take very good care of it.
  Put this in a cardCopy

How to say thank you for money or a voucher

No need to mention the amount. Say what it is going towards.

• Thank you so much for the money. It has gone straight into the holiday fund, and I'll raise a glass to you from the beach.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for your very generous gift. We are putting it towards a new sofa, so the next time you visit you will be sitting on it.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the voucher. I have already spent a happy hour deciding what to get, which is a present in itself.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the birthday money. I'm saving it for driving lessons, so thank you from me, and sorry in advance to other road users.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Wedding thank you card messages

One for a gift, one for money, one for travelling, one for those who could not come and one for the people who helped.

• Thank you so much for the beautiful present. It is out of the box and in the kitchen, and it makes the place look as if grown-ups live here.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for celebrating with us and for your generous gift. We are putting it towards the honeymoon, and we will think of you over the first breakfast.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for coming all that way to be with us. Looking out and seeing your faces is one of the things we will remember longest.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• We were so sorry you couldn't be there, and so touched that you thought of us anyway. Thank you for the lovely gift. We'll bring the photos round soon.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for everything you did to make the day happen, from the early start to the last dance. We couldn't have done it without you, and we wouldn't have wanted to.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a birthday present

• Thank you for my birthday present. You always find the thing I didn't know I wanted until I unwrapped it.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the present and for coming to celebrate. It was a lovely day, and you were a big part of why.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the beautiful scarf. I have worn it every day since my birthday and had three compliments, all of which I'm passing on to you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the book. I started it that night and was late to bed because of you. The best kind of birthday present.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a teacher or teaching assistant

For the end of term. Change 'she' or 'he' to fit: one true detail about your child is worth more than any present.

• Thank you for a wonderful year. She has gone from dreading reading to hiding under the covers with a torch and a book, and that is down to you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for all your patience and kindness this year. He comes home full of what you said, and we have learned a great deal second-hand.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for noticing when things were hard and quietly making them easier. This family won't forget it.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• To a brilliant teaching assistant: thank you for every shoelace tied, every wobble calmed and every sticker awarded. You will be missed next year.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Have a wonderful summer. You have earned every minute of it. Thank you for everything you have done for our class this year.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a nurse, midwife, carer or doctor

Say what they did that you remember. Address it to the ward or the team if you did not catch every name.

• Thank you for looking after Mum so well. You treated her as a person, not a patient, and she noticed. So did we.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for your calm, your kindness and your sense of humour at three in the morning. We arrived as two frightened people and left as a family.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the care you gave Dad in his last weeks. You made a hard time gentler for all of us, and we will always be grateful.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• I don't remember everything about my stay, but I remember you. Thank you for explaining things twice and never making me feel a nuisance.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a host

For dinner, Sunday lunch or a weekend stay. Mention one thing you ate or did.

• Thank you for a lovely evening. The food was wonderful, the company was better, and I'm still thinking about that pudding.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for having us to stay. We arrived frazzled and left rested, well fed and slightly in love with your dog.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• What a weekend. Thank you for the walks, the roast and the late nights round the table. Our turn next, and we mean it.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for a perfect Sunday lunch. I would ask for the recipe, but we both know I would rather just come back.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for help in a hard time

• Thank you for everything over these last few weeks. You turned up, you didn't ask what to do, you just did it. I'll never forget that.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the meals, the lifts and the messages that needed no answer. They carried me through, and so did you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• You listened to the same story more times than anyone should have to, and never once looked at the clock. Thank you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for being there when it mattered. I hope you never need the favour returned, but if you do, I'll be on the doorstep before you finish asking.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a colleague or a boss

The third is for thanking everyone after your own leaving do.

• Thank you for all your help on this. You made a difficult job look easy and a long week feel shorter.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for backing me, especially when it would have been easier not to. I have learned a great deal working for you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the card, the gift and the send-off. I'm leaving with a full heart, a full bag and several of your pens.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for covering for me while I was off. I came back to a tidy desk and no disasters, and I know that was not luck.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages from a child

Simple words a child can copy out: one sentence about the present, one about the person.

• Thank you for my present. I love it and I play with it every day.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for coming to my party and for my present. It was the best day.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for my birthday money. I am saving up for a new bike.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for my book, Nan. We have read it three times. Can we read it together when you come?
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for being my teacher. I liked the stories best. I will miss you.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Thank you messages for a neighbour

• Thank you for watering the tomatoes and feeding the cat while we were away. Both are thriving, and both seem to prefer you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for taking in all those parcels. You have been more reliable than the couriers, and much nicer to talk to.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for clearing our path in the snow before we were even up. We are very lucky to live next door to you.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for keeping an eye on things while I was in hospital. Coming home to milk in the fridge and the bins out nearly made me cry.
  Put this in a cardCopy

Funny thank you messages

For people who would be embarrassed by anything too heartfelt.

• Thank you. I will treasure it always, or until I break it, whichever comes first.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the chocolates. They lasted nearly an hour, which is a household record.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for the present. This would have reached you sooner, but I had to find a pen, then the time, then my manners.
  Put this in a cardCopy
• Thank you for having us. We ate everything, stayed too long and are available again from next weekend.
  Put this in a cardCopy

What to leave out

• 'Thank you for the gift' with no mention of what it was, which reads like a card written from a list.
• The amount, when you are thanking someone for money.
• A long apology for being late: half a sentence is enough.
• Any hint that it was not quite right, such as the size, the colour or the fact that you already have one.

Questions people ask

More help with words

• What to write in a wedding card58 messages
• Birthday wishes for everyone on your list60 messages
• What to write in a leaving card56 messages
• What to write in a new baby card56 messages

All the wording guides