Christmas cards are a lovely tradition right up until you are sitting at the kitchen table with forty envelopes and no idea what to write in any of them. These merry Christmas wishes are grouped by who is receiving them, so you can work through the pile without writing the same four words forty times. There are short lines for the neighbours, warmer ones for family, careful ones for clients, and a handful of properly funny ones for the people who deserve them.
Two things make a Christmas card feel personal rather than posted: mention something from the year just gone, and mention something about next year. Everything else is decoration. If you are also shopping for words elsewhere, our guides to 360+ Funny Birthday Wishes for Niece to Make Her Laugh Out Loud and 120+ Proud Quotes & Messages for Daughter (Mom & Dad) cover those moments in the same way.
Quick tip: Write the cards for people who live far away first, while you still have energy. Those are the ones that matter most and they need to go in the post earliest.
Short merry Christmas wishes
Best for neighbours, the postman, group cards and text messages. These short merry Christmas wishes are complete on their own.
- Merry Christmas and a very happy new year!
- Wishing you a warm and peaceful Christmas.
- Merry Christmas from our house to yours.
- Hope your Christmas is full of good food and better company.
- Merry Christmas! Enjoy every quiet minute of it.
- Season’s greetings and all the best for 2027.
- Wishing you a lovely Christmas and a restful break.
- Merry Christmas – eat too much, worry about nothing.
- Happy Christmas! See you on the other side of it.
- Warmest wishes for a very merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas wishes for family
Family cards can carry more weight than the rest of the pile. These merry Christmas wishes leave room for the year you have all just had.
- Merry Christmas to the people who make the whole year worth it.
- Wishing you a Christmas as warm as the ones you gave us growing up.
- Merry Christmas, Mum. Nobody does the twenty-fourth like you do.
- However far apart we are this year, you are on the table with us.
- Merry Christmas to my favourite chaotic family. Would not swap you.
- Thank you for a good year. Merry Christmas and here is to the next one.
- Wishing you all a Christmas full of noise, food and nobody doing the washing up alone.
- Merry Christmas, Dad. Save me a seat and the good chair.
- Sending love and merry Christmas wishes across the miles this year.
- Merry Christmas – the house is going to be very loud and I cannot wait.
Merry Christmas wishes for friends
Friend cards can be looser. These merry Christmas wishes assume a shared history and a bit of affection under the jokes.
- Merry Christmas to the friend who has heard all my worst ideas and stayed anyway.
- Happy Christmas! Let us do something in January that is not just talking about doing something.
- Merry Christmas – thanks for every voice note this year.
- Wishing you the Christmas you actually want, not the one on the adverts.
- Merry Christmas! Twelve months of nonsense and I would do it again.
- Hope your Christmas is lazy, warm and interrupted by nobody.
- Merry Christmas, you absolute legend.
- Wishing you a brilliant Christmas and a much easier year ahead.
- Merry Christmas! Text me when the family gets too much.
- Happy Christmas to my emergency contact and my first phone call.
Religious merry Christmas wishes
For families who keep the season’s meaning at the centre, these merry Christmas wishes name it directly.
- Wishing you the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas.
- Merry Christmas! May the light of the season fill your home.
- Glory to God in the highest, and peace to your family this Christmas.
- May the hope of Christmas stay with you all year.
- Merry Christmas – unto us a child is born, and what a gift.
- Wishing you a blessed Christmas and a grace-filled new year.
- May God bless your home this Christmas and every day after it.
- Merry Christmas! Emmanuel – God with us, then and now.
- Praying for peace and joy in your household this Christmas.
- Wishing you a holy and happy Christmas with those you love most.
Merry Christmas wishes for coworkers
Office cards need warmth without oversharing. These merry Christmas wishes stay on the right side of professional.
- Merry Christmas! Thank you for making this year a good one to work through.
- Wishing you a restful break and a very merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas – enjoy the days off, you have earned them.
- Happy Christmas to the best team I could have asked for.
- Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas.
- Merry Christmas! Do not check your email. That is an order.
- Thanks for everything this year. Merry Christmas and see you in January.
- Merry Christmas and best wishes for a strong new year.
- Wishing you a peaceful Christmas break with the people you like most.
- Merry Christmas! Genuinely glad we ended up on the same team.
Merry Christmas wishes for clients and customers
Business cards should thank rather than sell. These merry Christmas wishes do exactly that and nothing more.
- Merry Christmas and thank you for your business this year.
- Wishing you and your team a very happy Christmas and a strong 2027.
- Season’s greetings from all of us – it has been a pleasure working with you.
- Merry Christmas! We appreciate your trust and look forward to next year.
- Warmest wishes for the holidays and every success in the year ahead.
- Thank you for a great year of working together. Merry Christmas.
- Wishing you a restful Christmas break and a prosperous new year.
- Merry Christmas from everyone here. We are grateful for your custom.
Funny merry Christmas wishes
For the people who would rather laugh than be moved. These merry Christmas wishes have a bit of edge.
- Merry Christmas! I bought you nothing and I stand by it.
- Happy Christmas – may your relatives leave early.
- Merry Christmas! Remember, the tin of chocolates is a meal.
- Wishing you the strength to survive your own family for four days.
- Merry Christmas! I have already eaten the good ones.
- Happy Christmas – the tree is crooked, the dog ate the ham, we are fine.
- Merry Christmas! Let us both pretend the gift receipt was an accident.
- Season’s greetings and my sincere apologies for the jumper.
Merry Christmas wishes for someone far away
When distance is the story of the year, these merry Christmas wishes acknowledge it without turning sad.
- Merry Christmas from four thousand miles and one video call away.
- Wishing you a wonderful Christmas – the table has a gap where you should be.
- Merry Christmas! Different time zone, same love.
- Thinking of you especially today. Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas – we saved you the story and the last slice.
- Wishing you a warm Christmas wherever you are waking up.
- Merry Christmas! Come home soon, the kettle is on.
- Sending Christmas wishes across the ocean with a lot of love attached.
How to write your own merry christmas wishes in three steps
- Start with the greeting and the name. Merry Christmas, Sarah does more work than any clever opening line, because it is aimed at one person.
- Add one line about this year. A thank you, a memory, a hard patch you got through together – one sentence, specific to the two of you.
- Close with next year. See you in the spring, or here is to a calmer 2027, gives the card a forward edge instead of ending on nostalgia.
When should you post your Christmas cards?
Post domestic cards by around the middle of December and international cards by the first week, because the last posting dates land earlier than most people expect and every year millions of cards arrive after the twenty-fifth. The tradition of sending printed Christmas cards began in London in 1843 and now runs to well over a billion cards a year in the United States alone, which is exactly why the post office needs the head start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best short merry Christmas wish?
Merry Christmas and a very happy new year is the most useful short option, because it covers both holidays in one line and suits family, neighbours and colleagues equally. Add the person’s name at the front to make it feel written rather than printed.
Is it merry Christmas or happy Christmas?
Both are correct. Merry Christmas is standard in the United States, while happy Christmas is more common in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Neither is more formal than the other, so use whichever sounds like you.
What should I write in a Christmas card for a coworker?
Keep it to a warm line and a thank you: merry Christmas, and thank you for making this year an easier one. Avoid anything about salaries, workload or office politics, since cards get left on desks where anyone can read them.
How do you word Christmas wishes when you do not know someone’s religion?
Season’s greetings, happy holidays, or wishing you a restful break all work without assuming anything. If you know the person celebrates Christmas, merry Christmas wishes are warmer – the safest approach is to match whatever they said to you last year.
Write them earlier than feels necessary and the whole thing stops being a chore.
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