Christmas Wishes for Family: 60+ Messages for Every Relative

Family Christmas cards are the ones that get kept on the mantelpiece and read twice. Here are 60+ original messages for parents, siblings, children, grandparents, in-laws, and the relatives you will not see this year.

Send yours in a free holiday ecard to family you cannot post to in time.

For parents

1. Merry Christmas, Mum and Dad. Thank you for every Christmas you made special before I understood how much work it was.
2. Happy Christmas! However old I get, this still feels like your day to run.
3. Merry Christmas to the two of you. Cannot wait to be home.
4. Happy Christmas, Mum. Nobody does it like you and everybody knows it.
5. Merry Christmas, Dad. Thank you for a lifetime of putting the lights up badly and brilliantly.
6. Happy Christmas! Grateful for both of you, this year especially.
7. Merry Christmas. Thank you for still making it feel like it did when we were small.
8. Happy Christmas, Mum and Dad. Sit down this year. We will do the washing up.
9. Merry Christmas to you both, with a great deal of love.
10. Happy Christmas! The best bit of the year is still coming home to you two.

For brothers and sisters

1. Merry Christmas! Still not sharing the good chocolates.
2. Happy Christmas to my favourite sibling and only serious rival for the last roast potato.
3. Merry Christmas! Here is to another year of us against the relatives.
4. Happy Christmas. Genuinely glad you are my brother, even at this time of year.
5. Merry Christmas! Thanks for being the one who understands this family.
6. Happy Christmas to you and yours. Looking forward to seeing you all.
7. Merry Christmas! Let us try to make it to the Queen’s speech without arguing.
8. Happy Christmas, sis. Love you loads.

For children and grandchildren

1. Merry Christmas! Hope Father Christmas brings everything on the list.
2. Happy Christmas! You have been very good this year. Mostly.
3. Merry Christmas! Enjoy every single minute of it.
4. Happy Christmas to my favourite little person.
5. Merry Christmas! Do not wake your parents before six. Please.
6. Happy Christmas! Cannot wait to see your face when you open it.
7. Merry Christmas! Hope it is magical.
8. Happy Christmas! Lots and lots of love from all of us.

For grandparents

1. Merry Christmas, Nan. Thank you for every Christmas at yours — they are the ones I remember.
2. Happy Christmas, Grandad. Save me a seat by the fire.
3. Merry Christmas to you both. Christmas is not the same without a day at yours.
4. Happy Christmas, Grandma. Sending love and looking forward to seeing you.
5. Merry Christmas! Four generations this year. All because of you two.
6. Happy Christmas, Nan and Grandad. With love from all of us.
7. Merry Christmas. Thank you for the Christmases that made all the others make sense.
8. Happy Christmas to the pair of you. Put your feet up this year.

For in-laws and extended family

1. Merry Christmas to you both. Thank you for welcoming me into this family so completely.
2. Happy Christmas! Looking forward to spending it with you all.
3. Merry Christmas to all the family. Wishing you a wonderful day.
4. Happy Christmas! Thank you for another year of kindness.
5. Merry Christmas to you and yours, with love from all of us.
6. Happy Christmas! Hope the house is full and the day is easy.
7. Merry Christmas to the whole family. See you on Boxing Day.
8. Happy Christmas! Grateful to have gained a second family.

For family you will not see this year

1. Merry Christmas! Strange not having you here. Ring us when you can.
2. Happy Christmas from several thousand miles away. Missing you all badly.
3. Merry Christmas! There will be a place set for you next year.
4. Happy Christmas. First one apart and I do not recommend it.
5. Merry Christmas! Thinking of you all round that table.
6. Happy Christmas from us to you. Different houses, same family.
7. Merry Christmas! Save the good stories for when we are back.
8. Happy Christmas. Missing you is the only bad part of this year.

When it is a hard Christmas

1. Merry Christmas. Thinking of you all especially this year.
2. Happy Christmas — the first one without him will be hard. We are here.
3. Merry Christmas. However today goes, you do not have to pretend with us.
4. Thinking of you this Christmas. Whatever you need, ring.
5. Merry Christmas. A difficult one, and we are holding you all in mind.
6. Happy Christmas, with a lot of love and a lot of understanding.

Short family Christmas messages

1. Merry Christmas, with love from us all.
2. Happy Christmas to the whole family!
3. Merry Christmas — see you soon.
4. Lots of love this Christmas.
5. Happy Christmas! Missing you.
6. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
7. Have a wonderful Christmas.
8. Love to everyone this Christmas.

How to write it

1. Say something specific to them. Family cards get compared — a generic line is obvious next to a personal one.
2. Mention the year, not just the day. Christmas cards are the annual catch-up for relatives you rarely see.
3. Name everyone in the household. Nothing sours a card faster than a forgotten child or partner.
4. Acknowledge a hard year plainly. Relentless cheer in a bereaved household reads as thoughtlessness.

Send it — and pair it with a gift

A free holiday ecard reaches relatives abroad on the day. See also Christmas card messages and merry Christmas wishes:

FAQ

What do you write in a Christmas card to family?

Something specific to that household, a line about the year, and a warm wish. Family cards are read more carefully than any others.

What do you write to parents?

Thank them for something they did that you only appreciated later. It is the line most parents keep.

What do you write to family abroad?

Acknowledge the distance once, then give them news. A Christmas card is often the fullest update relatives get all year.

What if the family has had a bereavement?

Name it briefly and gently, and make clear they do not have to perform cheerfulness. Ignoring it entirely is worse.

What is a good short message?

“Merry Christmas, with love from us all.”

Should you send one card to the whole household?

One card is normal, but name everyone inside it — children particularly notice whether they were mentioned.