You’ve picked the card, chosen the photo and checked every name on your mailing list. Now for the part that can take surprisingly long: deciding what to write inside. The right Christmas card messages can be sweet, funny, heartfelt or wonderfully simple – and sometimes all you need is a handful of good Christmas card message ideas to get the words flowing.
That’s exactly what you’ll find here. We’ve rounded up ready-to-use Christmas card messages for family, friends, pet parents, clients, colleagues and plenty of other people and occasions, plus ideas for milestones, late holiday mail and New Year greetings. Borrow a message word for word or make it your own – either way, that blank space in your card is about to get a lot easier to fill.
- Match the tone to the recipient by writing heartfelt messages for family, playful ones for close friends and warm, gratitude-led greetings for clients and business partners.
- Turn a wedding, new baby or new home into the focus of your card. Or recap several milestones with a three-line “big moments + favorite memory + warm sign-off” formula.
- Choose a closing that reflects the relationship, from affectionate sign-offs such as “With love” to professional options such as “Warmly” or “Best regards.”
- Keep Christmas card messages to a line or two on photo-heavy flat cards, and choose a folded format for longer personal notes or year-in-review updates.
- If your cards miss Christmas, make the timing feel intentional with a New Year greeting or an Epiphany message for recipients who celebrate it.
Holiday card messages for family
Family Christmas cards give you plenty of room to get personal. You can tell the people you see every week how much they mean to you, send some love across the miles or finally put into words something you probably don’t say often enough.
Start with one of these Christmas card messages, then add a shared memory, family joke or detail from the year to make it unmistakably yours.
Christmas card messages for the whole family
- Thinking of you this Christmas and wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year.
- Sending lots of love your way this Christmas. We hope we get to celebrate together soon.
- Family like you is one of the best parts of Christmas – and every other time of year, too.
- Christmas wouldn’t be the same without all the people who make our family ours. So lucky to have you.
- Sending Christmas hugs across the miles. We’ll be thinking of you when we raise a glass this year.
- Here’s to good food, long catch-ups and plenty of reasons to laugh. Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
- Wherever we all happen to be this Christmas, we’re sending lots of love your way.
Source: Christmas card design by sam2021 via 99designs by Vista
Source: Christmas card design by Whimsical Brush via 99designs by Vista
Christmas card messages for parents
- Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad. Thank you for making Christmas feel special year after year.
- Home at Christmas will always mean being with you. Can’t wait to celebrate together.
- Thank you for all the love, advice and “have you eaten yet?” messages this year. Merry Christmas!
- Christmas feels a little warmer knowing I get to call you my parents. Sending you both all my love.
- Another Christmas, another year of being grateful for everything you do. Love you both.
- Some of my favorite Christmas memories have you at the center of them. Here’s to making a few more this year.
- Wishing you a Christmas with good food, no rushing around and at least one afternoon spent doing absolutely nothing. You’ve earned it.
Christmas card messages for children
- Merry Christmas to our favorite little Christmas star. We hope your day is full of fun, surprises and something very special from Santa.
- Watching you enjoy Christmas makes the whole season brighter. We love you more than all the presents under the tree.
- Santa’s on his way – and we have it on good authority that you made the nice list. Merry Christmas!
- To our wonderful [son/daughter]: you’ve given us so many reasons to be proud this year. We can’t wait to see what the next one brings.
- We hope your Christmas is packed with everything you love: treats, presents, adventures and plenty of time to play.
- Another year taller, cleverer and somehow even more wonderful. Merry Christmas, [name]!
- One day you may outgrow waiting for Santa, but you’ll never outgrow how much we love you. Merry Christmas.
Christmas card messages for siblings
- Merry Christmas to the person who knows all my childhood stories – including the ones we’ve agreed never to repeat.
- Growing up with you gave me some of my favorite Christmas memories. Somehow, we survived the arguments over presents too!
- Merry Christmas to my built-in best friend, occasional rival and forever partner in family chaos.
- We may be older now, but I still reserve the right to check whether your present is bigger than mine. Merry Christmas!
- Another year of being very lucky to have you as my [brother/sister]. Don’t let it go to your head.
- Christmas wouldn’t feel quite right without you there. Sending lots of love and hoping we celebrate together soon.
- From childhood Christmas mornings to wherever life has taken us now, I’m glad I’ve had you alongside me. Merry Christmas.
Holiday card messages for friends
Friends are usually the people you can have the most fun writing Christmas cards for. With your closest ones, skip the formalities and write the way you actually talk – bring up the trip you still laugh about, reference an inside joke or tell them why you’re glad they were part of your year.
For friends you don’t know quite as well, a short, cheerful message does the job without feeling overly familiar.
Christmas card messages for close friends
- Another year of questionable decisions, excellent stories and having you to share them with. Merry Christmas!
- Very grateful for you, our friendship and everything we somehow managed to fit into this year. Merry Christmas!
- Here’s to a Christmas with plenty of good food, good drinks and absolutely nowhere you need to be.
- Merry Christmas to one of my favorite people. Life is considerably more fun with you in it.
- Another year, another collection of stories we probably shouldn’t put in a Christmas card. Love you!
- I couldn’t have asked for a better person to laugh, complain and celebrate my way through the year with. Merry Christmas!
- Here’s to more dinners that run late, plans that get out of hand and reasons to celebrate next year. Merry Christmas!
- Christmas seemed like a good excuse to remind you how much I appreciate having you in my life. So, there. Consider yourself reminded.
Source: Christmas card design by Whimsical Brush via 99designs by Vista
Want to surprise your loved ones with something different this year? Think beyond the traditional postcard and experiment with unexpected formats, materials and designs. Explore creative Christmas card ideas in our guide.
Christmas card messages for acquaintances
For neighbors, family friends and other people you know more casually, keep your Christmas message simple and genuine. A few well-chosen words will feel warmer than an elaborate greeting that doesn’t match the relationship:
- Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
- Hope you have a relaxing Christmas and plenty to look forward to in the year ahead.
- Sending warm wishes to you and yours this Christmas.
- Wishing you good company, good food and a lovely Christmas.
- Hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy start to the New Year.
- Merry Christmas! Wishing you plenty of happy moments over the holidays.
- Sending our best wishes for a peaceful Christmas and a wonderful year ahead.
Source: Design by velvetmade from 99designs by Vista
Want even more creative greetings for every situation and every recipient? Check out our collection of Merry Christmas wishes and greetings for extra ideas.
Holiday card messages for pet parents
For the friend who talks about their dog like a child or the relative whose camera roll is 90% cat photos, a pet-themed Christmas message is an easy way to make their card feel personal. Mention their four-legged favorite by name for a sweet touch, or pick a festive pun if that’s more their style.
Sweet Christmas card messages for pet parents
For pet lovers who consider their four-legged companions part of the family, a warm Christmas card message can include them in the festive wishes without leaning on wordplay:
- Wishing you and your four-legged family a cozy, happy Christmas.
- May your Christmas be filled with warm cuddles, long walks and plenty of treats.
- Sending Christmas wishes to you – and an extra scratch behind the ears for [pet’s name].
- Wishing your whole family, paws included, a wonderful Christmas.
- Here’s to a Christmas spent with the people and pets you love most.
- Warm Christmas wishes from our family – furry members included – to yours.
- Hope [pet’s name] gets thoroughly spoiled this Christmas. We know you will be!
Source: Christmas card illustration by Tetiana @tannikart via 99designs by Vista
Witty Christmas card messages for pet parents
However, if your recipient appreciates a good pet pun, Christmas offers plenty of material to work with:
- Santa Claws is coming to town. Hide the ornaments!
- Wishing you happy pawlidays and a stocking full of treats.
- Meowy Christmas! Hope Santa Claws is good to you this year.
- Merry Woofmas! May your walks be dry and your treat jar stay full.
- May your days be furry and bright.
- We woof you a Merry Christmas and a yappy New Year!
- Deck the halls with tennis balls. Merry Christmas!
- May your Christmas tree survive the cat. That’s all we’re wishing for this year.
Funny Christmas card messages
If heartfelt isn’t really your style, Christmas gives you plenty of other material to work with: chaotic family photos, overambitious gift shopping, too much food and the annual promise that next year you’ll definitely send your cards earlier. Pick a joke your recipient will appreciate – or one that captures how your festive season is actually going.
Source: Christmas card design by ERosner via 99designs by Vista
Lighthearted Christmas card sayings
- Merry Christmas! Hope Santa brings you something stronger than eggnog.
- Eat, drink and be merry. January can deal with the consequences.
- Christmas: the season of family, friends and pretending cookies count as a balanced meal.
- May your Christmas be merry, bright and completely free of awkward family debates.
- We took 147 photos. This was the best one. Merry Christmas!
- Getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time was our Christmas miracle.
- Dear Santa: Before we get into this, how much have you heard?
- All we want for Christmas is eight uninterrupted hours of sleep.
- We planned to be organized this Christmas. That was adorable.
- Consider this card proof that we had our lives together for at least five minutes this year.
- May your presents be good and your gift receipts unnecessary.
- Merry Christmas from our slightly chaotic household to yours.
Funny Christmas card messages work best when the joke feels familiar. A little self-deprecation, festive chaos or gentle teasing usually lands better than trying too hard for a punchline.
Milestone holiday card messages
Some years come with news too big to leave off the Christmas card. Whether you got married, welcomed a baby, moved somewhere new or packed several milestones into twelve months, your holiday greeting is an easy way to share the latest with people you love.
Christmas card messages for newlyweds and engaged couples
- Married Christmas from the new Mr. and Mrs.!
- Merry, bright and newly engaged!
- Our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. – and plenty to celebrate.
- Officially married and feeling very merry. Happy holidays!
- One very big “yes” later… Merry Christmas from the future Mr. and Mrs.!
Source: Christmas card illustration by solvi_designs via 99designs by Vista
Christmas card messages for a new baby
- Even more to be grateful for this Christmas. Warm wishes from our growing family.
- Santa came early this year! Merry Christmas from our newest arrival.
- The more the merrier! Celebrating [baby’s name]’s first Christmas.
- There’s a brand-new name on Santa’s nice list this year.
- Our favorite little gift arrived this year. Merry Christmas from all of us!
Christmas card messages for a new home
New address, new backdrop for the Christmas card photo – and a good reason to share your news with everyone at once.
- New keys, new address, first Christmas at home. What a year!
- There’s “snow” place like our new home. Merry Christmas from our new address!
- Home for the holidays has a brand-new meaning this year.
- New home, same us – just with a lot more unpacking to do. Happy holidays!
- Our first Christmas under a new roof! Sending warm wishes from [new address/city].
Year-in-review Christmas card message ideas
Had more than one piece of news this year? A Christmas card can double as a quick catch-up for friends and family you don’t speak to every week.
Keep it to three lines so the update still sits comfortably alongside photos and other design elements, especially on a flat card.
A simple blueprint is big moments + favorite memory + warm sign-off. Pick one or two details for each rather than trying to squeeze twelve months onto the page:
[Big moments from the year]. [A favorite memory or small detail that made the year special]. [Christmas wish + what you’re looking forward to next year].
For example:
- We moved to [city], started new jobs and adopted [pet’s name] along the way. Our favorite part has been slowly making this place feel like home. Merry Christmas – and come visit us in [year]!
- What a year: we got married, finally made it to [destination] and bought our first home. We’re ending it surrounded by boxes, but many very happy memories. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and plenty to celebrate in [year].
- [Child’s name] started school, we spent the summer in [destination] and somehow finished the kitchen renovation too. The year flew by, but we made some brilliant memories along the way. Sending lots of love this Christmas and hoping to see more of you next year.
- Our biggest news arrived in [month]: baby [name]. Since then, life has involved very little sleep and a lot of lovely firsts. We’re heading into Christmas tired, happy and excited for everything [year] will bring.
Modern professional and B2B Christmas card message ideas
One of the biggest Christmas card trends in recent years is a shift toward warmer, more personal business greetings. Clients, partners and colleagues have read enough polished lines about “continued success.” A good professional Christmas message sounds more human, reflecting the relationship you’ve built through a year of ambitious projects, weekly video calls or orders shipped across three time zones.
Christmas card messages for clients
- Thank you for trusting us with your business this year. We’ve loved working with you and look forward to what we’ll create together next.
- It’s been a pleasure working with you this year. Wishing you and your team a relaxing Christmas and a brilliant start to the New Year.
- Some of our favorite projects this year had your name on them. Thank you for being part of a great year.
- Thank you for the ideas, conversations and collaboration that kept us busy this year. Merry Christmas from all of us at [company name].
- We’re grateful to have you as a client and even more grateful for the trust you place in our team. Have a wonderful Christmas.
- Another year of projects launched, problems solved and plenty learned along the way. Thanks for doing it all with us. Happy holidays!
Source: Christmas card design by Surabhi Pitti via 99designs by Vista
Christmas card messages for business partners
- We’ve done some great work together this year, and we couldn’t have done it without you. Merry Christmas to everyone at [company name].
- Here’s to another year of good ideas, shared wins and a partnership we’re very glad to have. Happy holidays!
- Thank you for being such a great partner this year. We’re excited to see where we take things next.
- One of the best parts of this year has been having great people to work alongside. Thank you for being among them.
- From the first project of the year to the last, it’s been a pleasure working together. Wishing your whole team a well-earned Christmas break.
- Here’s to everything we accomplished together this year – and a few exciting things still to come. Merry Christmas!
Christmas card messages for employees and remote teams
- What a year. Thank you for everything you’ve brought to the team – now close the laptop and enjoy a well-earned break. Merry Christmas!
- Different cities, different time zones, one seriously good team. Thank you for making it all work this year.
- Behind every project we shipped this year were your ideas, hard work and approximately a thousand messages in the group chat. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
- We may spend most of the year seeing each other through screens, but your contribution is felt far beyond them. Have a wonderful Christmas.
- Thank you for everything you helped make happen this year. We hope your holiday is wonderfully quiet, work-free and full of whatever makes you happiest.
- From early calls to late launches, you showed up when it mattered. We’re lucky to have you on the team. Happy holidays!
Source: Christmas card design by P I X 3 L via 99designs by Vista
Christmas card messages for suppliers and vendors
- Thank you for helping us keep things moving all year long. We truly appreciate everything you and your team do.
- Reliable partners make busy years much easier. Thank you for being one of ours, and have a wonderful Christmas.
- We’ve appreciated your support, responsiveness and great work throughout the year. Merry Christmas from everyone at [company name].
- Thank you for being there when we needed you this year. Wishing your whole team a relaxing holiday season.
- From busy periods to last-minute requests, we’re grateful we could count on you. Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
- A big thank-you from our team to yours for everything you’ve helped us accomplish this year. Enjoy a well-earned holiday break.
Source: Christmas card design by NXTcanvas via 99designs by Vista
Want your holiday cards to work harder for your business? Skip the store-bought options and make them your own. Explore our guide to custom holiday cards for businesses for ideas and tips on designing, printing and mailing yours.
Belated holiday card messages
December has a habit of disappearing quickly. Maybe your cards missed the last comfortable mailing date, an address arrived late or Christmas simply got away from you… There’s no need to abandon the card altogether! Shift the focus forward with a New Year greeting, or, where it’s relevant to the recipient, send your wishes in time for Epiphany.
New Year card messages
- Wishing you a happy New Year filled with good health, good company and plenty to look forward to.
- Christmas may be over, but the good wishes are still coming. Happy New Year from all of us!
- Here’s to fresh plans, happy surprises and plenty of reasons to celebrate in [year].
- Starting [year] by sending a little love your way. Wishing you a wonderful year ahead.
- Cheers to the New Year! Hope [year] brings you plenty of good days and memorable ones.
- A little late for Christmas, right on time for [year]. Happy New Year!
- We’re extending the holiday cheer into January. Wishing you a very happy New Year!
Looking for something more specific? Browse these New Year wishes for more ways to welcome the year ahead.
Epiphany card messages
Celebrated on January 6 in many Christian traditions, Epiphany gives holiday greetings a natural home beyond December 25.
- Wishing you a peaceful and joyful Epiphany.
- May the spirit of Epiphany bring peace and happiness to your home.
- Warm wishes to you and your family this Epiphany.
- Wishing you a beautiful Epiphany filled with love, light and time together.
- May this Epiphany bring a joyful close to your Christmas celebrations.
- Sending warm wishes for a blessed Epiphany and a wonderful year ahead.
If you know the recipient observes the occasion, tailor the message to it rather than treating Epiphany as a catch-all excuse for a late Christmas card.
Pairing your Christmas card message with the right layout
The best length of the copy depends on how much space your Christmas card design gives you. Photo-heavy flat cards work best with short greetings, while folded cards leave room for personal notes and year-in-review updates.
Let the layout set the limit: the more your card already has to look at, the less it needs to say.
Flat vs. folded Christmas cards
| If your card has… | Try… | For example |
|---|---|---|
| One large photo | A one-line greeting | “Merry Christmas from the [Name] family!” |
| Several photos or illustrations | 1–2 short sentences | A family greeting or milestone announcement |
| Plenty of open space | A personal note | A heartfelt message to family or friends |
| A blank interior | A longer update | A year-in-review or individual messages |
Save decorative fonts for short greetings. For longer messages, choose an easy-to-read serif or sans serif.
How to sign your holiday card
Once you’re happy with your message (and have given it one last check for typos), all that’s left is the sign-off. Keep it personal and choose a closing that feels natural for whoever you’re writing to.
Sign-off options for Christmas card messages
Personal sign-offs focus on more intimate wishes and feelings shared with friends and family. Here are some common examples:
- Wishing you joy,
- Warmest wishes,
- With love always,
- Thinking of you,
Professional or casual sign-offs focus on broad experiences, wishes and sentiments that are less intimate.
- Stay cozy,
- Peace and joy,
- Warmly,
- Best regards,
Have the right message for your Christmas cards?
That’s the beauty of Christmas cards: every person on your list gives you a reason to write something different. Pick the message that sounds most like you, add a detail they’ll recognize and bring it all together with a design, photo and paper that make the card a pleasure to open – and an easy one to keep.
CTA: Ready to send some Christmas cheer? Turn your favorite message into a personalized card made for family, friends or anyone else on your list. Print Christmas cards
Christmas card messages FAQs
Should you handwrite or print a Christmas card message?
Either works, and you can combine the two. Print your main greeting when you’re sending a larger batch of cards, then add a handwritten sentence or signature for a personal touch. If you’re only sending a handful, handwriting the full message makes each card feel more individual.
Should you write the same Christmas message in every card?
You can use one core message across your cards without making every greeting identical. Keep the main Christmas wish consistent, then add a sentence for people you’re especially close to – a shared memory for family, an inside joke for a friend or a specific thank-you for a client.
Should you mention Christmas in a card if you don’t know what the recipient celebrates?
If you’re unsure, choose an inclusive greeting such as “Happy holidays,” “Season’s greetings” or “Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.” Save explicitly Christmas or religious wording for recipients whose traditions you know.
Is it okay to include a business promotion in a Christmas card?
Usually, keep the greeting focused on appreciation rather than selling. If you want to include an offer, QR code or discount, give it a separate, secondary place on the card so it doesn’t turn your thank-you message into an ad.
Should you include the year on a Christmas card?
It’s optional, but adding the year makes sense for photo cards, baby’s first Christmas cards, weddings, new-home announcements and year-in-review designs. These cards often become keepsakes, and the date gives the photo or milestone useful context years later.
