You've got them an awesome personalised birthday card and a thoughtful gift, you reach for your best pen and prepare to break out your best handwriting... but what should I write in a birthday card? Yep, your mind is blank. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Choosing a card is easy, writing a heartfelt or funny birthday message is the tricky bit.
It's ok, we're here for you! We're all for extraordinary birthday cards and we firmly believe the inside is just as important as the outside. So here's our carefully compiled list of quotes, sayings, words and messages to write in a birthday card.
Feel free to use any of these and take all the glory. No one needs to know that you had a little guidance, we won't tell if you don't. You're welcome!
How to Structure Your Birthday Card Message
Start with a friendly greeting. E.g. "To name," or "Dear Name"
Wish them a happy birthday. You can make this more fun by adding quotes, jokes, or more personalised messages- see below for inspiration.
End by signing off with your name. E.g. "Lots of love from name/s" "Warmest wishes, name/s" or "Have a great one, from name/s". One sign-off statement is enough, no need to say "lots of love from Bob, have a great one, best wishes." Try to be concise instead with quality over quantity.
Kisses or not? Only you can decide the answer to this. But we do recommend only putting kisses at the end, below your name. Dropping random kisses at the end of each sentence can make your message look messy and confusing.
And here's our number 1 top tip for writing messages in cards-
Write it out on a piece of paper first and copy it into the card when you know what you want to say.
If I had £1 for every time I've started writing a card and written myself into a corner or run out of space, or made a spelling mistake, well, let's just say I wouldn't be writing this blog right now.
Quotes About Growing Up
- "Even though you want to try to, never grow up." -Peter Pan
- "Growing old is mandatory but growing up is not." -Walt Disney
- "Never grow up...always down." -George's Marvellous Medicine
- "It takes a long time to become young." -Pablo Picasso
Quotes about Getting Older
- "Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears." -John Lennon
- "Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter." -Mark Twain
- "Please don't retouch my wrinkles. It took me so long to earn them." -Anna Magnani
- "You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake." -Bob Hope
- "The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." -Madeleine L'Engle
- "Today is the oldest you have been and the youngest you'll ever be again." -Eleanor Roosevelt
- "You don't get older, you get better." -Shirley Bassey
- "Old enough to know better but still young enough to get away with it." -Unknown
Sweet Messages for a Birthday Card
- "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." -Oprah Winfrey
- "Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift." -Aretha Franklin
- Congratulations on another trip around the sun!
- Happy Birthday! I hope your birthday is as brilliant as you are!
- Happiest of Birthdays to my favourite husband/wife/sister/human (insert appropriate choice here)
- I hope all your birthday wishes come true. You deserve it!
- Here's to (insert age). I hope it's your best year yet.
- Thanks for being born! My life is so much better with you in it.
- I love growing old with you. Happy Birthday to my favourite human.
- "Don't count the candles on your cake, enjoy the cake." -Joel Osteen
Funny Messages for Inside a Birthday Card
- You're not old, you're vintage.
- You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.
- I spent 3 hours searching the internet for the perfect birthday message for you and then I gave up. Happy Birthday!
- Another year closer to retirement- woohoo!
- Don't worry, I hear (insert age) is the new (insert last year's age).
- Cheers to another year of questionable life choices.
- In dog years, you'd be dead.
- Happy Birthday to a sister who has the best sister in the world.
- Happy birthday to one of the few people whose birthday I can remember without Facebook.
- I was going to send you something special, but the postie told me to get out of the post box!
- You'd better share your birthday cake with me! Happy Birthday, by the way.
- "There is still no cure for the common birthday." -John Glenn
- "Live long and prosper." -Mr Spock
- "Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened." -Cora Harvey Armstrong
- "A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." -Robert Frost
If it's a belated birthday card, we've also got a handy blog for that.
We hope you found this helpful, if so, please check out our other blog posts for more inspiration, tips and guides. Oh, and if you're still looking for that extraordinary birthday card, we do some that are quite good. Check them out here.
