224 Christmas Card Messages by Recipient

Most lists of Christmas card messages stop at "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" in thirty slightly different fonts. This one is sorted by who is opening the envelope, because what you write to your grandmother and what you write to your child's bus driver have almost nothing in common. The quotes near the end come with a link to the book, sermon or newspaper they came from, and a short table covers the lines that usually get the wrong name attached.

How do you write a Christmas card message?

Use three parts. Open with the greeting ("Merry Christmas, Aunt Ruth"). Add one line that belongs to this person and nobody else on your list: a thing they did this year, a memory you share, a plan for January. Close with a wish that points forward ("Here's to a quieter new year"), then sign it.

The middle line is the one that matters, and it is the one most people skip. "Thank you for driving four hours to see the kids in June" does more than any verse on this page. If you are writing sixty cards and cannot personalize them all, personalize the ten people who will actually reread theirs, and use the shorter lines below for everyone else.

A worked example, all three parts together:

Merry Christmas, Grandma. The kids still talk about the pancakes you made at the lake. We can't wait to see you in the spring. Love, Sam, Priya, Leo and Mia.

The Emily Post Institute's advice is to sign by hand and add a short note whenever you can, even on a photo card with your names already printed on the front.

Short Christmas card messages

Short lines work for a long list, a small card, or the space under a printed photo. Each of these fits on a single line of handwriting.

1. Merry Christmas, and a happy, healthy new year.
2. Wishing you a warm and easy Christmas.
3. Merry everything, and a happy always.
4. Peace, joy and a long nap on the 26th.
5. Thinking of you this Christmas.
6. Love and light to you this season.
7. May your days be merry and your coffee strong.
8. Here's to a slower December.
9. Warmest wishes for Christmas and the year ahead.
10. Sending you all our love this Christmas.
11. Wishing you a season full of good company.
12. Merry Christmas from our house to yours.
13. Cheers to you and yours.
14. Hoping this card finds you warm, fed and happy.
15. Joy to you this Christmas and all year long.

Christmas card messages for family

Family cards can be warmer and more specific than anything else you send, because you share the history. The best ones name something only your family would understand.

1. Christmas is better with you in it. Can't wait to see everyone around the table.
2. However far apart we are this year, you're part of every bit of our Christmas.
3. To the people who knew us before we were interesting: Merry Christmas.
4. Thank you for another year of showing up. We love you.
5. Wishing our favorite people a Christmas as loud and happy as the last one.
6. Here's to cousins, casseroles and one more round of cards after midnight.
7. We're counting down to seeing you. Save us a seat by the fire.
8. Merry Christmas to the family that makes every year worth remembering.
9. Missing you this year, and sending a hug folded inside this card.
10. Every tradition we keep started with you. Thank you, and Merry Christmas.
11. Wishing you rest, good food and nobody asking about your plans for next year.
12. Love you more than leftover pie. (And that's a lot.)
13. From our crowded little house to yours, Merry Christmas.
14. May your Christmas be as cozy as the kitchen on Christmas morning.
15. Whatever else changed this year, we still have each other. Merry Christmas.

Messages for Mom and Dad

A card to your parents is often the only place a grown child says thank you out loud. Once you are the one running Christmas, you can finally see how much work it was.

1. Thank you for every Christmas you made look easy. We know now that it wasn't.
2. Every good Christmas memory I have has you in it.
3. Thanks for the stockings, the cookies, and all the years you stayed up late wrapping.
4. You gave us the traditions. We're passing them on. Merry Christmas.
5. Merry Christmas to the two people who still get the first phone call.
6. I hope this year you get to sit down and let someone else do the dishes.
7. Now that I'm the one doing Christmas, I owe you both an apology and a thank-you.
8. Wishing you the kind of Christmas you always gave us.
9. Merry Christmas, Mom. In my head the house still smells like cinnamon.
10. Merry Christmas, Dad. The lights are up, and they're only slightly crooked.

Christmas card messages for grandparents

Have the kids sign their own names, however wobbly, and add a line about what they have been up to this year. That line is the part a grandparent reads twice.

1. Christmas starts the minute we pull into your driveway.
2. Thank you for spoiling us, and for pretending you don't.
3. Merry Christmas to the best storytellers we know.
4. The kids have been counting sleeps until they see you. So have we.
5. Every year the kids get taller, and every year they still run to you first.
6. Wishing you a Christmas as sweet as your cookie tin.
7. You taught us what Christmas is supposed to feel like.
8. We can't be there this year, so we sent the next best thing: all of us, in one photo.
9. Merry Christmas to the heart of the family.
10. Thank you for the traditions, the recipes and all the extra marshmallows.
11. Love from your favorite grandkids. (We checked. It's us.)
12. Hoping your Christmas is full of the noise you pretend to complain about.

Messages for grandchildren

These are written from a grandparent's side of the table. For a birthday card instead, our list of birthday wishes for a granddaughter is sorted by age.

1. Merry Christmas to the best part of our year.
2. You make Christmas feel brand new again. Love, Grandma and Grandpa.
3. We hope Santa finds you easily and brings everything on your list.
4. Watching you grow is our favorite gift. Merry Christmas, sweetheart.
5. Every ornament on our tree reminds us of you.
6. As far as we're concerned, you're on the nice list for life.
7. We saved you the last cookie. Don't tell your cousins.
8. Merry Christmas to the grandchild who makes us laugh the hardest.
9. Your first Christmas made ours brighter than any before it.
10. We're so proud of the person you're becoming.
11. Here's a hug to open first. The presents can wait a minute.
12. However old you get, you'll always have a stocking at our house.

Messages kids can write themselves

Short and easy to spell, for a five-year-old with a marker or an eight-year-old writing to a teacher. Let them pick, then let them decorate the rest of the card however they like.

1. Merry Christmas! I love you.
2. Thank you for being my teacher. Merry Christmas!
3. I hope Santa brings you something good.
4. You are my favorite. Merry Christmas!
5. I made this card just for you.
6. Have a jolly Christmas and a fun New Year!
7. I can't wait to see you at Christmas.
8. Thank you for playing with me.
9. Merry Christmas from me and my dog.
10. I hope you get lots of cookies.

If they want to add a joke underneath, our Christmas jokes for kids are sorted by age.

Messages for friends

Friends get the most room to be yourself. A card is also a good excuse to make a real plan for January.

1. Merry Christmas to the friend who feels like family.
2. Another year of you picking up on the first ring. Thank you, and Merry Christmas.
3. Here's to more nights that end much later than we planned.
4. However busy December gets, I hope you find an hour that's just for you.
5. You made this year better. Merry Christmas, friend.
6. Cheers to a new year of long walks, bad movies and too much coffee.
7. Christmas is about the people you choose. I'm glad I chose you.
8. Missing our catch-ups. Let's put one on the calendar for January.
9. Merry Christmas to my favorite person to text at midnight.
10. May your holidays be full of good food and people who don't talk about work.
11. Wishing you and yours a peaceful Christmas and a very happy new year.
12. I'd wrap you a present, but you already know what I'm like with tape.

Funny Christmas card messages

Keep the funny ones for people who know your sense of humor. Half of these work best printed under a family photo where not everyone is looking at the camera.

1. We tried to get a good photo. This was the best one.
2. May your Wi-Fi be strong and your relatives' questions be few.
3. Calories don't count in December. Merry Christmas.
4. Santa says you're on the list. He wouldn't say which one.
5. Here's to the elastic waistband, the real hero of December.
6. May your tree stay upright and your cat stay out of it.
7. Merry Christmas from the family who put the lights up in November and will take them down in March.
8. Wishing you a holiday as relaxing as the ones in the movies, minus the plot.
9. We'd have written more, but someone ate the card-writing cookies.
10. The kids are on the nice list. The dog is under review.
11. Sleigh the season.
12. Yule love what's inside. (It's just this card. Merry Christmas.)
13. Have a holly jolly, low-stress, nobody-set-off-the-smoke-alarm Christmas.
14. Our resolution is the same as last year's, which is to send cards on time. Next year.
15. Merry Christmas. Please enjoy this photo of us pretending to get along.

Messages from the dog or cat

Plenty of families sign for the pet, and the Emily Post Institute says pets can be added to the signature. Swap in your own pet's name.

1. Merry Christmas from Biscuit, who has already opened your present.
2. Woof. (That means Merry Christmas.)
3. I was a very good boy this year. Mostly.
4. The cat would like it known she did not agree to the sweater.
5. Merry Christmas from all of us, including the one who ate the tinsel.
6. Wishing you a season of warm laps and dropped turkey.
7. Our tree has fallen over twice. We know who did it.
8. Meowy Christmas from the whole house.
9. Sending love, fur and slightly chewed wrapping paper.
10. Happy Howlidays from the one who guards the presents.

If the dog is the real star of the family, we paint pets too: a custom pet portrait turns one photo into a painted portrait of them as a character you choose.

Messages for coworkers and your boss

Work cards should be warm and short, and should skip anything religious unless you know the person well. "Happy holidays" is the safe default.

1. Wishing you a restful break and a great start to the new year.
2. Thank you for making this year's work feel lighter. Happy holidays.
3. Merry Christmas to a great team. Enjoy every day off.
4. Thanks for your patience, your help and your spreadsheets.
5. Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and some time fully offline.
6. It's been a pleasure working with you this year. Merry Christmas.
7. I hope your holidays are full of rest and your inbox is empty when you get back.
8. Thank you for your leadership this year. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas.
9. Season's greetings and best wishes for the year ahead.
10. Happy holidays to the person who always has a pen when I need one.

Messages for teachers, neighbors and helpers

A note that names the child and one specific thing will mean more than a gift card tucked inside it. If you are also sending a present, our Christmas gifts for teachers list covers what teachers keep and what they skip.

1. Thank you for everything you've taught our daughter this year. Merry Christmas.
2. Our son talks about your class every night at dinner. Thank you, and happy holidays.
3. Wishing you a restful break. You've earned every day of it.
4. Merry Christmas to our favorite neighbors, and thank you for keeping an eye on the place.
5. Thanks for the waves, the borrowed sugar and the shoveled walk.
6. To our mail carrier: thank you for bringing every card and package through every kind of weather. (We forgive you for the bills.)
7. Thank you for taking such good care of our little one all year.
8. Merry Christmas to the best coach we've had.
9. Thank you for being so kind to our family this year.
10. Wishing you and your family a peaceful holiday and a happy new year.

What do you write to someone having a hard year?

The Emily Post Institute says it is perfectly fine to send a holiday card to someone who is grieving, unless they have told you the season is painful and they would rather skip the reminders. Keep it short, and don't ask for a reply.

1. Thinking of you this Christmas and holding you close.
2. We know this Christmas is different. We're here whenever you need us.
3. Remembering your mom with you this season, and all the Christmases you shared.
4. There's no right way to do the holidays this year. However you spend them, we love you.
5. Sending you peace and quiet comfort this Christmas.
6. I know this year has been hard. I hope the next one is gentler.
7. Your family is in our thoughts this holiday season.
8. May the memories of Christmases past bring you some warmth this year.
9. No need to write back. We just wanted you to know we're thinking of you.
10. Wishing you moments of peace in a difficult season.

Happy holidays messages for any faith

For a friend who celebrates a different holiday, the Emily Post Institute suggests sending a card for their holiday rather than yours, and, when you are unsure or it is for work, a broader greeting with no religious symbols. These fit that brief, and a couple also work as New Year's cards if yours are running late.

1. Happy holidays, and warmest wishes for the new year.
2. Season's greetings from our family to yours.
3. Wishing you peace, joy and good health in the year ahead.
4. Warm wishes for a happy holiday season.
5. May the new year bring you everything you're hoping for.
6. Here's to rest, good food and good company. Happy holidays!
7. Wishing you light and warmth this winter.
8. Cheers to a bright new year.
9. Happy New Year from all of us.
10. Thinking of you this holiday season, and grateful for another year of friendship.

One-liners for a family photo card

A photo card needs a line short enough to print across the bottom of the picture. Write the longer note by hand on the back.

1. Merry Christmas from the Joneses.
2. Merry, bright and a little chaotic.
3. Our favorite people, in our favorite season.
4. Love, joy and a lot of pine needles.
5. Same crew, one year taller.
6. Peace on earth and patience at home.
7. Counting our blessings, all five of them.
8. Joy, love and one very tired dog.
9. Warmest wishes from the whole family.
10. Proof we all stood still for one second this year.

The photo on the front of the card is usually the best picture your family takes all year, and it is the only one with everybody in it. If you haven't taken it yet, our Christmas card photo ideas cover the shoot. Once the card is mailed, the same photo can be repainted as a custom family portrait for the wall. You approve a watermarked proof before anything prints.

Religious Christmas card messages

These are written messages for a card that is about the Nativity rather than the holiday season. Pair one with a verse from the next section if you want both.

1. Wishing you the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas.
2. May the hope of Christmas fill your home and your heart.
3. Celebrating the birth of Jesus with gratitude, and thinking of you.
4. May the light of the season guide you all year.
5. Praying for a blessed Christmas and a new year full of grace.
6. May the wonder of that first Christmas be with you this year.
7. Rejoicing with you in the gift of His birth.
8. Wishing you a Christmas rooted in faith and surrounded by love.
9. Blessings to you and your family this holy season.
10. May you know the peace that came to earth that night.

Bible verses for Christmas cards

Every verse below is from the King James Version, which is in the public domain in the US, so you can print it on a card without permission. Each one links to the passage on Bible Gateway.

1. "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11
2. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14
3. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
4. "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21
5. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew 1:23
6. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." Matthew 2:10
7. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:5
8. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14
9. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
10. "For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37
11. "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19
12. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." 2 Corinthians 9:15
13. "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:13
14. "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." Numbers 6:24-26

Christmas carol lines for cards

All of these carols are old enough to be in the public domain. The credits come from Hymnary.org and the Hymnology Archive, and several of them correct the version you may have heard.

1. "Let ev'ry heart prepare him room, And heav'n and nature sing." Isaac Watts, "Joy to the World", 1719, written as a paraphrase of Psalm 98.
2. "Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright." Joseph Mohr wrote the German text in 1816; John Freeman Young's English translation is from 1859. "Silent Night"
3. "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!" Placide Cappeau, 1847, English by John Sullivan Dwight. "O Holy Night"
4. "Hark! the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the newborn King: peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!'" Charles Wesley, 1739, altered by George Whitefield, 1753. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
5. "Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!" Wesley and Whitefield, from the third verse of the same carol.
6. "Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." Phillips Brooks, "O Little Town of Bethlehem", 1868.
7. "O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!" Latin hymn attributed to John Francis Wade, about 1743, translated by Frederick Oakeley, 1841. "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
8. "Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heaven's all-gracious King." Edmund H. Sears, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", 1849.
9. "The stars in the heavens looked down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay." Anonymous, American, first printed in 1868. "Away in a Manger"
10. "O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy." Traditional English carol. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"
11. "Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King." Traditional French carol, English by James Chadwick. "Angels We Have Heard on High"
12. "This, this is Christ, the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing." William Chatterton Dix, "What Child Is This?", first published 1868.
13. "Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel." Traditional English carol. "The First Noel"
14. "What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart." Christina Rossetti, "In the Bleak Midwinter", 1872.

Christmas quotes for cards, and who said them

A quote does the work when you want something more than "Merry Christmas" but less personal than a note. Each of these was checked against the original book, poem, speech or newspaper, and the link goes to that text. Older spellings ("honour", "cheere") are left as printed.

1. "God bless us every one!" Tiny Tim, in Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843.
2. "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." Scrooge, in Dickens, A Christmas Carol.
3. "A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world." Scrooge on Christmas morning, A Christmas Carol.
4. "May that be truly said of us, and all of us!" The second-to-last line of A Christmas Carol, about keeping Christmas well.
5. "Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fireside and his quiet home!" Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836-37.
6. "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night." The last line of "A Visit from St. Nicholas", first printed anonymously in 1823 and later claimed by Clement Clarke Moore (Henry Livingston Jr.'s family also claims it).
7. "I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play, / And wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Christmas Bells", written on Christmas Day 1863.
8. "God is not dead; nor doth he sleep! / The Wrong shall fail, / The Right prevail, / With peace on earth, good-will to men!" Longfellow, the closing verse of "Christmas Bells".
9. "Of all the old festivals, however, that of Christmas awakens the strongest and most heartfelt associations." Washington Irving, "Christmas", in The Sketch Book, 1819-20.
10. "...the season for kindling not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart." Irving, the same essay.
11. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents." Jo March, in the first line of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, 1868.
12. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy." Francis Pharcellus Church, in an unsigned editorial in The Sun, New York, September 21, 1897.
13. "A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood." Church, the closing lines of the same editorial.
14. "At Christmas I no more desire a rose / Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows, / But like of each thing that in season grows." William Shakespeare, Love's Labor's Lost, Act 1, Scene 1.
15. "Christmas is not a time or a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." Calvin Coolidge, Christmas message to the American people, December 25, 1927.
16. "Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred and we are better thruout the year for having in spirit become a child again at Christmas-time." Laura Ingalls Wilder, in her Missouri Ruralist column, December 1924.
17. "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!" Hamilton Wright Mabie, "Christmas Eve", from My Study Fire, 1890.
18. "Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." Emma McChesney, in Edna Ferber's Roast Beef, Medium, 1913.
19. "The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you." Margaret E. Sangster, "The Christmas Tree", 1878.
20. "Heap on more wood! the wind is chill; / But let it whistle as it will, / We'll keep our Christmas merry still." Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, 1808.
21. "At Christmas play and make good cheere, / for Christmas comes but once a yeere." Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, 1580.
22. "There is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." Erma Bombeck, in her newspaper column, December 1967.
23. "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." Norman Vincent Peale, as printed by Guideposts.
24. "Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect." Oren Arnold, as quoted by The Washington Post, 2006.
25. "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." Often credited to the minister Roy L. Smith, though unsigned versions appeared in church ads by 1946, twenty years before his name was attached.

For more sourced lines in the same format, see our Thanksgiving quotes, which ran through the same checks.

Which Christmas quotes are usually misquoted?

Several of the most-shared card quotes carry the wrong wording or the wrong name. If you are printing one on a hundred cards, it is worth getting right.

How do you sign and address a Christmas card?

Sign by hand when you can. The Emily Post Institute says a printed signature is fine these days but recommends a handwritten one plus a short note, and suggests listing the parents first, then the children, then any pets.

Family names become plural without an apostrophe. Merriam-Webster's rule is to add -s, or -es when the name ends in s or z: the Smiths, the Joneses, the Martinezes. "The Smith's" is a possessive, and it is an easy mistake to make on a printed card.

The addressing rules for couples come from the Institute's guide to addressing correspondence, which also covers doctors, couples with different last names, and a spouse who holds office or rank.

When should you mail Christmas cards in 2026?

Mail domestic First-Class cards by Thursday, December 17, 2026. That is the Postal Service's recommended date for delivery before Christmas, and it applies to the lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and US territories. Military (APO/FPO/DPO) and international dates for 2026 are due on the USPS holiday shipping page in mid-October. For comparison, the 2025 First-Class date for every military ZIP code was December 9, so plan on early December for anyone serving overseas.

There is no penalty for being late. The Emily Post Institute says cards usually go out anytime from Thanksgiving until a couple of weeks into the New Year, and a New Year's card avoids the season's religious associations and spreads out a crowded December.

Where did the Christmas card come from?

The first commercial Christmas card was commissioned in London in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, later the first director of what became the V&A, and illustrated by his friend John Callcott Horsley. Cole had a thousand printed and sold the spares for a shilling each, which was expensive at the time. The printed greeting read "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

In the US, the Boston lithographer Louis Prang began selling Christmas cards in England in 1874 and in the United States the next year, which is why he is often called the father of the American Christmas card. Today Christmas is by far the biggest seasonal card occasion: the Greeting Card Association puts it at about 1.3 billion cards a year, including boxed sets, against roughly 145 million for Valentine's Day.

The phrase itself is older than the card. Bishop John Fisher wished Thomas Cromwell "a merry Christmas" in a letter from the Tower of London in December 1534, and in 2022 Hereford Cathedral's archivist found a 1520 letter hoping a colleague would be "merry this Christmas". "Xmas" is old too: the X is the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christos, and the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest evidence for "Xmas" is from 1551.

Frequently asked questions