Perfect Holiday Card Wording: 70 Heartwarming Messages

Prepare for the traditional season of card exchanges by dusting off your address book, taking that fun family holiday photo, and preparing to send your holiday card messages to family and friends. While doing all the prep work to send holiday cards might be easy, finding the proper holiday card wording to include can pose a challenge.

Custom holiday cards add a personal touch to your holiday greetings—the right wording can enhance the sentiment. But should you send the same message to everyone in your contacts or adjust the message to fit the recipient? Explore the different examples of holiday card wording, from general to professional and everything in between.

Crafting the perfect holiday card message: Key elements

It’s important to understand what to say in a holiday card so that your holiday card messages stand out to your recipient. While you most certainly can send the same message to all your contacts, it’s not advisable. Tailoring the message to the recipient creates a meaningful card, eliciting strong feelings of togetherness, unity, and holiday joy.

When crafting your holiday messages, be sure to include:

• A custom or holiday greeting
• A personalized message, which can include heartfelt wording or an inside joke
• Closing or sign-off
• Signature

Another element of a great holiday card includes personalized photography. With personalized Christmas cards, you'll be sure to easily add distinctive elements to your card for a unique and memorable design.

General holiday card greeting ideas

Perfect for family, friends, neighbors, or even your boss, general holiday card greetings are classic and versatile. You can customize these with a specific holiday or keep the message general to cover all festive occasions.

General holiday greetings are simplistic and flexible for all holidays and religions, and they send a polite and respectful message without potentially being exclusionary. You can customize these greetings to fit a specific holiday if you know what your recipient celebrates:

Examples:

1. “Sending a smile across the miles for a wonderful holiday!”
2. “Merry everything & happy always.”
3. “Wishing you and your family a merry and bright holiday season.”
4. “May your holidays be filled with love and laughter!”
5. “Holidays are a great opportunity to focus on bringing the family together.”
6. “Ho Ho Ho! Let it snow!”
7. “May this season be full of light and laughter.”
8. “A little more sparkle, a little less stress. These holidays, I wish you the very best.”
9. “This holiday and always, we wish you much love, health, and joy!”
10. “The best part of this time of year is the memories we make. Happy holidays!”

Heartfelt holiday card messages for family and friends

If you’re sending a personalized holiday card to close family and friends, you may decide to include a more heartfelt message conveying your holiday wishes. These messages should be sentimental and warm, personalizing them depending on your relationship with the recipient.

Whether it is a friend on your block or a family member miles away, these messages will surely warm their soul on a cold winter’s night. Don’t be afraid to add a DIY touch to your holiday cards, like a wax seal, to show your unique love.

Examples:

1. “Happy holidays! We’re so lucky to have you in our lives.”
2. “Thinking of you this holiday season and wishing you were here!”
3. “Family is the heart of Christmas. May our hearts be full of love and gratitude this holiday season.”
4. “Every holiday season is merrier because you're a part of it, my forever friend.”
5. “Warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday—we can't wait to spend time together as a family!”
6. “May your home be filled with warmth and joy this season.”
7. “This holiday season, I'm grateful for the gift of family. You all are the greatest presents under the tree.”
8. “Feeling so grateful this holiday for having such an amazing [relationship].”
9. “Grateful for another year of love and friendship. Wishing you a magical holiday season!”
10. “May the holiday season bring our family closer and fill our hearts with love.”

Professional and business holiday card messages

Professional holiday cards should feature messages suitable for business contacts, clients, and colleagues. Writing holiday cards to coworkers should be more formal than the cards you’ll send your family and close friends but should still convey the warm fuzzy feeling of the holidays.

Beyond crafting messages for your boss or coworkers, consider thanking clients for their business or recognizing whole-team efforts.

Examples:

1. “Thank you for your continued support and partnership. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year!”
2. “Season’s greetings from all of us at [Company Name]. We wish you success and joy in the coming year.”
3. “During this time of year, we reflect on the wonderful moments we have experienced, which include our client relationship with you. Have a joyous holiday season!”
4. “You are one of the brightest lights in this office! Thanks for being a wonderful person, and have a Merry Christmas!”
5. “We hope yule have a very Merry Christmas! From my home family to my work family!”
6. “Wishing the members of [company name] family a wonderful holiday season. See you in 2025!”
7. “Happy holidays! We couldn’t do what we do without you.”
8. “Season’s greetings from our family to yours.”
9. “Thanks for being an outstanding leader, and have a wonderful holiday season!”
10. “Season’s greetings from the team at [company name].”

Religious holiday card messages

Religious holiday card messages reflect faith-based sentiments to family, friends, and neighbors. These messages can reference traditional holiday greetings and can show respect for different religious traditions.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or something different, religious holiday cards are sure to bring the true spirit of your holiday.

Examples:

1. “May the true meaning of Christmas fill your heart with peace and joy.”
2. “Wishing you blessings and peace as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.”
3. “A merry heart does good like medicine.” - Proverbs 17:22
4. “Rejoice in the miracle of Christ's birth and the gift of God's love.”
5. “May your family be bathed in love and light this Hanukkah.”
6. “Let us remember the true reason for the season and rejoice in His love.”
7. “May the seven days of Kwanzaa bring many blessings to your family.”
8. “From Umoja (unity) to Imani (faith), may all your wishes be answered.”
9. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” – Luke 2:14
10. "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her king." – George Frideric Handel, "Joy to the World"

Romantic holiday card messages for your significant other

Nothing brings out the feeling of holiday romance more than a roaring fire, freshly fallen snow, and a personalized holiday greeting from your significant other. Your holiday card should be customized to your special someone and have personal touches that make the card feel intimate and unique.

When thinking about a personalized gift for your wife, consider a heartfelt holiday card at the top of the list.

Examples:

1. “Wishing the love of my life a magical holiday season. Can’t wait to celebrate many more together.”
2. “You’re the best gift I could ever ask for. Happy Holidays, my love.”
3. “Merry Christmas, my love. Nothing brings me more joy than spending the holiday season by your side. Meet me under the mistletoe!”
4. “This time of year makes me realize how lucky I am to share my life with you.”
5. “I love this time of year so much. And I love you even more.”
6. “I loved you yesterday. I love you today. I’ll love you forever.”
7. “[Holiday] with you is my favorite thing to do.”
8. “A [relationship] like you is a holiday wish come true!”
9. “Your love is the sweetest gift ever.”
10. “Your love keeps me warm on cold winter nights.”

Fun wording ideas for kids’ holiday cards

Who said holiday cards should only be for adults? Include the kiddos in your life in the tradition of sending (and receiving!) downloadable holiday cards for kids.

When crafting these, the holiday greeting card messages should be light, cheerful, and easy to understand—not to mention abundant with holiday cheer.

Examples:

1. “Santa’s on his way, and I hope you’ve been extra good this year!”
2. “Wishing you lots of fun, presents, and hot cocoa this holiday season!”
3. “Wishing you a season filled with candy canes, gingerbread men, and lots of holiday cheer.”
4. “Wishing you a season filled with rainbows, unicorns, and lots of magic.”
5. “Let’s build a snowman and give him a carrot nose! Happy holidays!”
6. “You’re definitely Nice List material.”
7. "May this Christmas be as special as the person reading this card. You're amazing!"
8. “Let’s make some snow angels and have a snowball fight! Happy holidays!”
9. “Don’t get too excited. This card is your present this year. Happy Holidays!”
10. “What do Santa's elves learn in school? The elf-abet.”

Joyful holiday card messages for pet lovers

If you have a pet lover in your life, you can personalize your holiday card wording to include their four-legged friend. The holidays are the best time to send warm wishes to everyone—furry friends included.

Pets are family—what an excellent way to include them in your holiday well wishes than with a card. Don’t fret if this is one of your last-minute holiday card ideas. It will surely win over the pets in your life (and their owners).

Examples:

1. “Wishing you the kind of holiday that fills your heart with warmth and your home with love.”
2. “So grateful for the special moments we’ve shared this year. Wishing you a holiday season filled with even more love and joy.”
3. “Feliz Naughty Dog!”
4. “Have a Meowy Christmas and a Happy Meow Year!”
5. “Wishing you peace, love, and licks!”
6. “Happy pawlidays from the [Surname] family.”
7. “We hope you have a PAWsitively wonderful holiday season."
8. “Merry Christmas from our reindog to all of you."
9. “Wishing you and your furry companion a season filled with love, laughter, and lots of cuddles.”
10. “The best gifts are the ones that don't come under the tree. Happy holidays to you and your beloved pet."

Personalize your holiday cards with Mixbook

Mixbook makes sending holiday cards a little less stressful. Create special cards with personalized holiday card wording, or let Mixbook take care of the hard work of the holidays with personalized photo books to send to friends and family.

And for all those extra holiday photos you took, you can use them in different Christmas photo book ideas to keep the holiday magic alive for the whole year.