What to write in a Christmas and New Year card: 80 message ideas
By Photobox on 5 November 2026
Wondering what to write in a Christmas card? Discover 80 Christmas card message ideas and New Year wishes for family, friends, colleagues, kids, teachers, pet owners and more. From funny messages to heartfelt wishes, they’re organised by who you’re writing to, so you can find the right words in seconds and make them your own.
The right message depends on who you’re writing to, so to give you a helping hand, we’ve put together 80 Christmas card message ideas and New Year wishes for everyone on your list. From family and friends to your partner, colleagues, teachers and distant relatives, simply jump to the section you need and find a message to make your own.
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How to write a good traditional Christmas card
Traditional Christmas wishes don’t need to be complicated. A few warm words about love, happiness and time spent together are often all you need. Here are nine classic Christmas card saying ideas to get you started.
- Merry Christmas! Wishing you a wonderful holiday season, filled with love and laughter.
- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We’ve had an unforgettable year and are so glad to have shared it with you.
- Wishing you laughter, smiles and lots of joy this Christmas season.
- Wishing you a warm and happy Christmas with your family.
- May this Christmas bring you joy and prosperity, and may all your dreams come true. With our warmest thoughts for the festive season.
- Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a year full of big joys and little happinesses.
- Happiness, again and always… The whole family wishes you a very Merry Christmas.
- Wishing you a Christmas full of joy and a year full of happiness. May your days, weeks and months be filled with love and laughter.
- May your Christmas Eve be full of delicious food, laughter and memorable moments with loved ones. Merry Christmas!
How to write a funny Christmas card
A funny Christmas card works best when it sounds like something you’d actually say to the person receiving it. Family traditions, festive chaos and questionable Christmas jumpers are all fair game.
- Happy Christmas! This year, I hope your Christmas outfit is just as flamboyant as your answers to the family’s awkward questions.
- For Christmas, I hope the gossip at the dinner table is just as surprising as the presents waiting for me under the tree!
- Merry Christmas! May the family group chat stay peaceful, the food be elite and nobody bring up politics at dinner.
- Wishing you a Christmas with excellent presents, zero responsibilities and enough festive snacks to enter your hibernation era.
- Merry Christmas! May your presents be exactly what you wanted and your relatives leave before you’ve run out of snacks.
What Christmas songs can you reference in a card?
Looking for Christmas card ideas quotes with a musical twist? Christmas music gives you plenty to work with, whether their festive playlist is more Bing Crosby, Wham!, Mariah or Ariana Grande. Pick a song they’ll instantly recognise and use the title, or a favourite lyric, as inspiration for your own message.
- Bing Crosby – “Happy Holiday”
- Brenda Lee – “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
- Mariah Carey – “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
- Kelly Clarkson – “Underneath the Tree”
- Judy Garland – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Choose something that feels like them, then add your own message around it. A shared favourite, an inside joke or a song that reminds you of a Christmas you’ve spent together will always feel more personal than just picking the biggest festive hit.
What’s a good New Year message?
For a classic New Year message, keep things optimistic. Wish them happiness, health or new adventures, or simply let them know you’re looking forward to another year together.
- Here’s a toast to a fresh start, a new chapter and hopefully some very good stories to tell by the end of it. Happy New Year!
- Sending you our very best wishes for the New Year. Thank you for all the moments we’ve shared, and here’s to many more to come! Can’t wait to celebrate together soon.
- The whole family joins me in wishing you a wonderful 2027. May health, love, joy and success be with you as this New Year begins.
- Wishing you a 2027 full of good people, great food, spontaneous plans and holidays that actually make it out of the group chat.
- Here’s to another year of saying “we really need to do this more often” and hopefully actually doing it. Happy New Year!
- May 2027 bring you more good days than bad, more reasons to celebrate and considerably fewer emails. Happy New Year!
- New Year, same amazing you. Here’s to more adventures, questionable decisions and stories we’ll probably still be talking about next December.
What’s an original way to wish someone a happy New Year?
If “Happy New Year!” doesn’t quite feel like enough, play with the format. A recipe, a countdown or an unexpected little list can make your message much more memorable.
- A pinch of success
A zest of the unexpected
A dash of madness to spice things up
All topped off with laughter and love.
2027 is going to taste like nothing else, that’s for sure!
Wishing you a very happy New Year. - Recipe for a great 2027
Serves 1 – Cooking time: 365 days
1/4 cup love
1/4 cup happiness
1/4 cup wisdom
1/4 cup health
Mix it all together and enjoy without moderation, all year long. - On the programme for this New Year:
2 thousand and one thrilling adventures
0 unnecessary worries
2 weeks of holiday in the sun (at least)
7 reasons to smile every day
Best wishes for 2027! - Your 2027 packing list:
Plenty of laughter
A little spontaneity
Somewhere new to explore
Good people to share it with
And absolutely no room for regrets.
Happy New Year! - 365 blank pages are waiting. Fill them with good food, big laughs, small adventures and the kind of moments you’ll still be talking about next December. Happy New Year!
What should you write in a work Christmas or New Year card?
Whether you’re writing to a colleague, your boss, an employee or a client, the best message depends on the relationship. If you’re wondering what to write in a business Christmas card, keep things warm, positive and professional, but don’t be afraid to show a little personality. These Christmas card quotes and Christmas card message ideas for boss, colleagues, clients and employees cover everything from sincere thanks to something a little more relaxed.
- For colleagues: Merry Christmas! Thanks for making the working week considerably more entertaining. Here’s to more coffee breaks, good ideas and getting through another year together.
- For your boss: Thank you for all your support and encouragement this year. Wishing you a relaxing Christmas and a very happy New Year.
- For an employee: Thank you for everything you’ve brought to the team this year. Enjoy a very well-earned Christmas break, and here’s to a brilliant 2027.
- For a client: Thank you for being part of another great year. It’s been a pleasure working together, and we’re looking forward to seeing what 2027 brings.
- For a customer: Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year from all of us. Thank you for your support this year. We hope you have a wonderful festive break.
- For your work bestie: We survived the deadlines, the meetings that could have been emails and another year of pretending we weren’t already thinking about lunch at 10.30am. Merry Christmas!
What to write in a Christmas card for your parents and friends?
With family and close friends, you can make things more personal and relaxed. Think about the year you’ve had together, the things you’re looking forward to, or simply remind them how glad you are to have them around.
- Merry Christmas! Thanks for being one of my favourite people to eat, drink, laugh and complain about life with. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
- Here’s to another year of ridiculous conversations, last-minute plans and laughing at things nobody else would find funny. Happy New Year!
- So grateful for all the good times we’ve had this year. Hope 2027 brings us plenty more of them, preferably with a few holidays thrown in.
- Merry Christmas to one of the people who makes life considerably better. Hope you have a brilliant one and an even better year ahead.
- Another year done, and somehow we’re still putting up with each other. Here’s to keeping that streak going in 2027!
- Wishing you a Christmas full of good food, long catch-ups and absolutely nowhere you need to be the next morning.
- I hope 2027 brings you lots to look forward to, plenty to laugh about and more time with the people you love. Happy New Year!
- New Year, new resolutions: may your good intentions last longer than the Christmas leftovers in the fridge!
What to write in a heartfelt Christmas or New Year’s card for a child
For children, keep things warm, playful and full of excitement. Think Christmas magic, big adventures and plenty of reasons to smile.
- Merry Christmas! Hope Santa brings you something brilliant and your day is full of presents, chocolate and lots of fun.
- Wishing you a magical Christmas filled with twinkling lights, festive treats and all your favourite people.
- Merry Christmas! May your stocking be full, your hot chocolate have extra marshmallows and your Christmas be the best one yet.
- Here’s to a New Year of big adventures, new things to discover, lots of laughter and plenty of fun along the way. Happy New Year!
- A very happy 2027! I hope all your dreams come true, even the wildest ones.
What’s a romantic Christmas or New Year message for your partner?
Not sure what to write in your partner’s Christmas card? Skip the grand declarations if they don’t sound like you. A message can be romantic, funny, affectionate or simply about the life you share. And if you’re looking for Christmas card message ideas for your girlfriend, wife, boyfriend or husband, start with the little things you love about them and the moments you’ve shared this year.
- Another Christmas with my favourite person. I still can’t believe I get to do life with you. Love you.
- Merry Christmas to the person I’d choose to spend every Christmas with, even when we’re stressed, running late and arguing about what time we’re supposed to leave.
- Here’s to another year of adventures, lazy Sundays, stupid jokes and deciding what to have for dinner every single night. Wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.
- My favourite thing about this year was getting to share it with you. Here’s to everything we’ve got planned for 2027, and all the bits we haven’t planned yet.
- New Year, same us. Still making each other laugh, still choosing each other. Happy New Year, I love you.
How do you wish someone a happy Chinese New Year?
Chinese and Lunar New Year messages often focus on happiness, health, prosperity and good fortune. Keep your wish warm and celebratory, and avoid making it overly complicated.
- Happy Lunar New Year! May happiness, health and good fortune last all year long for you and your family.
- Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing you good fortune, good health, love and peace this year and every year to come.
- Bring out the fireworks! Happy Lunar New Year. May your life be filled with luck and happiness in the year ahead.
- I hope your wishes come true, one by one, lighting up your path like fireworks. Happy Lunar New Year! May every moment be a celebration.
- Wishing you and your family happiness, prosperity and plenty of reasons to celebrate in the year ahead. Happy Lunar New Year!
How to write a lovely Christmas card to your teacher?
A Christmas card for a teacher doesn’t need to be too elaborate. A sincere thank you for their patience, encouragement or hard work can mean far more than a long message.
- Merry Christmas! Thank you for all your patience, encouragement and support this year.
- Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a well-earned break. Thank you for everything you’ve done this year!
- Thank you for making learning fun and for always encouraging me to do my best. Merry Christmas!
- Wishing you a relaxing Christmas and a very happy New Year. Thank you for being such a wonderful teacher.
- Thank you for everything you’ve taught us this year. Wishing you a Christmas full of happiness and a fantastic year ahead.
What’s a respectful religious Christmas message?
If you’re unsure what to write in a Christian Christmas card, you can acknowledge the religious meaning of the day with a sincere message centred on faith, peace and love.
- May the joy and peace of Christmas be with you and your family, today and throughout the year ahead.
- Wishing you a blessed Christmas filled with faith, hope and love.
- May the light of Christ fill your home with peace and your heart with joy this Christmas.
- Rejoicing with you in the birth of Jesus and wishing you a peaceful and blessed Christmas.
- May God’s love surround you and your family this Christmas and guide you into a happy and peaceful New Year.
What’s a good Christmas message for a pet owner?
Some Christmas cards aren’t complete without a paw print or two. And whether you’re searching for Christmas greetings for dogs, Christmas greetings from dogs, Christmas greetings dog lovers can send, or Christmas greetings cat lovers will appreciate, the best messages don’t need to be too serious. A little silliness is entirely appropriate.
- Merry Christmas from me and my favourite human. I helped with the card. Mostly by sitting on it. Love, the cat.
- Merry Christmas! I asked Santa for treats, walks and absolutely no silly Christmas jumper this year. Love, the dog.
- Wishing you and your four-legged family a Christmas full of cosy naps, long walks and far too many treats.
- Merry Christmas to you and your furry little troublemaker. May your tree remain standing until January!
- Sending Christmas wishes from our paws to yours. Here’s to another year of muddy walks, sofa cuddles and unconditional love.
What do you write in a card for in-laws or distant family?
For in-laws, cousins or relatives you don’t see all the time, you don’t need to force intimacy. A warm, genuine message that lets them know you’re thinking of them is more than enough. Remember, it really is the thought that counts.
- Wishing you a wonderful Christmas filled with happiness, good food and time with the people you love.
- Sending you our warmest wishes this Christmas and hoping the New Year brings you health and happiness.
- We may not see each other as often as we’d like, but we’re thinking of you this Christmas. Wishing you a lovely festive season.
- Merry Christmas to you all. We hope you have a relaxing festive break and a wonderful start to the New Year.
- Sending lots of love across the miles this Christmas. Here’s hoping the New Year gives us a chance to spend more time together.
Find the right words this Christmas, then make them your own
However you choose to say it, what matters most is that it comes from the heart. Pick one of these messages as it is, tweak it to sound more like you, or simply use it as inspiration for your own.
Once you’ve found the words, choose from our Christmas and New Year card designs to find something that suits everyone on your list. Add your favourite photos, personalise your message and create a card that’s made especially for them.
Frequently asked questions
What is a short Christmas card message?
A short Christmas message can be as simple as “Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year” or “Sending you love and warm wishes this Christmas”. If you’re wondering what to write in a Christmas card, a few genuine words can often be more meaningful than a long message. Some of the nicest things to write in a Christmas card are simply warm wishes for the festive season and year ahead.
What do you write in a professional Christmas card?
If you’re wondering what to write in a Christmas card for a colleague, boss or client, keep it warm but appropriate. Thank them for their support or work during the year, then wish them a happy Christmas and a successful year ahead. For example: “Thank you for your support this year. Wishing you a restful Christmas and every success in the New Year.”
How do you write a heartfelt Christmas message?
When thinking about how to write a Christmas card message, start with the person rather than searching for the perfect words. Mention something you’ve appreciated about them, a memory you’ve shared or what you’re looking forward to together. That’s also the simplest answer to how to write a meaningful Christmas card: make your message specific to the person receiving it.
Is it OK to send a funny Christmas card to a colleague?
Yes, if the humour suits your relationship and is appropriate for the workplace. Keep jokes light and festive, and avoid anything too personal or potentially embarrassing. If you’re unsure what to say in a Christmas card for a colleague, a warm or gently humorous message is usually the safer choice.
