What to write in a birthday card
A birthday card from an organisation is a harder thing to write than a birthday card from a friend. Too casual and it's odd; too formal and it reads like a renewal notice.
What follows is grouped by who's receiving it, because that's the thing that actually changes the wording. Take any of them as they are, or use them as a starting point.
To a customer or client
Warm, brief, and with nothing to buy in it. The moment a birthday card asks for something it stops being a birthday card.
- Happy birthday, {firstName}. Hope you get a proper day off out of it.
- Happy birthday from all of us, {firstName} — good to have you with us this year.
- Many happy returns, {firstName}. Have a great one.
To a student
Written to them, not to their parents — a card that a fourteen-year-old is happy to leave on the side.
- Happy birthday, {firstName}! Have a brilliant day — and no homework from us today.
- Happy birthday, {firstName}. Everyone here hopes it's a good one.
- Happy birthday, {firstName} — enjoy it. See you next week.
To a club member
The club voice, not a corporate one. It should sound like it came from the people they see on a Saturday.
- Happy birthday, {firstName}! From everyone at the club — see you at training.
- Have a great birthday, {firstName}. Rest up, big season ahead.
- Happy birthday, {firstName} — hope it's a good one on and off the pitch.
To a colleague or member of staff
Specific beats effusive. A line that shows you know what they actually do lands better than a superlative.
- Happy birthday, {firstName}. Take the afternoon, you've earned it.
- Happy birthday, {firstName} — thanks for everything you've done this year.
- Have a great birthday, {firstName}. The place runs better because you're in it.
{firstName} isn't something you type out. Write the message once with it in, and every card in the send is printed with that person's own name.
Getting it right
- Use their name, not their title
- A card addressed to "our valued customer" reads like a mailshot, because it is one. Put {firstName} in the message and every card in the send comes out with the right name on it.
- Keep it shorter than you think
- There's less room than a screen suggests: these are printed A6 (105 × 148 mm). Two or three lines fills the space and reads better than a paragraph squeezed in.
- Sign it as a person
- "From everyone at the centre" is nobody. A name at the bottom — the tutor, the coach, the manager — is what makes it a card rather than a communication.
- Send it before the day, not on it
- Every card goes out at least 5 working days ahead, so it arrives in time rather than the week after. Set the date and it looks after itself.
Now pick the card
Personalised birthday cards for customers, students, members and staff. Pick a design, add your message, and we print and post a real card.