What to Write in a Christmas Card: Lines for 15 People
What to write in a Christmas card: a greeting, one true line about the person, and a sign-off. We read six top-ranking guides and 257 Reddit comments, and this is the shape we distilled from them.
The top-voted comment in the Reddit threads, with 149 upvotes, was about something none of the six guides cover: who the card is addressed to. That section is below too.
Quick Lines You Can Copy Right Now
If you only have two minutes, borrow one of these and swap in the name:
- "Merry Christmas, [Name]. I'm so glad you're in my life."
- "Wishing you a warm, quiet holiday and a good start to the new year."
- "Thinking of you this season. I hope we get to catch up soon."
- "Happy holidays! Thank you for [one specific thing] this year."
- "Merry Christmas from our house to yours."
What Should You Write in a Christmas Card?
The three-part shape
Open with a greeting that fits what you know about them. Add one line that could only go to this person: a thank-you, a memory, a question about their year. Close with a sign-off and your name. Two to four sentences is plenty.
The "two to four sentences" figure comes from Gallery Collection, one of the six guides we read (listed below). Its advice is to write the way you would talk to someone at a holiday lunch. On Reddit, a 7-upvote reply in r/etiquette boiled it down further: write a short bit of news about yourself, ask about the recipient, and wish them happy holidays.
A card with a real sentence in it beats a clever line that could go to anyone.
Christmas Card Messages for 15 People
Pick the row closest to yours, then swap the brackets for something true. If you have no detail to add, drop the bracket and the line still works. These lines are original to this guide, so borrow them freely.
| Who you are writing to | A message to borrow | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Your parents | "Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad. Thank you for [one thing from this year]. I can't wait to see you on [date]." | Name one real thing from this year. |
| A grandparent | "Merry Christmas, Grandma. I still think about [a family tradition], and it's still my favorite part. Love you." | Mail it. A 3-upvote r/etiquette reply notes that a card addressed to Grandma alone lets her display it in her own place. |
| A brother or sister | "Merry Christmas, [Name]. Same time next year for [inside joke]?" | The inside joke does all the work. |
| An aunt and uncle | "Merry Christmas, Aunt [Name] and Uncle [Name]. Thinking of you both and hoping to see you soon." | Use both names. See the addressing section below. |
| Your partner | "Merry Christmas. My favorite part of the year is [a place or ritual] with you." | For a first Christmas together, one r/homemaking commenter suggested "Merry First Christmas together." |
| A close friend | "Merry Christmas, [Name]. Your friendship is the best part of my year. Dinner in January?" | Suggest a date. |
| A friend you have lost touch with | "Merry Christmas, [Name]. I was thinking of you this week. [One line of news.] How are you?" | One line of news plus one question is the shape the 16-upvote reply used. |
| A coworker | "Happy holidays, [Name]. Thanks for [specific help] this year. Enjoy the time off." | "Happy holidays" is the safe default at work. |
| A boss or a client | "Happy holidays, [Name]. Thank you for a great year of working together. Wishing you a restful break." | Gallery Collection says to skip sales pitches and promo codes. |
| A neighbor or a landlord | "Happy holidays from [number or unit]. Thanks for being such good neighbors this year." | Not sure they celebrate? Keep the card free of Christmas images. |
| A teacher | "Happy holidays, Ms. [Name]. Thank you for [one thing] this year. [Child] has loved your class." | Have the child sign it. Adding a small gift? See handmade ceramic mugs. |
| Your sibling's partner | "Merry Christmas, [Name]. I'm so glad you're part of our family. Thank you for [one specific kindness]." | In a 13-comment r/etiquette thread, the top reply (60 upvotes) said a sweet note like this would move them. |
| New parents or a new couple | "Merry first Christmas as a family of three!" | Keep it to one line. |
| Someone having a hard year | "Thinking of you this season. No need to reply. I'm a call away." | Papier suggests a softer tone for people who are struggling. |
| Someone who recently lost a loved one | "Thinking of you and [Name] this Christmas. I'm sorry it's hard." | Send a sympathy card first. See the note near the end. |
Short and Funny Christmas Card Messages
For short Christmas card messages, these fit above a signature:
- "Merry Christmas. Please accept this card as proof I remembered."
- "Wishing you a Christmas as cozy as your best sweatpants."
- "Hope your tree stays up and your cat stays out of it."
- "Eat well, rest more, and ignore the group chat."
- "Happy holidays. The lights are up and the bar is low."
One r/homemaking commenter gave a rotation of one-liners that they put on a yearly photo card, including "Merry Everything and Happy Always" and "Happy Moo Year," the year the family photo had cows in it. A joke that ties to the photo is the pattern to copy.
Match the joke to the reader. A pun for a sibling can read as flippant to a boss.
What 6 Guides Say vs. What Reddit Says
We read six pages that rank for this search: Snapfish, Papier, Gallery Collection, Dean Morris Cards, Printerpix and SimplyNoted. Six more (American Greetings, Minted, Picta, Cardsdirect, Good Housekeeping and The Pioneer Woman) refused our reader, so they are not counted. We also parsed 257 comments from 26 threads in r/etiquette, r/christmas and r/homemaking and ranked them by upvotes. A summarising AI tool read each page and listed its advice, and we counted the lists. We did not check every line of every guide, so treat the counts as close, not exact.
| Advice | Guides that say it (of 6) | What Reddit commenters wrote |
|---|---|---|
| Keep it short or simple | 4 | A 7-upvote reply: short news, a question about them, a warm wish |
| Add a personal detail | 3 | A 16-upvote reply adds a blurb about the year and a question about the recipient's family |
| Write at least a line by hand | 3 | A 3-upvote reply says a photo card with no message is fine |
| Pick faith-aware wording if unsure | 3 | The biggest argument in the data, covered below |
| Mail early (early December, or 2 to 3 weeks out) | 2 | An 11-upvote reply starts writing Thanksgiving weekend |
| Include sign-off ideas | 2 | Not raised in the comments we read |
| How to address a couple or a household | 0 | The 149-upvote top comment, plus at least 4 more in the top 15 |
Guides spend their space on sample lines, and one of the six has no tips at all, only a long list of messages. Reddit spends its upvotes on the envelope.
The sample is small, and people who post questions about card etiquette are people who worry about it. Use this as a signal, not a survey.
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?
Write "Merry Christmas" if you know they celebrate it. If you are unsure, write "Happy holidays" and pick a snowflake or winter card instead of a tree. If they celebrate another holiday, send a card for theirs. Reddit argued about this at length, and the details below show where people draw the line.
A user in r/etiquette asked whether a card with a tree on the front was too Christmassy for a non-Christian recipient. The top reply, with 103 upvotes, said they would not be offended but that "this is clearly a Christmas card." The second reply, 77 upvotes, pointed out that plenty of non-Christians still celebrate Christmas, and said to pick a different card only if the person celebrates another winter holiday or none. A Jewish commenter (59 upvotes) wrote that they are "fine with any card that people send me."
Another commenter, in the same thread with 20 upvotes, told of saying "merry Christmas" to a barista who replied, "how do you know i celebrate Christmas?" Three of the six guides also flag faith-aware wording.
Dean Morris Cards, a UK site, uses "Happy Christmas" in several of its samples, so that wording suits British recipients.
How to Address a Christmas Card to a Couple or a Whole Household
Include both partners when you know them. Write "The Lee Family" on the envelope and list every first name inside. If you do not know a partner's surname, put both first names inside the card. This drew the most votes in the threads, and the guides skip it. The table below is common practice from r/etiquette commenters, not law.
| Situation | What commenters suggested | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| You know your friend has a partner | Include the partner. One commenter said they would not make an issue of being left off, but would include a known partner anyway | 149 |
| You do not know the partner's last name | Address the envelope to your friend and write both first names inside, as in "Dear Sam and Jane" | 21 |
| A couple who live together but are not married | Both names on separate lines, such as "Mr. John Jones and Ms. Mary Martin" | 79 |
| A family with kids | "The Lee Family" on the envelope and every name, kids included, inside | 13 |
| Parents with different last names | "The Smith/Doe Family," or "The Doe Household" if "Family" implies marriage | 22 and 3 |
| A house with several adult couples | A card for each couple. If you cannot, "The Doe Family" is enough | 35 |
| A note meant for one person | Address it to your friend and write "Wishing you and [partner's name] a happy holiday season!" inside | 7 |
| Someone recently widowed | Address it to her alone, and send a condolence card first | 68 |
One commenter who had just mailed 120 cards said they often do not know a friend's partner's name or spelling, so when in doubt they send it to the friend. Ask for names before December.
Snapfish adds one spelling rule: do not use an apostrophe in a plural surname. It is "the Lees," not "the Lee's." Names ending in -s, -x, -z, -ch or -sh take -es, as in "the Joneses."
Photo Cards, Family Newsletters and Sign-Offs
A photo card without a handwritten message is fine, according to a 3-upvote reply. Papier still suggests at least one handwritten sentence. We would split the difference: a sentence for close family and friends, a signature for the rest.
On family newsletters, a 13-upvote reply said career news is "exactly the kind of thing you put in a holiday card." A 6-upvote reply gave the limit: "The key is brevity." A couple of paragraphs for a big year is fine, and a full single-spaced page is not. In r/christmas, a 12-upvote commenter liked photos but disliked letters that listed every achievement.
Sign-offs to borrow: "Warmly," "With love," "Love, [names]," "Wishing you well," "Merry Christmas from all of us." Printerpix and Snapfish both give sign-off ideas.
When to Send Christmas Cards
Mail them in the first week of December, or any time after Thanksgiving. An 11-upvote r/etiquette reply starts filling them in on Thanksgiving weekend and mails them the first week of December. An 8-upvote reply says any time after Thanksgiving works. Gallery Collection says early December, and SimplyNoted says two to three weeks before Christmas.
Mail them even if you will see people in person. An 8-upvote reply said people get little real mail, so a card is welcome before a visit.
If You Get a Card and Do Not Know What to Do
You do not owe a card back. A 9-upvote reply pointed out that a Christmas card is a greeting, not a gift. The top answers (13 and 10 upvotes) said to text a photo of it with a thank-you. One poster sent 56 cards and got six back, and said even a quick text would have meant a lot.
When the Card Is for Someone Who Is Grieving
A mass-mailed Christmas card can land badly in the first weeks after a death. In a thread about a recent widow, the top reply (68 upvotes) said they would send a condolence card before a Christmas card, and might send a letter around Christmas instead. Our guide to what to write in a sympathy card has lines for 15 situations.
If you write cards for other occasions too, what to write in a birthday card uses the same rule: name one true thing about the person.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you write in a Christmas card to someone you do not know well?
How long should a Christmas card message be?
Do you have to write a message in a photo Christmas card?
Should you address a Christmas card to both people in a couple?
When should you mail Christmas cards?
Your Move: One Line, One Edit, in the Mail
Pick one row above, change one detail so it is true about them, and sign it in your own hand. Check the names on the envelope before you seal it. Then mail the whole stack in the first week of December. If a gift goes with the card, our guide to how to wrap a present covers the paper and ribbon, and Christmas gifts for grandma has ideas that pair well with a handwritten note.
psst, want the good ones first?
Our best Etsy finds, in your inbox.
At most one email a week, only shops we'd buy from ourselves. Unsubscribe with one click.
We send one confirm link first. Read how we handle your email in our privacy policy.
More Picks You Might Like
Christmas Gifts for Grandma: 9 That Passed a Check
I checked every shop behind these christmas gifts for grandma. Nine passed: a $14 tea board, a birth-flower pillow with 5,904 reviews, and seven more.
GiftsHow to Wrap a Present and Tie a Bow: Paper and Ribbon Sizes
Wrap a present and tie a bow step by step, with paper and ribbon sizes for 5 box shapes plus what 473 Reddit comments say goes wrong and how to fix it.
GiftsWhat to Write in a Birthday Card: Ideas for Everyone
Stuck on what to write in a birthday card? Real message ideas for a friend, mom, dad, coworker, or partner, from heartfelt to funny, plus what not to write.
GiftsWhat to Write in a Sympathy Card: Lines for 15 Situations
What to write in a sympathy card: sympathy card messages for 15 situations, plus what 7 top guides and 163 Reddit comments from grieving people agree on.
GiftsWhite Elephant Rules: How to Play, Steals and Price Limits
White elephant rules in plain steps, plus what 737 Reddit comments say about steal limits, the $25 sweet spot, and which gifts actually get fought over.