Short answer
Put the greeting on its own line. Common lines: "Merry Christmas," "Happy Holidays," "Season's Greetings," "Happy New Year." Religious cards use "Merry Christmas" or "Blessed Christmas." Secular cards use "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays." When the recipient celebrates a different holiday, name that holiday: "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Diwali," "Joyous Kwanzaa."
Card structure
A handwritten card has five parts. Salutation, such as "Dear Aunt Ruth." Greeting line. Two to four sentences of news or thanks. Sign-off, such as "Love" or "Best wishes." Signature, with family names for a shared card. Printed cards carry a greeting above or below the image, so the sender writes the salutation and a short note.
Greeting by relationship
- Partner: "Merry Christmas, my love" or "Happy Christmas to us."
- Parents: "Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad."
- Children: "Merry Christmas, sweetheart." Add the year.
- Friends: "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas and a happy new year."
- Neighbors: "Season's Greetings from the Miller family."
- Colleagues: "Happy Holidays" or "Best wishes for the season." Skip religious wording unless you know the person's practice.
- Clients: "Warm wishes for a happy holiday season." Name the sender and the company.
Religious and secular lines
Religious: "Merry Christmas," "Blessed Christmas," "Rejoice, the Lord is born," "Peace on earth." Secular: "Happy Holidays," "Season's Greetings," "Happy New Year," "Warm winter wishes." One neutral line for a mixed list is "Happy Holidays." It covers Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year.
Greetings in other languages
"Joyeux Noël" (French). "Feliz Navidad" (Spanish). "Frohe Weihnachten" (German). "Buon Natale" (Italian). "Feliz Natal" (Portuguese). "God jul" (Swedish). "Nollaig Shona Duit" (Irish). "Mele Kalikimaka" (Hawaiian). Add "and a happy new year" in English if the recipient reads one language.
Common mistakes
- Copying a printed verse word for word and adding nothing.
- Mixing holidays in one line. "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah" reads as a guess. Pick one or use "Happy Holidays."
- No signature. Cards arrive in December without names.
- Long messages. Four sentences fit on a card. Twelve do not.
History and volume
Henry Cole commissioned the first commercial Christmas card in London in 1843. John Callcott Horsley drew the design. 1,000 cards were printed and sold for one shilling each. Christmas is the largest card sending holiday in the United States. The United States Postal Service prints mailing deadlines each year for cards that must arrive by December 25.