Holiday card wording: greetings, sign-offs, and what to write
A printed holiday card carries a greeting, a sign-off, and the year. Everything else is optional. The hard part is usually the greeting, so most of this page is greetings, grouped by tone, with sign-offs at the end.
On our holiday cards you give us your family name, the year, and an optional greeting, and we set the type for your proof. December runs long at the printer, so order four weeks ahead.
What to include
- A greeting. One line is plenty; the design carries the rest.
- Your family name or your names, as the sign-off.
- The year. It is the detail people look for when they find the card again.
- Optional: a line of news. A baby, a wedding, a move, a milestone.
Traditional
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
The Whitmans · 2026
Season's greetings
Joy to you and yours
The Park family, 2026
Warmest wishes for a merry Christmas
and a bright new year
Love, the Carters
Peace on earth, and in your home.
The Reyes family · 2026
Rejoice, for unto us a child is born.
Merry Christmas from the Nguyens
Wishing you every blessing this Christmas.
The Averys, 2026
Non-religious and all-holidays
Happy holidays
from our home to yours
The Bennetts · 2026
Winter greetings
Let it snow
Warm wishes, 2026
Here's to a bright new year.
With love, the Scotts
Wishing you light, warmth, and good company this season.
The Brooks family, 2026
Be merry.
Love, the Park family
Grateful for you, this year and every year.
Elena, Marcus, and Wren · 2026
Warm and personal
Thinking of you this season, and wishing you were closer.
The Whitmans
Thank you for being part of our year.
Merry Christmas from Sam, Priya, and Eliza
May your days be cozy and your coffee be hot.
Happy holidays, the Ortiz family · 2026
The best gift is time together.
With love this Christmas, the Carters
Funny
We tried to get a good photo. This card has no photo.
Merry Christmas anyway, the Averys
Officially off the naughty list. Barely.
Happy holidays, the Nguyens · 2026
We survived another year, and we are still speaking to each other.
Love, the Bennetts
Merry Christmas from all of us, including the dog, who ate the first batch of cards.
The Parks
Adding news: a baby, a wedding, a move
A holiday card can carry a year's news in one line. Keep the greeting first and the news second, so it still reads as a holiday card.
Merry Christmas from our family of four.
Welcome, Olivia Rose, born June 4
The Hayes family · 2026
Our first Christmas as the Carters.
Married June 14, 2026
Happy holidays, Emily and James
Happy holidays from our new address
88 Lakeview Drive, New Braunfels, TX 78130
The Whitmans, 2026
Fifty years married, and still sending the card.
Merry Christmas, Bob and Linda
Sign-offs
- Love, the Whitmans
- With love, Sam, Priya, and Eliza
- Warmly, the Park family
- From our home to yours, the Carters
- Yours, Elena and Marcus
- Merry everything, the Bennetts
Use the family name alone if the card goes to people who know everyone in the house, and first names if it goes to people who might not. Add the year somewhere; a card without one is hard to place in a shoebox ten years on.
When to order
Holiday cards are usually mailed in the first two weeks of December, which means ordering in early November. Our printer's December runs long, so order four weeks before you want the cards in hand. Sets run from 25 to 150 cards with white envelopes included, and every order gets a free digital proof first, so the greeting and the family name are right before anything prints.
