What to write in a card guides

Message ideas by occasion, from milestone birthdays to sympathy and thank yous. There are 18 guides in this section, all free to read and copy from.

Every one is written for a specific moment rather than in general, so pick the closest fit and take the lines you need.

• Anniversary card messages and wishes
  Funny, romantic and short anniversary wishes you can copy straight into a card, plus anniversary cards posted from the UK.
• Sympathy card messages and what to write
  Gentle, short condolence messages for a bereavement card, grouped by who has died, plus what to avoid writing.
• Retirement card messages and wishes
  Funny, heartfelt and short retirement wishes for colleagues, teachers and family, plus retirement cards posted from the UK.
• New baby card messages and wishes
  Funny, warm and short new baby wishes for a boy, girl, twins or second baby, plus new baby cards posted from the UK.
• Thank you card messages for teachers
  End of term and end of year thank you messages for teachers, teaching assistants and nursery staff, from parents and from children.
• What to write in a sorry card
  Fifty apology messages, from short to serious.
• Good luck messages
  Sixty good luck messages, grouped by occasion.
• Exam results messages
  Results day wording for good results and disappointing ones.
• Passed your driving test messages
  Wording for before the test, after a pass and after a fail.
• New home messages
  Sixty new home messages for every kind of move.
• Moving away messages
  Fifty farewell messages for someone moving away.
• First day at school messages
  Starting school wording for reception through to secondary.
• Pet sympathy messages
  Condolence wording for the loss of a pet.
• Thank you for a gift messages
  Sixty thank you messages for gifts of every kind.
• Thinking of you messages
  Thinking of you wording for hard weeks and quiet ones.
• Hospital stay messages
  Wording for surgery, recovery and long hospital stays.
• Divorce and breakup support messages
  Support wording for a divorce or breakup.
• Just because messages
  Fifty five messages for a card with no occasion attached.

Other guide topics

• Best of: cards and gifts
• Messages by recipient
• Sorry, etiquette and awkward moments
• How much to spend
• Jokes and humour
• Puns and wordplay
• Rhymes, poems and quotes
• Riddles and quizzes
• Games and activities
• Party planning
• Decorations and how-to
• Fancy dress and themes
• Celebrations
• Work and colleagues
• Speeches and toasts
• Cheering someone up
• Feel-good reading
• Christmas and seasonal
• Secret Santa
• Festivals and world celebrations
• Christenings and faith milestones
• Charity and fundraising
• Badges and pins
• Card design and how cards work

Back to all guides

Where to shop next

• All guides
• Card ideas
• Browse all cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Gifts to make someone smile
• Thinking of you gifts

Frequently asked questions

How many what to write in a card guides are there?

There are 18 in this section, and the full directory has 267 guides across 25 topics.

Are these free to use?

Yes. Copy any message, joke or checklist straight into a card or a party plan. You do not need to buy anything.