Wishes

Find messages by occasion

Each occasion has its own page with dozens of messages sorted by recipient and tone, plus advice on what to write in the card for that particular moment.

• Birthdays: birthday wishes for every relationship, from your best friend to your boss, plus milestone birthdays, belated wishes and birthday poems.
• Hard moments: sympathy messages and get well soon messages, written to sound sincere instead of scripted.
• Holidays: Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Easter and Valentine's Day.
• Family days: Mother's Day (second Sunday of May) and Father's Day (third Sunday of June).
• Big life events: weddings, anniversaries, graduation, retirement and general congratulations for a new job, promotion or engagement.
• Gratitude: thank you messages for gifts, teachers, bosses and friends.

How to pick the right message

A ready-made message works when it sounds like you. Before you copy anything, answer three questions.

1. How close are you?

The closer the relationship, the more personal and specific the message can be. For a spouse, parent or best friend, choose something heartfelt or long and add a memory. For a neighbor, coworker or client, a warm two-line message is the right size; anything more intimate can feel awkward.

2. What does the moment call for?

A milestone birthday or a wedding deserves a few real sentences. A promotion at work can be one line. A loss calls for something short, gentle and specific; humor almost never belongs in a sympathy card unless you know the family well and the person who died was famous for it.

3. Where will it be read?

• Text message: one or two sentences. Look for messages tagged "text".
• Greeting card: two to four sentences inside, plus a closing line and your signature.
• Group card at work: one friendly sentence and your name. Leave room for everyone else.
• Social media post: keep it light and public-friendly; save the private stuff for a direct message.
• Toast or speech: pick a longer message and build a short story around it.

Write your own in one minute

The most reliable card formula has three parts: a greeting, one specific detail and a wish or a thank-you. The specific detail is what makes it yours.

Part	What to write	Example
Greeting	Their name, or the nickname you actually use	"Dear Aunt Linda,"
Specific detail	A memory, something they did this year, a quality you admire	"I still use the pie crust trick you taught me last Thanksgiving."
Wish or thanks	What you hope for them, or what you are grateful for	"I hope this year brings you as many good days as you have given everyone else."

If you are stuck on the middle part, pick a message from the list and add one sentence of your own in front of it. "You made this year so much easier for me" plus a good ready-made line reads as completely personal.

Sign-offs that fit

• Family and close friends: Love, All my love, Hugs, Love you always.
• Friends and neighbors: Warmly, Cheers, With love, Your friend.
• Work: Best wishes, Warm regards, All the best, With appreciation.
• Sympathy: With deepest sympathy, Holding you close, Thinking of you.

Card etiquette Americans actually follow

• Timing: mailed cards should arrive on the day or a little before, so drop them in the mail several days ahead, longer around Christmas when the mail is slow. Texts and calls are best on the day itself.
• Late is better than never: a belated card with an honest "this is late, but I meant every word" is always welcome. Skip the long excuses.
• Sympathy cards can be sent any time, and a note weeks after the funeral often means even more, because that is when the cards stop coming.
• Money and gift cards: it is common to tuck cash or a check into graduation, wedding and kids' birthday cards. Mention it lightly ("a little something for your next adventure") rather than naming the amount.
• Work cards: keep jokes about age, looks and relationships out of anything a coworker or boss will read.
• Religious wording: use it when you know the recipient shares your faith; otherwise choose a warm message that works for everyone.
• Handwriting: even a printed card feels personal when you add a handwritten line and sign your own name.

Mistakes to avoid

• Signing only your name in a store-bought card. Add at least one line of your own.
• Making the message about you ("I can't believe how old this makes me feel").
• Inside jokes in a card the whole family will read.
• Copying the same text to everyone in a group chat. Change at least the first line.
• Over-apologizing for a late card. One sentence, then the warm part.