Free tool
What to write in a card
Hundreds of ready-to-use lines for birthday, farewell, retirement, wedding, new baby, get well and thank you cards. Pick who you are writing to and how you want it to sound.
Happy birthday! Working with you makes the day go faster, and I hope yours is a good one.
HeartfeltHappy birthday. This place is considerably better with you in it, and I hope today reminds you of that.
HeartfeltWishing you a brilliant birthday. Thank you for being the person everyone actually wants to be put on a project with.
HeartfeltHappy birthday! Hope you get properly spoiled today, and that you take every bit of it.
HeartfeltHappy birthday! You still have to attend the 3pm, but morally you are excused from contributing.
FunnyHappy birthday. Booking the day off would have been the power move, and yet here you are. Respect.
FunnyAnother year older and still the only person here who knows how the printer works. Happy birthday.
FunnyHappy birthday! Have a great one.
ShortHope your day is as good as you are at your job. Happy birthday!
ShortHave a wonderful birthday. You have earned it.
ShortWishing you a very happy birthday and a year ahead full of good things.
FormalMany happy returns. It is genuinely a pleasure working alongside you.
Formal
Browse by occasion and relationship
Each page has its own etiquette notes and a longer set of lines.
- What to write in a birthday card for a coworker
- What to write in a birthday card for your boss
- What to write in a birthday card for a friend
- What to write in a birthday card for family
- What to write in a farewell card for a coworker
- What to write in a farewell card for your boss
- What to write in a farewell card for someone on your team
- What to write in a goodbye card for a friend who is moving away
- What to write in a wedding card for a coworker
- What to write in a wedding card for a friend
- What to write in a wedding card for family
- What to write in a new baby card for a coworker
- What to write in a new baby card for a friend
- What to write in a new baby card for family
- What to write in a retirement card for a coworker
- What to write in a retirement card for your boss
- What to write in a retirement card for someone on your team
- What to write in a retirement card for a parent or family member
- What to write in a get well card for a coworker
- What to write in a get well card for a friend
- What to write in a get well card for family
- What to write in a get well card for your boss
- What to write in a thank you card for a coworker
- What to write in a thank you card for your boss
- What to write in a thank you card for someone on your team
- What to write in a thank you card for a friend
- What to write in a thank you card for a teacher
- What to write in a sympathy card for a coworker
- What to write in a sympathy card for a friend
- What to write in a sympathy card for a family member
- What to write in a work anniversary card for a coworker
- What to write in a work anniversary card for your boss
- What to write in a work anniversary card for someone on your team
- What to write in a congratulations card for a coworker
- What to write in a congratulations card for your boss
- What to write in a congratulations card for a friend
- What to write in a welcome card for a new coworker
- What to write in a welcome card for a new team member
- What to write in a welcome card for a new manager
- What to write in a holiday card for a coworker
- What to write in a holiday card for your boss
- What to write in a holiday card for a teacher
- What to write in a graduation card for a friend
- What to write in a graduation card for your son, daughter or grandchild
- What to write in a graduation card for a coworker
Why the card goes round the office and comes back blank
Almost everyone writes the same thing, and almost everyone knows it. The card arrives at your desk with fifteen signatures already on it, you read the three above yours, and you write a version of those because the clock is running and someone is waiting to take it to the next desk. The result is a card full of good wishes that could have been addressed to anybody.
The problem is not that people do not care. It is that being asked to summarise a relationship in four lines, under time pressure, in front of an audience, in permanent ink, is genuinely difficult. Every line below exists to get you past that first blank moment, which is the only hard part.
How to make any of these lines your own
Take the line that is closest to what you mean and add one specific detail: a date, a place, a project, a habit. "Thanks for everything" becomes "Thanks for covering my week in March, which I have still not properly repaid." It takes ten extra seconds and it is the difference between a line the person reads and a line they keep.
Specificity is also what makes a short message work. Two sentences with a real detail in them beat a paragraph of warm generalities every time, and nobody has ever complained that a card was too short.
Where these lines came from
Every message here was written for one particular pairing of occasion and relationship, not generated by swapping nouns in a template. What you can say to a friend turning forty is not what you can say to the person who signs off your reviews, and a leaving card for someone made redundant needs different handling again.
Each combination also has its own page with the etiquette specific to it: what to avoid, what to do when you barely know the person, and what changes when the circumstances are difficult.
Common questions
Is this card message generator free?
Yes, completely, with no account and no limit. Every line is on the page already, so nothing you choose is sent anywhere. You can copy as many as you like.
Can I use these messages in a real greeting card?
Yes. Copy any line straight into a paper card, a group card, an email or a message. There is no attribution needed and no restriction on use.
How do I write a card message that does not sound generic?
Add one concrete detail to whichever line is closest to what you mean: a date, a project, a shared memory, a habit of theirs. A generic sentence with one specific clause attached reads as genuinely written for that person, which is the whole trick.
How long should a card message be?
Two or three sentences is right for almost every card. Longer is only better when you have something specific to say and you are close to the person. On a group card, judge it by the space left: a short, real message beats a long one squeezed sideways up the margin.
What do I write if I hardly know the person?
Say something true and brief, and sign your full name so they know who you are. Nobody expects a near-stranger to produce warmth they do not have, and a short honest line is far better received than an obviously strained one.
Now get everyone else to write one
Card Event turns those messages into one card the whole team signs from wherever they are, with photos, video and voice notes. One link, no app, no account for the people signing.
Start a cardFree to build and collect messages. You pay once, at delivery.