What to write in a card guides

Message ideas by occasion, from milestone birthdays to sympathy and thank yous. There are 71 guides in this section, all free to read and copy from, with no sign-up and no paywall.

Every one is written for a specific moment rather than in general, so pick the closest fit and take the lines you need. Most people land here with a card half-written, a party half-planned or a present still unbought, and the quickest route is to open the guide that names your exact situation rather than reading the whole section.

The guides are written in plain UK English, with real prices, real posting dates and wording you can copy straight into a card without it sounding like it came off a website. Where a guide recommends something we sell, it is because it genuinely fits the moment - and where nothing we make fits, the guide says so and points you elsewhere.

What's in the what to write in a card guides

This section collects 71 guides on what to write in a card. They cover the wording, the timing, the budget and the etiquette side of the same subject, so you can read one and be done rather than hopping between five tabs. Each guide opens with the short answer, then gives examples you can lift word for word.

How to use them

Start with the guide whose title matches your situation most exactly. If you are writing something, copy two or three lines you like and change a name or a detail - that small edit is what makes a message sound like you. If you are buying something, use the budget sections rather than the pictures, because the right spend matters more than the right product.

Nothing here needs to be read in order and nothing is behind a sign-up. If a guide mentions a card, pin badge, print or gift we make, it is because it fits that moment. Where we do not make something suitable, the guide says so plainly instead of pushing the nearest alternative.

Every what to write in a card guide

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.
What to write to a neighbour
Forty-five neighbour messages, from thank yous to apologies.
What to write to your boss
Forty-five boss messages that stay the right side of professional.
What to write to your in-laws
Forty-five in-law messages, warm without overreaching.
What to write to a stepdad
Forty stepdad messages, heartfelt, funny and short.
What to write to a godparent
Forty godparent messages, from the ask to the thank you.
What to write to a carer
Forty carer thank you messages, for paid and family carers alike.
What to write to a midwife
Thirty-five midwife thank you messages, including difficult births.
What to write to a vet
Thirty-five messages for vets and veterinary nurses.
What to write to a stepmum
Forty stepmum messages, warm, funny and short.
What to write to a foster carer
Thirty-five foster carer messages, including goodbye cards.
What to write to an uncle or aunt
Forty-five uncle and aunt messages, funny and heartfelt.
What to write to a sibling-in-law
Forty brother- and sister-in-law messages.
What to write to your adult child
Forty-five messages from a parent to a grown-up son or daughter.
What to write to a co-parent
Thirty-five co-parenting messages that keep things civil.
What to write to your postie
Thirty postie messages, mostly for the Christmas card.
What to write to your cleaner
Thirty cleaner and housekeeper messages, warm and specific.
Apology messages for a partner
Forty sorry messages for a partner, from short notes to serious apologies.
Belated birthday messages
Forty belated birthday messages, funny through to formal.
Late thank you messages
Wording for overdue thank yous, from wedding gifts to hospitality.
Sorry messages for a friend
Apology messages for friends, including reaching out after a long silence.
Apology messages for work
Professional apology wording for colleagues, managers and clients.
RSVP wording
How to accept or decline an invitation, with wording for every occasion.
No gifts please wording
Polite wording for asking guests not to bring presents.
Pet birthday messages
Funny, soppy and written-by-the-pet birthday lines to copy.
Birth flower card messages
Lines that use the flower without sounding like a florist's tag.
What to write with a gift card
Lines that stop a voucher looking like an afterthought.
What to write in a teacher end of year card
Wording for teacher thank you cards, from parents and from children.
Funny card messages
Fifty-plus funny lines, sorted by occasion and short enough to actually fit.
Place card wording: first names, titles, couples, children and the awkward cases
Who gets a title, who gets a surname, and what to do with the awkward cases.
65th birthday sayings and quotes
Sayings, quotes and short greetings for a 65th, including the retirement crossover most 65th cards need.
75th birthday sayings and verses
Short sayings, verses and greetings for a 75th, from the gently funny to the genuinely warm.
What to write in a first birthday card
Messages for a first birthday card, including lines aimed at the parents and keepsake wording the child can read years later.
What to write in a graduation card
Graduation card wording for every relationship, from short congratulations to funny lines and proud parent messages.
Work party invite wording
Ready-to-send invite wording for work parties, plus the six details every office invitation should carry.
Birthday toast wording
Short toasts by tone and by milestone age.
Christmas card messages: what to write in a Christmas card
Funny, heartfelt and short Christmas card messages you can copy straight in, plus Christmas cards designed and posted from the UK.
Valentine's card messages: what to write in a Valentine's card
Romantic, funny and rude Valentine's card messages you can copy straight in, plus Valentine's cards posted from the UK.
Mother's Day card messages: what to write for mum
Funny, heartfelt and short Mother's Day messages for mum, nan and stepmums, plus Mother's Day cards posted from the UK.
Halloween card messages: what to write in a Halloween card
Funny, spooky and short Halloween card messages and puns you can copy straight in, plus Halloween cards posted from the UK.
Eid card messages
Eid Mubarak wording for family, friends, colleagues and neighbours, plus the difference between Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
Diwali card messages
Happy Diwali wording for family, friends, colleagues and neighbours, plus a short explanation of the festival.
Chinese New Year card messages
Chinese New Year greetings and wording for family, friends and colleagues, plus red envelope etiquette and what the zodiac year means.
Halloween party ideas and what to write in a Halloween card
A one-evening Halloween party plan with themes, games and food, plus funny and spooky lines to write in a Halloween card.
What to write in a communion card
Religious, short, funny and family wording for a First Holy Communion card.
Confirmation card messages
Wording for a confirmation card, from blessings to short lines for teenagers.
Christening timing, costs and what to write
The full UK timeline, real costs from church donation to party, and wording you can copy into the card.
Baptism timing, costs and what to write
Infant and adult baptism timelines, UK costs, and card wording for both.
First Holy Communion timing, costs and what to write
The preparation year, real UK costs, gift budgets and wording written for a child who can read it.
Confirmation timing, costs and what to write
The preparation timeline, costs, gift budgets and wording pitched at eleven to fifteen year olds.
Naming ceremony timing, costs and what to write
The secular alternative to a christening: when to hold it, what it costs, and wording with nothing to cross out.
Long distance relationship messages
Messages for long distance couples, from everyday texts to cards worth posting.
New relationship messages
Early days wording that says something without going too far, too fast.
Death anniversary messages
What to write on the anniversary of a death, when most people have gone quiet.

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Frequently asked questions

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

There are 71 in this section, and the full directory has 938 guides across 73 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.

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