If your Christmas card list includes family and people in your social and professional circles, a one-size-fits-all message won’t do. As wonderful as diversity is, it can make writing appropriate wishes something of a challenge!
Writing a message that will be appreciated by a church-going aunt when you are not particularly religious can be as tricky as writing a Christmas message intended for your boss.
It sounds like a handful, but we’re here to make it a little easier to get through that Christmas card list.
Take a look at the anatomy of a holiday greetings message, and then find a few suggested messages for cards intended for different people.
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What To Include In A Christmas Card
The following plan can help you write wonderful Christmas card messages, no matter who the intended recipient is.
- Begin with a festive greeting – ‘Tis the season to be jolly, so begin your message with an appropriately festive greeting. Don’t be shy to use a traditional one, such as “Happy holidays”, “Merry Christmas,” or “Happy Christmas.”
- Write a personalised message appropriate to your relationship with the recipient – If the recipient is a family member or friend with whom you share a close bond, write a message from the heart. Include a couple of personal notes, such as news about a new addition to your family. If the recipient is your boss or colleague, you can make a positive mention of something that happened at work during the year.
- Blend cheerfulness with professionalism for business cards – If you’re writing Christmas cards to your boss, employees, colleagues, or clients, you’ll want to keep the tone cheerful yet professional. Stick to the professional or formal titles you would use in ordinary correspondence.
- Use scripture or religious quotes if appropriate – if you know that the recipient is religious or at least appreciates the spiritual aspects of the holiday, you can use bible verses or religious quotes in your message. However, if you’re not 100% sure, rather steer clear.
- Use humour if appropriate – It’s perfectly OK to include humour in your Merry Christmas wishes if you know the recipient will appreciate it. If you do decide to use humour, make sure it is appropriate for the occasion.
- Include Christmassy quotes – You can find innumerable Christmassy quotes from all sorts of people online. Consider using a quote in your Christmas card message to amplify the holiday cheer factor.
- Sign off appropriately – Use a warm, familiar closing when signing off in cards to family and friends, and a warm yet professional closing in business Christmas cards.
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Traditional Christmas Wishes
You can’t go wrong with traditional Christmas wishes or greetings. They’re safe enough to use whether the card is intended for your cousins or work colleagues.
A few ideas include:
- Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
- Merry Christmas, with wishes of peace on earth and goodwill to all people.
- Wishing you all the timeless treasures of Christmas – the warmth of home, the love of family, and the company of good friends.
- May your heart and home be filled with Yuletide cheer! Merry Christmas!
- Wishing you and your family peace, health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year. Merry Christmas.
- May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow. Wishing you lots of love, joy, and happiness. Merry Christmas!
Christmas Greetings For Family
Your Christmas cards to family members should be warm and emotive, just like your gifts! Spread the love and good cheer with messages such as these:
- The best gift of the holiday season is spending time with loved ones around the tree and table. I can’t wait to see you on Christmas day!
- Christmas is a time to celebrate the love in our lives, and that includes the love of family. May the spirit of the festive season fill your heart and your home.
- I can’t imagine Christmas without the love and care that we share. Thank you for making the magic of Christmas real. Happy holidays!
Merry Christmas Messages For Friends
Let the messages included in your friends’ Christmas cards be another reason their experience of the holiday is a warm and cheerful one.
Here are a few ideas:
- Friends like you put the magic into Christmas. I can’t wait to deck the halls with you this holiday season. Merry Christmas!
- Thank you for being a friend. Wishing you infinite joy and unending fun this Christmas!
- Merry Christmas to my best friend. You love me in spite of my faults and lift me up when I’ve fallen down. Thank you for being part of my chosen family.
- Every Christmas is merrier because you’re a part of it, my forever friend.
Religious Christmas Card Messages
As a religious festival, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. If you’re a Christian or a person of faith, and the recipient(s) of your cards will appreciate the sentiments, don’t be afraid to include religious merry Christmas wishes.
Here are some examples:
- May the light of Christ fill your heart and mind as you celebrate his birth. Merry Christmas!
- Christmas is the perfect opportunity to thank God for the love that manifests in our lives; love that takes the form of family/friends such as you. May you have a blessed Christmas!
- May you know peace, love, and light as we celebrate the birth of our lord and saviour, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!
Business Christmas Card Messages
Finding the perfect balance between holiday warmth and professionalism when writing Christmas cards to bosses or colleagues can be tricky.
Let our ideas inspire you:
- Merry Christmas to the world’s best boss. Thank you for being a good example, a great motivator and a source of inspiration!
- Thank you for your patience, your understanding and for inspiring me to be the best worker I can be. Happy holidays!
- Thank you for your companionship, your support and for working alongside me this year. Merry Christmas!
- Merry Christmas to a fantastic co-worker and a wonderful friend. May all your Christmas wishes come true, and may you have a happy New Year.
Funny Christmas Messages
Christmas humour should be cheerful, cheesy, and perhaps even a little cheeky – depending on the intended recipient of the card of course! If there’s a remote chance the person will be offended by the joke, don’t include it.
Here are a few safe suggestions to put a smile on the recipient’s face:
- Wishing you many gifts and few returns! Merry Christmas!
- Christmas can be summed up in three phrases – peace on earth, peace to people of goodwill, and batteries not included.
- What did the three wise salesmen offer to baby Jesus? Frankincense and gold… But wait! There’s myrrh!
- A little more sparkles and a little less stress. This Christmas, I wish you the very best!
Christmas Quotes
Still unsure about what to write in a Christmas card? Sometimes a heartfelt quote around Christmas is the best way to spread the cheer:
- “Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.” – Edna Ferber
- “It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters but who’s around it.” – Charlie Brown
- “May the beautiful lights of every Christmas season remind us of Him who is the source of all light.” – David A. Bednar
- “What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future.” – Agnes M. Pahro
- “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.” – Dr. Seuss
- “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.” – Bob Hope
- “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.” – Andy Rooney
- “Christmas is not an external event at all, but a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.” – Freya Stark
- “May you never bee too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.” – Unknown
- “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Will Ferrel, ‘Elf’
- “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” – Garrison Keillor
With these ideas writing your Christmas cards will be fun again! These messages will make the recipient feel the special festive season spirit just as you intended.