Merry Christmas Wishes and Christmas Card Messages for Everyone on Your List

ArtPix 3D Editorial Team · Updated October 2026 · 14 min read

Merry Christmas wishes are easy to say out loud and oddly hard to write, which is why so many cards go out with a signature and nothing above it. You sit down with a stack of thirty cards, the first three get a real sentence, and by the tenth you are writing "Have a great one!" on autopilot. The fix is a better starting point, not more effort. This guide gives you a three-part formula, the phrases to stop using, more than 100 messages sorted by who the card is for, twelve ways to sign off, and when to post.

Quick answer: A good Christmas card message has 3 parts: a greeting that names the person, one specific line about their year or something you shared, and a wish for the year ahead. Two or three sentences is enough. Example: "Merry Christmas, Dana. Watching you finish your first half marathon in April was the highlight of our spring. Wishing you a slow, warm Christmas and a New Year with fewer hills. Love, Sam and Priya." For a coworker or someone you barely know, drop the middle line.

What to write in a Christmas card: the three-part formula

Every message on this page follows the same shape.

• The greeting: their name, not just "Merry Christmas". A name proves the card was written for one person.
• The specific line: one thing from their year or one thing you did together: the new job, the dog, the dinner in March. This is the line they remember.
• The wish: something forward-looking and small. Rest, good food, a better year. Big wishes ("may all your dreams come true") read as filler.

Put together: "Merry Christmas, Joe. We watched that porch go up all summer, and it looks great. Wishing you a restful break and a dry spring." Twenty-four words, and nobody else could have received it.

What not to write in a Christmas card

These are the lines people reach for when they are tired, and each one tells the reader something you did not mean.

1. "Hope you're well!" It says you do not know how they are. If you know nothing about their year, wish them something specific: "Wishing you a quiet week off and plenty of sleep."
2. "We must catch up in the new year!" Almost nobody does it, so the reader hears a promise already broken. Name a month or a plan, or leave it out.
3. "Sorry this card is so late" or "Sorry we've been so bad at keeping in touch." An apology as the opening line makes the reader reassure you. Skip the guilt and write the warm line instead.
4. A signature under the printed verse and nothing else. The pre-printed Christmas card greetings are the part nobody reads. Your one handwritten line is the whole card.
5. "Can't believe it's Christmas already!" A sentence about the calendar says nothing. Spend the space on them.
6. The highlights reel. The promotion, the kitchen remodel and the trip to Italy, sent to a friend who lost a job this year. Before you copy a brag paragraph into every card, read the list of names.
7. A Bible verse to a friend who does not share your faith, or a careful "Happy holidays" to a relative who would rather hear "Merry Christmas". Match the card to the reader, not to your own default.

Christmas card messages, sorted by who gets the card

Copy any line below exactly as written. Where a name would help, add it to the greeting at the front.

Short Christmas card messages for family and friends

These fit a small card, a gift tag or an engraving. The number in brackets counts characters, spaces included.

1. Merry Christmas from our house to yours. (40)
2. Wishing you a calm and happy Christmas. (39)
3. Peace, warmth and good food this Christmas. (43)
4. So glad you are in our lives. Merry Christmas. (46)
5. Here's to slow mornings and full plates. (40)
6. Merry Christmas, and thank you for this year. (45)
7. Warm wishes for the season and the year ahead. (46)
8. May your Christmas be cozy and unhurried. (41)
9. Thinking of you this Christmas. (31)
10. Joy to you and everyone at your table. (38)
11. Christmas is better with you in it. (35)
12. Merry Christmas. Let's make next year a good one. (49)

Christmas messages for family

Family cards can carry more, because the reader knows your voice.

1. Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad. Every good habit I have started at your kitchen table, and I notice it more every year. Thank you for all of it.
2. To my sister: thank you for answering the phone at 11 p.m. more times than I can count this year. Merry Christmas. The first coffee in January is on me.
3. Merry Christmas, Grandma. The kids still talk about the pancakes from August. We can't wait to see you on the 25th.
4. To my brother: we have argued about the right way to load a dishwasher for thirty years. Merry Christmas anyway. Love you.
5. Merry Christmas to my in-laws, who made me feel like family long before the paperwork said so.
6. To my son: watching you grow into the person you became this year was the best part of mine. Merry Christmas.
7. To my daughter and her family: the house is too quiet without you. Merry Christmas, and come home soon.
8. Merry Christmas to the cousins. Same table, same arguments, same pie. We would not change a thing.
9. Dad, thank you for every ride, every fixed bike and every lecture I pretended not to hear. Merry Christmas.
10. This year asked a lot of our family, and we showed up for each other every time. Merry Christmas to every one of you.

Merry Christmas wishes for friends

If you are sending merry Christmas wishes to friends who moved away, name the thing you miss about having them close.

1. Merry Christmas to the friend who knows my coffee order and my worst habits and stays anyway.
2. You made this year lighter just by being in it. Merry Christmas.
3. Merry Christmas! Our Thursday dinners were my favorite appointment this year.
4. Some friends are seasonal. You are year-round. Merry Christmas.
5. Merry Christmas from across the country. This city is not the same without you complaining about the parking.
6. Thank you for every text this year that started with "are you OK?" Merry Christmas, friend.
7. Wishing you a Christmas full of the good kind of noise and a New Year with more weekends together.
8. Merry Christmas to my favorite plus-one. Same plan for New Year's Eve?
9. Twenty years of friendship and you still laugh at my stories. Merry Christmas.
10. Merry Christmas! I am raising a mug of cocoa to you from three time zones away.

Cute merry Christmas wishes for kids and grandkids

Write these big and short. A child reads the card once and then wants the present.

1. Merry Christmas! Be kind, eat your vegetables, and leave a carrot out for the reindeer.
2. Merry Christmas to my favorite elf. Grandma has extra cookies saved just for you.
3. Nothing under our tree is as good as you. Merry Christmas, little one.
4. Wishing you snow for sledding, cocoa with too many marshmallows, and a very merry Christmas.
5. Merry Christmas to the kid who grew three inches this year. Slow down a little!
6. Big hugs from Grandpa and a Christmas full of giggles.
7. Merry Christmas! I hope you get the thing you circled in the catalog three times.
8. The North Pole says you worked very hard on being kind this year. Merry Christmas!

Funny Christmas card sayings

Humor works on people who know how you talk. Keep it off cards to your boss or a client, and to anyone grieving.

1. Merry Christmas! May your Wi-Fi be strong and your relatives' visits be brief.
2. This card contains no glitter. You're welcome. Merry Christmas.
3. We tried to take a nice family photo. This card is what you get instead.
4. Merry Christmas from the people who still have last year's lights tangled in the garage.
5. Eat the cookies. Skip the guilt. Merry Christmas.
6. Wishing you a Christmas with more naps than dishes.
7. May your holiday sweater be loud and your fruitcake be optional.
8. Our dog chose this card. Merry Christmas from all of us, mostly from the dog.
9. Here's to a Christmas where nobody asks when you are getting married.
10. Merry Christmas! Remember: calories eaten standing up in the kitchen do not count.

Elegant merry Christmas wishes for coworkers and clients

Formal does not mean empty. One line about work you did together turns a corporate card into a real one.

1. Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous year ahead. It has been a pleasure working with you.
2. With warm wishes for the holiday season and our thanks for your trust this year.
3. Thank you for a year of good work and better company. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
4. Wishing you rest, good company and a bright start to the new year.
5. Season's greetings, and sincere thanks for your partnership throughout the year.
6. Merry Christmas. Working alongside you made the hard months of this year much easier.
7. With gratitude for your support this year and every good wish for the next.
8. Wishing you and your team a restful holiday and a strong start in January.
9. May the season bring you time to rest and reasons to celebrate. Merry Christmas.
10. Thank you for your patience, your good humor and the deadlines we met together. Merry Christmas.

Religious merry Christmas wishes

Send these where the faith is shared. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.

1. Merry Christmas. May the peace of Christ fill your home this season and all year.
2. Wishing you the joy of the newborn King this Christmas.
3. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:14) Merry Christmas.
4. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." (Isaiah 9:6) Wishing you a blessed Christmas.
5. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5) Praying you feel that light this Christmas.
6. May the hope of Bethlehem stay with you long after the decorations come down.
7. We are thanking God for you this Christmas. Blessings to your whole family.
8. Wishing you a Christmas centered on what matters most: faith, family and the gift of His Son.
9. May your Christmas be blessed and your New Year be guided by His grace.
10. Merry Christmas. Praying for health, peace and quiet joy in your home in the year ahead.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year wishes

Useful when the card will arrive late in December.

1. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. May the next twelve months be kinder than the last twelve.
2. Wishing you a merry Christmas now and a fresh start in January.
3. Merry Christmas! Here's to a New Year with more of whatever makes you happy.
4. Wishing you a warm Christmas and a New Year full of good news.
5. Merry Christmas and happy New Year. Dinner at our place in January: we will text you a date.
6. May your Christmas be peaceful and your New Year be exactly as busy as you want it.
7. Merry Christmas and happy New Year. Thank you for being part of this one.
8. Wishing you a cozy end to this year and a brave start to the next.

Merry Christmas Eve wishes

These usually go out by text, so keep them short.

1. Happy Christmas Eve! Hope tonight is all lights, carols and one present opened early.
2. Merry Christmas Eve. Wishing you a calm night before the happy chaos of tomorrow.
3. Thinking of you on Christmas Eve, and saving you a seat at our table next year.
4. Happy Christmas Eve from our couch to yours. Movies are on, pajamas are mandatory.
5. Merry Christmas Eve! Leave the dishes. They will still be there on the 26th.
6. Wishing you a quiet Christmas Eve and a bright Christmas morning.
7. May tonight bring the kind of peace that lasts past Christmas.
8. Merry Christmas Eve! The cookies are out, the kids are almost asleep, and we are thinking of you.

Merry Christmas wishes text messages

Lead with the wish, keep it to one line, and send it on the morning of the 25th rather than at midnight.

1. Merry Christmas! Thinking of you today.
2. Merry Christmas from all of us! Hope your day is full of good food and zero dishes.
3. Merry Christmas! Call me when the chaos calms down.
4. Wishing you the merriest Christmas. Miss you.
5. Merry Christmas! Save me a slice of whatever pie you made.
6. Merry Christmas! Thank you for being my person this year.
7. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Happy, healthy, all of it.
8. It's Christmas! Go open something. Love you.

For someone having a hard Christmas

Some names on your list face a first Christmas without someone, or a year of illness, or a lost job. Leave out "merry" if it would sting, and do not try to fix anything in a card.

1. Thinking of you this Christmas, and holding [name] in our hearts with you.
2. I know this Christmas is a hard one. I am here, today and after.
3. Sending you love this Christmas. No need to reply.
4. Wishing you gentle days this season, and company whenever you want it.
5. We are remembering [name] with you this Christmas.
6. This year asked too much of you. I hope Christmas brings you a little rest.

A full paragraph, for the people who get a longer card

For when the card is your only real contact all year.

1. Merry Christmas from all of us here. The tree went up crooked again this year, and every time someone straightens it, someone else says it looked better your way. We miss you at the table and on the couch afterwards, and we are counting the weeks until your spring visit. Until then, eat something good and call us on the 25th.
2. I found the photo from that camping trip while digging out the decorations, and I laughed so hard I had to sit down. It has been too long since we talked properly, and that is on me. Merry Christmas. I am going to call you in the first week of January, so consider this your warning.

How to sign off a Christmas card

Match the closing to the relationship, not the season.

1. "With love,": family and close friends.
2. "Love always,": parents, grandparents, a partner.
3. "Warmly,": friends you like but would not say "love" to.
4. "Warm wishes,": neighbors, coworkers, the parents from school.
5. "Much love from all of us,": a household card to close family.
6. "Cheers,": friends who would find "warmly" too stiff.
7. "Fondly,": older relatives. A little old-fashioned, which is the point.
8. "With gratitude,": a mentor, a teacher, a client who stuck with you.
9. "Kind regards and season's greetings,": business cards, where "love" would be strange.
10. "Peace and joy,": works for religious and secular readers alike.
11. "Blessings,": religious recipients.
12. "Your favorite neighbors,": next door, if they would laugh.

Practical notes before you write thirty cards

Decide these once, not thirty times.

• Handwriting or printing: handwrite the message, even if the address labels are printed. One handwritten line under a printed verse beats a fully printed card every time.
• Timing: post overseas cards first, because they take longest, and check your carrier's published holiday mailing dates before December starts.
• What to enclose: a photo, a one-page letter at most, and a gift card only where one is expected.
• Photo cards: write your line on the back by hand. Still planning the picture? Try these family portrait ideas for Christmas photos.
• Gift tags: the short lines near the top of this page fit a tag. Pair them with these gift wrapping ideas for Christmas Eve.

Writing more than a dozen? Keep a list of who got which message, so nobody gets the same line next December.

When the message should last longer than the card

Most cards are recycled in January, and that is what cards are for. When a few words should stay, put the short version on something that comes out every December. Our round crystal ornament is 2.36 inches across at the small size, hangs on a ribbon, and carries a photo engraved inside the crystal, text alone, or both, laid out by our designers at no extra cost; a name with a year fits a circle that size. It costs $39 to $69 by size, and you approve a free proof before anything is engraved. It is the wrong choice for a coworker or neighbor you only exchange cards with, where a gift is too much, and for an old friend you have not seen all year, where a long handwritten card says more. More in our Christmas ornaments.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a good short Christmas message?

A good short Christmas message names the person and makes one small wish. "Merry Christmas, and thank you for this year" works for almost anyone, and so does "Thinking of you this Christmas." Under 50 characters is enough for a gift tag or a small card. Add one specific detail when the reader is close to you.

What do you write in a Christmas card to a coworker?

Keep it warm, brief and about the work you share. "Thank you for a year of good work and better company. Merry Christmas to you and your family" fits most coworkers. Avoid jokes about the office, the boss or anyone's workload, and sign off with "Warm wishes" rather than "Love".

Is it OK to write happy holidays instead of merry Christmas?

Yes. "Happy holidays" and "Season's greetings" are polite choices when you do not know whether someone celebrates Christmas, and they are common on business cards. When you know the person celebrates Christmas, "Merry Christmas" is warmer. The mistake is using one phrase for everyone without thinking about who reads it.

What are some classic Christmas card sayings?

The classic Christmas card sayings are "Merry Christmas and a happy New Year", "Season's greetings", "Peace on earth" and "Warmest wishes for the holiday season". They are safe because everyone knows them, which is also their weakness. Add one handwritten sentence of your own underneath, and the familiar phrase becomes a real card.

When should you send Christmas cards?

Aim to post cards in the first two weeks of December, so they arrive while the season is underway. Send cards going abroad first, since they take the longest, and check your carrier's published holiday mailing dates. A card that arrives in the days after Christmas is still welcome, especially if it also wishes a happy New Year.

How do you sign a Christmas card from a family?

Write the adults' names first, then the children's, then the pets if you include them: "Love, Anna, Mark, Lily and Max." A surname alone, such as "The Garcias", suits business contacts and neighbors. For close family, first names read warmer. Let each child sign their own name if they are old enough to write it.

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