Joke Card Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

We print funny cards in the UK and post them first class. Everything below is free to copy, whether you buy a card from us or write in one you already have.

A joke card that misses is worse than a plain one, because someone has to react to it in front of other people.

Here's what goes wrong most often, and the simple fix for each.

The mistakes

1. Explaining the joke. If it needs a footnote, pick a different joke.
2. Punching down. Weight, hair, money and marriages are never the gag.
3. Age jokes for someone who hates their age. Joke about the year instead.
4. Writing too much. You run out of card and the punchline ends up sideways in the corner.
5. Using a joke they've heard from you before. They will remember. They always remember.
6. A joke with no warmth after it. The card reads as a wind-up rather than a gift.
7. Inside jokes in a card several people will read aloud.
8. Forgetting to sign it. A joke from nobody is just graffiti.

What to write instead

• Cut the setup by half and let the card's page turn do the pause.
• Aim the joke at yourself instead of them - self-deprecation never offends.
• Swap the age joke for the year: "1966 called, it wants its optimism back."
• Draft it on paper first, then copy it in. One pass, no crossings out.
• Add one honest sentence at the end. It rescues almost any weak gag.

When a joke card is the wrong call

• Sympathy and bereavement - unless you knew the person and the family well enough to be sure.
• First card to a new partner's parents. Play it straight for one year.
• Serious illness, unless they are joking about it first.
• Apologies. A joke reads as not taking it seriously.
• A formal work occasion where the card is going in a frame.

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How to write it so it lands

• Draft it on scrap paper first - a crossed-out card always looks like the joke was an afterthought.
• Never explain the gag underneath it.
• If you hesitate about a joke, that hesitation is the answer.

Where to shop next

• How to write a joke for a card
• Joke card ideas
• Funny card messages
• Top 50 knock knock jokes
• Top 50 dad jokes
• Top 50 one-liners
• Funny cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Sympathy and bereavement cards
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What should you not write in a funny card?

Anything about weight, money, hair loss or someone's relationship. Aim the joke at the occasion, the year or yourself instead.

Is a joke card ever inappropriate?

For bereavement, apologies and serious illness, yes - unless the person is already joking about it themselves.

How do you fix a joke that doesn't quite work?

Cut the setup in half and add one sincere sentence underneath. A warm ending saves almost any weak punchline.