What to write in a birthday card: 70 messages

Write four short parts in order, and keep each one to a sentence or two. Our advice is three to five lines: enough to feel personal, short enough to fit inside a card without crowding it.

1. Greet them by name, such as "Happy birthday, Jo" or "Dear Grandpa."
2. Name one specific memory or quality, ideally something from this year.
3. Wish them something for the year ahead, as concrete as you can make it.
4. Sign off in your own voice, then write your name on its own line.

For a folded paper card, our tip is to write on the inside right panel, under any printed verse. If the right side is full, start on the left panel and finish on the right.

Match the length to how close you are: a paragraph for a partner, three to five lines for family and friends, one or two lines for a coworker. The table gives a starting line and a sign-off for each person.

Not sure which row fits? Pick the more formal one. A plain, warm card never feels out of place, and you can add the joke next year.

Keep a short card message to one or two lines that wish them well without getting personal. These suit a coworker, a neighbor, a client or anyone else you see often but don't know closely.

1. Happy birthday! I hope your day is full of small, good surprises.
2. Wishing you a relaxed birthday and a year that goes your way.
3. Happy birthday from your friends down the hall.
4. It's a pleasure working with you. Enjoy a day that's all about you.
5. Happy birthday! May this year bring work you're proud of and weekends you love.
6. Best wishes on your birthday, and thank you for always lending a hand.
7. Happy birthday, neighbor! Thanks for every friendly wave from across the street.
8. Wishing you a cheerful birthday and a little time just for yourself.
9. Happy birthday! I hope you get the corner piece of the cake.
10. Warm wishes on your birthday and for the year ahead.

If the whole office is signing one card, write one line and sign your full name, so the person knows who each message is from.

The funniest card messages tease a shared story or a harmless habit, not their age, looks or a hard year. Save these for friends and siblings who already laugh with you.

1. Happy birthday! I got you this card instead of the pony you asked for when you were six.
2. Happy birthday to the only person who laughs at my jokes before I finish them.
3. I was going to bake you a cake, but we both remember what happened last time. Happy birthday!
4. Happy birthday! Your gift is my silence about karaoke night.
5. Happy birthday to my sibling. Mom still says I'm her favorite, but today you can pretend.
6. Please accept this card as payment for every snack I've stolen from you. Happy birthday!
7. Happy birthday to my brother, who still owes me ten dollars and an apology for the bunk-bed incident.
8. I'd write something deep, but you know my peak is "you're cool." Happy birthday!
9. Today you get to pick the restaurant. Tomorrow we go back to arguing about it.
10. Happy birthday to the friend whose "five minutes away" means twenty. I love you anyway.

Read the joke out loud before you write it down. If it would sting coming from someone else, choose another line.

For a partner or best friend, say exactly what they mean to you and back it with one real moment. Paragraph-length messages fit here, because you have more to say.

1. Happy birthday, love. Home is wherever you leave your keys on the counter.
2. Happy birthday to my favorite voice at the end of a long day.
3. Happy birthday to the man who learned my coffee order on our second date and hasn't missed it since. This year you carried so much: a new job, your dad's move and the leaking roof. You still made me laugh every night. I hope your next year is lighter and slower, with time for the plans you keep putting off for everyone else.
4. Happy birthday, my love. I keep a list of the moments I fall for you again: you singing in the car with the windows down, the way you remember every friend's hard week, how you hum when you cook. This year, I hope you get a turn being looked after. I plan to be there for all of it.

1. Happy birthday to the friend who has heard every version of my life story and still picks up the phone.
2. You're the first one I call with good news and the one I trust with the bad. Happy birthday.
3. Happy birthday, old friend. We met over a broken vending machine in ninth grade, and somehow that turned into years of road trips, bad haircuts and calls that run past midnight. You have seen me at my worst and stayed. I hope this year gives you the same loyalty you have always given me.
4. Happy birthday! I rarely say this out loud, so here it is in ink: your friendship changed my life. You showed up with groceries when I couldn't leave the house, and you still text every Sunday. Whatever this year holds, you'll have me in your corner, loudly.

Birthday cards for her and for him are linked at the end of this guide.

Family cards work best when they thank someone for something specific they did. A card from family may sit on a shelf for years, so a memory is worth the extra line.

1. Happy birthday, Mom. You made every birthday of mine feel huge, so this card has a lot to live up to.
2. Mom, thank you for teaching me how to stretch a dollar and how to share it anyway. Happy birthday.
3. Happy birthday, Dad. Every time I check the oil, I hear your voice.
4. Dad, you never missed a game, even the ones we lost badly. Happy birthday to my first coach.

1. Happy birthday, Grandma. Your phone calls are still the best part of my Sunday.
2. Happy birthday, Grandpa. You taught me card tricks, fishing knots and how to tell a story slowly.
3. Happy birthday, Nana. Every garden I plant has a little of you in it.

1. Happy birthday to my brother, the keeper of every embarrassing family photo. Please keep them hidden one more year.
2. Happy birthday, big brother. You cleared the path, and I follow it more than I admit.
3. Happy birthday, sister. Only you can make me laugh this hard with a text that's just one emoji.

Animated birthday cards for Mom and for Dad are linked at the end of this guide.

Little kids like big, bright words and their age in the message; tweens and teens prefer short and sincere. Read the card aloud to a child who is too young to read it.

1. Happy 5th birthday, Mia! Five is the age of big jumps, loud songs and extra sprinkles.
2. Happy birthday, buddy! I hope your day has more balloons than you can count.
3. Happy birthday! You're ten now, which means double digits and double the fun.
4. Happy birthday to a kid who is kind, curious and very good at building forts.
5. Happy birthday! Watching you grow into yourself this year has been the best show in town.
6. Happy birthday. I'm proud of the person you're becoming, and I'm here whenever you need a ride or a talk.

For a teen, leave out baby nicknames and anything you would not say in front of their friends.

Keep it warm, general and honest: wish them a good day, mention the one thing you do know, and sign your full name. This covers a new coworker, a new friend, a partner's relative or a child's classmate.

1. Happy birthday! It's been great getting to know you this year.
2. Wishing you a wonderful birthday and a year with plenty to celebrate.
3. Happy birthday, Linda. I'm so glad to have a seat at your family's table.
4. Happy birthday to a great new friend. Here's to many more walks around the lake.
5. Happy 6th birthday, Ava! Have a super fun party. From your friend Noah.
6. Happy birthday! Thank you for always saying good morning. I hope your day is a happy one.

For a child's classmate, let the child sign their own name if they can, even if the letters wobble.

Show them you notice: name a small thing only they do and the difference it makes to you. Four habits make any message feel personal.

• Name a habit or moment that belongs only to them, not a quality anyone could have.
• Say what changed because of them: "Because of you, I…"
• Pick a small, everyday moment over a big event.
• Add a plan with a date, so the card points to time together.

1. Because you talked me into that pottery class, I have a new hobby and three lopsided mugs. Happy birthday.
2. You were the only one who learned the new guy's name on his first day. That's who you are. Happy birthday.
3. Happy birthday! You always ask the second question, the one that shows you were really listening. People notice, and so do I.
4. Happy birthday. Saturday, 10 a.m., the farmers' market, my treat. It's written in pen now.

Change the format, not just the words. Write your greeting as one of these six shapes, then add a personal line underneath.

1. As a headline: "Local legend turns another year wiser. Friends confirm the party is on."
2. As a recipe: "Mix one part sunshine, two parts cake and a pinch of mischief. Serves you, all day."
3. As a ticket: "Admit one birthday person to a day of zero chores. Valid all weekend."
4. As a top-three list: "Top three reasons today matters: you, cake and more you."
5. As a toast: "Raise a glass to the one who makes every table louder and every room kinder."
6. As an acrostic of their name: "S is for steady, A is for always there, M is for many more birthdays together."

Keep the playful format to the first line, so the personal part of the message still reads clearly.

Admit you are late in a few words, then put the warmth first. One playful line and one sincere line is enough.

1. Happy belated birthday! This card is late, but every word in it is on time.
2. My calendar let me down, but my wishes for your year are as big as ever.
3. Belated, yes. Forgotten, never. I hope the day was everything you wanted.
4. Happy belated birthday! Tell me everything about how you celebrated; I want the full story.

Shorter belated wishes for a text are in the birthday wishes guide, and belated birthday cards are linked at the end of this guide.

End with a closing that matches how close you are, then write your name on its own line. In a family card, list everyone who is signing, kids included.

When you share a card with a partner, one person can write the message and both can sign, or each of you can add a line of your own.

Paste your message into an InviteBird animated birthday card: it opens from an envelope on their screen and costs $4.99 flat, with no subscription. Send it now or schedule it for the birthday, by email or text.

1. Pick a design that fits the person: for anyone, for her, for him, for Mom, for Dad, kids, funny or belated, all linked at the end of this guide.
2. Write your message with the four parts: greeting, memory, wish and sign-off.
3. Send it by email or text, either now or scheduled to arrive on the day.