Happy holidays messages: 100 for work and home

Short on time? Any of these suits a boss, a customer, a cousin or the neighbor you only wave to in the driveway.

1. Thank you for this year. I hope the break brings you rest, good meals and the people you love.
2. Happy holidays! This year went better because you were in it.
3. May your days off be slow, warm and entirely your own.
4. Wishing you a calm few days and a bright start to what comes next.
5. Thinking of you this season with real gratitude. Happy holidays.
6. May your inbox stay quiet and your table stay full.
7. Whichever traditions fill your calendar this month, I hope they bring you joy.
8. Happy holidays, and thank you for making the work and the days easier.
9. Here's to good company, good food and a long exhale.
10. Wishing you and your family a peaceful holiday season.

Want one to reach a whole list on the same morning? Paste it into an animated holiday card ($4.99, no subscription) and schedule it. The send section near the end has the details.

Thank the person for one specific thing, wish them rest, then close with the greeting that fits them. A specific thanks is the part people remember, and the greeting is only the last line.

1. Start with the name: "Dear Maria," or "Hi team,".
2. Thank them for one real thing from the year: a delivery, a favor, a patient answer or a good idea.
3. Wish them rest, light or time with their people. Leave out next year's goals.
4. Close with the greeting from the table below, then your name.

Say the holiday you know the person keeps, and say "happy holidays" when you do not know. Inclusive wording does not assume one holiday, so it works for a mixed team, a client list or a whole street. The table shows what to choose in six common situations, without asking anyone to believe anything.

If someone tells you how they celebrate, use their words from then on.

An employee message from an owner or manager should name something the team really did, then give permission to rest. Skip next year's targets and anything that sounds like a to-do list.

• Thank you for the care you put into every order, call and late fix this year. Enjoy a real break.
• This team made a hard year look manageable. Rest well, and happy holidays to you and your family.
• I'm grateful for each person on this team. Happy holidays, and please switch your notifications off.
• The company is what it is because of you. Thank you, and enjoy the time with your people.

• You handled the spring launch with more skill than I could have asked for. Thank you, and happy holidays.
• I noticed how much you took on this fall. Take your time off seriously, and I'll see you refreshed in January.
• Your steady work made my job easier all year. Wishing you a restful holiday.

• Thank you for covering the holidays so everyone else could be home. We owe you one.
• Your shifts this week keep us running. I hope your own time off comes soon and feels long.
• Thank you for being here when we need you. Please take care of yourself this week.

• Even from different time zones, this team felt close this year. Happy holidays to each of you.
• Wherever your screen is tonight, I'm glad you're on my team. Enjoy the break.

A message to coworkers or your boss is a short thank-you for a real favor, said in your own voice. If you barely know the person, a warm general line is better than a guess.

• Happy holidays! Working beside you made the busy weeks easier.
• Thanks for answering my "quick questions" all year. Enjoy your time off.
• You made our meetings shorter and our team better. Happy holidays!
• Wishing you a break with no messages from me. See you in the new year.
• To the person who always knows where the files are: thank you, and happy holidays.
• Thank you for sharing the load this year. I hope you get a long stretch of nothing at all.
• Thanks for the snacks, the shortcuts and the second pair of eyes. Happy holidays!
• Wishing you an out-of-office message that you really mean. Happy holidays!

• Wishing you a peaceful break and a smooth return. Happy holidays!
• Happy holidays to you and your family. It has been good to work with you.

• Thank you for backing my ideas and letting me stretch this year. I hope you and your family have a happy holiday.
• I appreciated your guidance this year. I hope the break is a restful one.

A client message thanks people for their business and leaves the selling out. Sign it with a name and a company, and send it before the last week of the year, when inboxes are still read.

• It was a pleasure to serve you this year. We wish you a peaceful holiday season and a good start to the new year.
• Working with you and your team made our year easier and warmer. Happy holidays from all of us at [company].
• Your trust this year meant a lot to us. We hope the break is a calm one.
• Thank you for letting us be part of your year. Happy holidays, and we look forward to what's next.

• Thank you for shopping with us. Your support means more to a small team than you might guess.
• Because of customers like you, this was a good year for us. Happy holidays from everyone here.
• Our doors and inboxes may close for a few days, but our thanks stay open. Happy holidays!

• Thank you for delivering on time, answering our calls and making us look good. Happy holidays to your whole team.
• It has been a pleasure working side by side this year. Wishing your team a well-earned break.
• We appreciate the care your team put into our work. Enjoy the holiday, and happy new year.

• Another year working together, and I'm still glad of it. Happy holidays to you and yours.
• Thank you for being someone I can call with a problem and a joke. Happy holidays.

Season's greetings suits a letterhead card, a note from a board or a message to someone you have not met, because it sounds polite, warm and a little formal. Institutions use it for exactly that reason.

• Season's greetings. We send our sincere thanks and warm wishes for the coming year.
• With appreciation for your partnership, we extend our warmest season's greetings.
• On behalf of everyone at [company], season's greetings and our thanks for a year of good work together.
• Our warm wishes for a restful season and a prosperous year ahead.
• Season's greetings to you and the members of your team.
• The board and staff of [organization] send season's greetings and sincere thanks for your support this year.

For neighbors, thank them for one small kindness, like watching a package or lending a ladder, and for friends, name one thing you want to do together soon.

• Happy holidays from next door. We're lucky to live beside you.
• Thanks for watching the house, the packages and the cat. Happy holidays!
• Wishing the whole building a warm and quiet season. Thank you for making it feel like home.
• Wishing you a cozy season and a quiet street. Happy holidays!
• Happy holidays! Our door is open if you want a plate of leftovers.

• Happy holidays! I miss you, and I'm saving a Saturday in January for us.
• You make every season better. Happy holidays, my friend.
• However you spend these weeks, I hope someone makes you laugh every day.
• You're my favorite reason to leave the house in winter. Happy holidays!
• No gift this year, only gratitude. Happy holidays, and let's catch up soon.

Wish a specific holiday only to people you know celebrate it, and use "happy holidays" for everyone else. These twelve lines work for a friend, a client or a team member who keeps that holiday.

• Happy Hanukkah! Wishing you warmth, light and time with the people you love.
• Chag chanuka sameach! Wishing you and your family a joyful holiday.
• Happy Hanukkah to you and your family. Thank you for a wonderful year working together.
• Happy Hanukkah, [name]. I hope the holiday brings you joy and your favorite people around the table.

• Heri za Kwanzaa! Wishing you and your family a joyful celebration.
• Happy Kwanzaa! Thank you for the unity (umoja) you bring to this team.
• Happy Kwanzaa to you and yours. May these days bring you closeness and purpose.
• Habari gani? Happy Kwanzaa, and thank you for being a friend to this team.

• Here's to a new year with plenty of good news and a few quiet mornings.
• Happy New Year! I hope the first page of your year is a good one.
• Looking forward to working with you again in the new year. Wishing you a bright start.
• New year, fresh start. Thank you for this year, and here's to the next.

Short versions need only a greeting and one warm line, because most people read them between other things. Use them for texts, Slack or Teams, a story reply or the line at the top of an email.

• Happy holidays! Hope you get some real rest.
• Sending warm wishes your way. Happy holidays!
• Happy holidays from our house to yours.
• Thanks for everything this year. Enjoy the break!
• Out of office, into the cocoa. Happy holidays, team!
• Happy holidays! See you in the new year.
• Thinking of you today. Happy holidays!
• Wishing you light, laughter and a long nap.
• Have a good one, whatever the plan is. Happy holidays!
• Offline until the new year. Happy holidays, all!
• Happy holidays! Reply-all not required.
• Wishing you a break that actually feels like one.

Pick the sign-off that matches how well you know the reader, then put a real name under it. A business message reads well when it is signed by a person, with the company in a second line.

Pick one InviteBird animated holiday card, write your message once, and send it to up to 50 people. Everyone gets their own copy with their own name on it. A card costs $4.99 once with no subscription, and each person after the first adds $2.99.

Say you run a small design studio with 25 clients. You write one message, add each client's name and email address, and set the card to arrive on the morning of the last working week. For that list the price is $4.99 for the first person and $2.99 for each one after.

1. Open a Christmas and holiday card, or a Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year card if the whole group celebrates it.
2. Paste your message, add your sign-off and check the name on the cover.
3. Choose "Several people", then add each person's name with an email address or mobile number.
4. Pick when it should arrive, either right away or on a date, then pay and send.

Group send works on the Christmas and holiday, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year cards and on thank-you cards. For a mixed list, pick a design that suits the season without naming one holiday, or send a thank-you card; the shelves are linked at the end of this page.

Quick answers to common questions about happy holidays messages and greetings.