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- group birthday card
- Birthday card words
Birthday card.
What to write.
Say happy birthday, add one true sentence about them, and sign your name. That is all a card needs.
The lines below are sorted by who they are to you. Pick one, put in a detail only you know, then sign.
Updated
Birthday lines
Pick one for who they are to you, add a detail, and sign.
Short
Happy birthday. Have a good one.
Happy birthday. Eat cake.
Another year, and a good one ahead.
Happy birthday. I am glad you were born on a day I get to celebrate.
Have the best day. You deserve it.
Happy birthday. See you soon to celebrate properly.
For a friend
Happy birthday. Thanks for being the person I ring first with good news and bad.
Another year of you. I am lucky to know you.
Happy birthday to my favourite person to do nothing with.
You make ordinary days better. Have an extraordinary one.
Happy birthday. Same time next year, and I will still owe you a drink.
Growing older with you as a friend is the easy part of getting older.
For family
Happy birthday. This family would be very dull without you.
To the one who holds us all together. Have a lovely day.
Happy birthday. Sunday lunch is on us this week.
Another year, another reason the family group chat is worth reading.
Happy birthday. We are proud of the person you are.
The best of the family. Do not tell the others I said so.
For a partner
Happy birthday, love. I would pick you again, every year.
Another year with you. It keeps getting better.
Happy birthday to the person I like most in the world.
You, me, dinner tonight. Happy birthday.
I love you more each year, and I notice it most on your birthday.
Funny
Happy birthday. You are now the age you used to call old.
Another year closer to complaining about your knees.
Happy birthday. I got you this card and my excellent company.
You are not old. You are just well celebrated.
Happy birthday. Act your age. Actually, do not bother.
For a child
Happy birthday. We are so proud of who you are becoming.
Another candle, another year of you making us laugh.
Happy birthday. You can stay up late tonight.
To the best kid we know. Have a brilliant day.
Happy birthday. Make a big wish.
What to leave out
Do not write about their age unless you know they laugh about it. Forty is funny to some people and not to others.
Do not apologise for a late card at length. Two words, then the birthday wish.
If you barely know them, keep it short and warm. A long message to a stranger reads oddly.
One card from everyone
Family, friends, the people from five cities. One link, and it opens on the morning.
- 01
Add the birthday.
The card opens that morning and not before.
- 02
Ask the people.
Everyone gets one link and writes once, in a browser.
- 03
They read it with their tea.
Every line signed. They keep it after.
Questions
What do you write in a birthday card when you do not know what to say?
Start with happy birthday, add one true sentence about them, and sign your name. Three lines beat a long message that says nothing.
How long should a birthday message be?
Two or three sentences. If you have more to say, say it in person.
Is it rude to write only happy birthday?
No. A short card that arrives on the day beats a long one that never gets written.
Should a message in a group card be short?
Yes. Everyone writes a line or two, and the card is the sum of them. Save the long letter for a card of your own.
On 22 September 2026 the UK search table gave 1,700 searches a month for what to write in a birthday card, and the pages ranking for it were gift shops carrying the same ten lines.
Part of group birthday card.