What to Write in a Card With a Gift Card

We make cards, pin badges and prints in the UK. We don't sell gift cards or vouchers, so the guide below is a straight guide - the card at the end is the only thing we're selling.

A gift card carries no information. The message has to do the work the present normally does: say why you picked that shop and what you hope they spend it on.

Lines below by situation. Say the amount out loud only if it's a group gift and people expect to know.

Warm lines

• Didn't want to guess your size or your taste, so here's the shop and none of the decisions.
• This is for something for you, not the house, not the kids, not the car.
• You've talked about that shop for months. Consider this permission.
• Spend it on something useless. That's the whole point of it.
• For a coffee and an hour where nobody asks you for anything.

Funny lines

• I could have picked something myself, but we both remember last year.
• This is the sound of me admitting you have better taste than me.
• A voucher, because getting it wrong in person was becoming a tradition.
• Money, but with rules. Happy birthday. Shop this card
• I've outsourced this gift to you. You're welcome, and good luck.

Birthdays

• Happy birthday - this is for the thing you keep putting back on the shelf.
• Forty today, and finally old enough to choose your own present.
• Happy birthday. Buy the expensive version.

Christmas

• Merry Christmas - spend it in the sales and get twice as much.
• This is for January, when everything is grim and you've earned something.
• Happy Christmas. No wrapping, no guessing, no returns queue.

Weddings, leaving gifts and thank yous

• Congratulations - for the house, or the honeymoon, or whatever needs it most.
• From all of us. Spend it on you rather than the new office.
• Thank you for everything this year. This doesn't cover it, but it's a start.
• Good luck in the new job. First round on us, technically forever.

Things not to write

• "I didn't know what to get you." True, and the one thing a card should never confirm.
• "Sorry it's boring." It isn't, until you say so.
• The amount, unless it's a collection and people are expecting the total.
• Instructions on what they must buy. Suggesting is warm, insisting is not.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Say why that shop.
• Suggest, don't instruct.
• Leave the amount out of the message.

Where to shop next

• UK gift card buying guide
• Gift card rules in the UK
• Gift card or cash?
• How to give a gift card nicely
• Birthday card messages
• Buy a birthday card online
• Gift planner
• All guides
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges

Frequently asked questions

What do you write in a card with a gift voucher?

Say why you chose that shop and what you hope they spend it on. Two lines is plenty - it's the reason behind the choice that makes it feel personal.

Should you say how much the gift card is worth?

No, unless it's a group collection where people expect the total to be mentioned. Otherwise let them find out when they check the balance.

Is it rude to give a gift card?

Not at all for birthdays, Christmas, thank yous and leaving gifts. It lands badly for sympathy, and for milestone occasions where the amount is small.