What to write in a Christmas card

Most people stare at a blank card longer than it takes to fill it. The words do not need to be clever. They need to sound like you and fit the space.

This guide gives you Christmas card messages to copy, sorted by who the card is for, plus how to sign it. If you make your card with the Christmas card maker, every short line below fits its greeting or signature field.

Short messages that fit any card

Short lines work on almost any card. They also print the biggest, which matters on a 5 x 7 card that someone reads from across a room.

The maker's custom greeting holds up to 40 characters, and every line here fits:

• Wishing you a calm and happy Christmas
• Warm days and bright nights to you
• Merry Christmas from our house to yours
• Hope your holidays are full of laughter
• Cheers to a cozy Christmas
• Sending love and good cheer
• Peace and rest this holiday season
• May your Christmas be merry and slow
• Here is to good food and good company
• Thinking of you this Christmas

When I made the example cards for this post, the shortest greetings printed largest. The maker shrinks longer text to fit its space, so a line of 15 characters fills the band and a line of 40 sits smaller.

If you would rather not type at all, the maker also has 8 ready greetings, from Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Season's Greetings and Happy New Year.

Christmas card messages for family and close friends

Family cards can be warmer and more personal. One real detail from your year beats three general wishes.

• This year was better because you were in it. Merry Christmas.
• Cannot wait to see you all at the table. Save me a seat.
• Love to all of you, from the four of us and the dog.
• For grandparents: thank you for every phone call this year. We love you.
• For a sibling: same family, same jokes, same love. Merry Christmas.
• For a friend far away: miles apart, still on my mind. Have a lovely Christmas.

Write the long version inside the card by hand if you can. Put the short line on the front, where it has to be read in a second.

A card for someone who had a hard year can be simple. Thinking of you this Christmas, with love, says enough without pretending everything is fine.

Messages for coworkers, your boss and clients

Work cards go to people with different traditions, so many offices pick Happy Holidays over Merry Christmas. It is friendly and nobody feels left out.

• For a coworker: thanks for a great year on the team. Happy holidays.
• For your boss: thank you for your support this year. Wishing you a restful break.
• For a client: thank you for working with us this year. Warm wishes for the holidays and the new year.
• For anyone: happy holidays and all the best for 2027.

Keep client cards short and leave out inside jokes. Sign with your own name and the company name, so the card is from a person and not a logo.

If you send many cards to one office, one card for the whole team is easier to read than ten that say the same thing.

How to sign off a Christmas card

The closing line sets the tone as much as the greeting. Match it to how close you are.

• Close family and friends: Love, With love, Lots of love, Hugs.
• Friends and neighbors: Warmly, Cheers, Merry Christmas from.
• Work and clients: Best wishes, All the best, Kind regards.

For a family card, sign with the family name in the plural. Write The Garcias or The Garcia family, never The Garcia's. The apostrophe shows ownership, not more than one person.

Names that end in s, x, z, ch or sh add es, so the Jones family signs as The Joneses. If that looks odd, The Jones family is always correct.

The maker's signature line holds up to 60 characters. That is enough for Love, Max and the Turner family, the line on one of the example cards, with room to spare.

Put your message on a photo card

Once you have your words, the card itself takes a few minutes:

• Upload a photo. It stays in your browser and is never uploaded.
• Pick one of 3 layouts and one of 4 color themes.
• Choose one of the 8 greetings or type your own, up to 40 characters.
• Add your signature line and, if you like, the year.
• Print it at 5 x 7 inches at 300 DPI, save it as a PDF, or download a PNG to send by message.

AI image tools can misspell words inside a picture. That is why the maker draws your greeting as real text on top of the photo, so it prints exactly as you typed it.

No good photo yet? You can make a Christmas photo of your family from an everyday picture and then put it on the card. For more ideas on the picture itself, see these Christmas card photo ideas.