21st birthday wishes for the card and the toast at the party

Someone has taped streamers to the doorframe and bought the corner-shop cake. The 21st birthday wishes are your job.

In the US, 21 is the legal age to buy a drink. Britain and Australia (New Zealand too) hand over the old key to the door, often cardboard and covered in glitter. Almost everywhere, 21 lands in a final year of study or a first job.

The birthday person won't be up before noon, so there's time.

21st birthday wishes that suit almost anyone

Most 21st birthday wishes sound like they came printed in the card. Skip "officially an adult", since three people will have written it before you get the pen.

Happy 21st! Hope someone else does the washing-up today.
Twenty-one looks good on you, even at 11 am in yesterday's T-shirt.
Here's to fewer 9 am lectures and longer Sundays.
Hope your first payslip beats your first credit card bill.
May every job email this year start with "We're pleased to".
You got to 21 without losing your house keys more than twice a term. Proud of you.
Wishing you a cake with your name spelt right.
Have the loudest birthday the neighbours will allow, then sleep till Tuesday.
Whatever's due on Monday can wait a day. Happy birthday.
Glad you were born, even if you answer texts at 3 in the afternoon.
Twenty-one and finally old enough for the good scissors.
Go on, take the corner piece with all the icing.

On a HeartCraft birthday card, they pop balloons and blow out candles before your photos and letter appear.

Happy 21st birthday from the parents with the slideshow

The baby-photo slideshow belongs to the parents, and so does the right to cry through it. You're probably still paying their phone bill, so you've earned both.

There are more in our birthday wishes for a daughter if she's the one turning 21.

Happy 21st birthday, love. You were three days late and you've run on your own clock ever since.
We gave you a house key years ago. This cardboard one means you can come and go as you like. You did anyway.
Your dad forwarded your job offer email to eleven people. I'm told that's normal.
Sorry in advance about the slideshow. Love, Dad.
Son, you called to ask how to iron a shirt for the interview. I've been grinning since.
Three time zones away, so this lands while you sleep. Call when you're up.
Twenty-one years of you singing in the back of the car. I'd do every drive again.
You still call home to ask how long rice takes. I hope you never work it out. Love, Mum.
We had no idea what we were doing when we brought you home from the hospital, and we still don't. You turned out lovely, so we're taking the credit.
Proud of you, kiddo, mostly for the job and a little for calling your grandmother every Sunday.

Toast lines for whoever stands up to speak

Thirty seconds is plenty for a toast. Small warning: a parent who starts with "the day you were born" will be going long after the candles melt. Say it and sit down while people still like you.

To Leah, who kept us up all night twenty-one years ago and, judging by tonight's playlist, plans to again.
Two years sharing a flat and one bathroom with Arjun, and he's never been late with the rent. Here's to Arjun.
You've all seen the baby photos twice, so we'll spare you. Happy 21st, Sam, from the two people who took them.
Raise a glass to Nisha, who has a dissertation due Monday and somehow made it here on time.
Short one, the pizza's going cold. To Callum, the kindest person I know and the worst at picking music.
Mum wanted to give this speech, but we'd be here till midnight. Happy birthday, Ellie, from all of us.
Every birthday since you were six, you asked for your own key. Here it is, and dinner's at seven, same as always.

For a best friend or a flatmate, inside jokes allowed

Best friends get the lines nobody else at the party understands. The ones about the bins are for flatmates.

For jokes that need room, the best friend birthday card has a loud design called Bestie.

Happy 21st to my flatmate, who's had laundry on that chair since March and calls it a system.
You're 21 and still label your yoghurt, which hasn't stopped me once.
Best friend since week two of first year, when you lent me a frying pan for good.
Two winters with that clanking radiator, and I'd pick you to share it with again.
Only you know my karaoke song, and you've never once stopped me singing it.
The week we lived on toast to cover the rent was my favourite week.
You survived two years of my cooking. The cake's the least I could do.
If we're still sharing a fridge at 30, I'm buying a bigger one.
My go-to for dry cereal on the kitchen floor at 1 am.
First person I text about everything, including spiders in the bath.
Because of you I know how to get candle wax out of a carpet.
I cleaned the oven for your birthday. Please don't open it to check.
Wherever the job takes you next year, you're stuck with me. I'll visit and judge your sofa.

Funny 21st birthday wishes they'll read at noon

By morning, the "21" balloon had lost enough air to read "2". Pitch your jokes at that level.

Happy 21st! You're now old enough to have a favourite saucepan.
Old enough to rent a car in some countries, unable to fold a fitted sheet.
That student discount has a year left, tops. Spend it all on cake.
Your cake had someone else's name on it until the shop scraped it off. Basically personalised.
Happy birthday to someone whose bedroom floor doubles as a wardrobe.
At 21 the dentist stops giving you a sticker. Sorry.
May your group project partners finally reply this year.
Twenty-one and already on first-name terms with your overdraft.
Your cooking has two settings, raw and on fire.
Congratulations on 21 years of never reading the terms and conditions.
I won't post the photo from last night. That's your present.

Lines a brother or sister can get away with

Brothers and sisters are allowed one insult per wish, if the rest is kind. A 21-year-old who still borrows your good shoes has earned it.

My suit was a tent on you, and you got the job. Happy 21st, little brother.
You're 21 and Mum still cuts your sandwiches into triangles. I'm telling everyone.
Happy birthday to my sister, who stole my clothes for years and now dresses better than me.
We shared a bunk bed until you were twelve, so I know you talk in your sleep. Your secrets are safe. Mostly.
Big sister, thanks for going first at everything so I knew what not to do.
Little sister, big job offer. I'll pretend I'm not jealous for one day.
Twenty-one years of being the favourite. Enjoy it while I'm abroad.
My brother fixed my laptop at 1 am before an exam and charged me in pancakes. Happy 21st.

Soft ones for a boyfriend or girlfriend

Mushy is fine here, as long as one line has something only you two would know. The dissertation they haven't started counts.

You're the only person who gets the good half of my cold pizza. Happy 21st, love.
We met when you were 19 and had a terrible haircut. The haircut's better. Everything else I liked stayed.
When the offer came through, you called me before your mum. I haven't told her.
To my girlfriend, who sings in the shower like the neighbours can't hear. They can. I don't mind.
Happy birthday to the boy who walked me to the night bus at 2 am and missed his own.
My favourite shirt looks better on you than on me. I'd like it back, though.
No idea where either of us will work next year. I'll be at your birthday anyway, and the one after.
You laugh at your own jokes before the punchline, and it's the bit I like most.
I was going to write something clever, but it's late and you're asleep with your mouth open. Happy 21st. I love you, and I'd like the duvet back.

Short enough for a caption or a gift tag

Write the gift tag in the taxi if you must. The caption waits until the birthday person finds their phone, which at 21 takes a while. There's a longer list of short birthday wishes too.

Happy 21st, sleepyhead.
Twenty-one and still the loudest in the room.
Birthday cake for breakfast, obviously.
Key to the door, glitter included.
One more year of you. Lucky us.
Happy birthday to my favourite 21-year-old, and I know several.
My person, 21 and terrible at board games.
21 suits you better than that borrowed suit did.
May 21 be kinder than your landlord.
Cake first. Inbox later.
Happy 21st. Call your mum back.
Same face as the baby photos, only taller.
Finally 21. Now go back to sleep.
May your houseplants survive the year.
Flatmate, the bins are on me today. Happy birthday.

Hinglish 21st wishes for Indian friends

If your friend slips into Hindi mid-sentence, write back the same way. Ikkees is 21, if anyone at the party asks.

Happy 21st, yaar! Ikkees ka ho gaya, ab toh apne kapde khud dho le.
Ikkees saal ki ho gayi, par neend abhi bhi dopahar tak. Happy birthday, pagli.
Bhai, ikkees ka ho gaya tu. Ab toh mummy ko roz call kar liya kar.
Tu ikkees ki ho gayi, par main tujhe ab bhi chhoti hi bulaunga. Happy birthday, behna.
Dissertation Monday ko hai, par aaj sirf cake. Happy 21st!
Itne saal ho gaye, phir bhi tere jokes pe sirf main hasta hoon. Happy birthday, dost.

Frequently asked questions

What's the key at a 21st birthday for?

Originally it meant you could let yourself into the family home at any hour, because 21 used to be the age of adulthood. Britain lowered it to 18 in 1970, and the Australian states followed during the 1970s. These days guests often sign a big cardboard or wooden one.

Is 21 a big birthday in India?

Not the way 18 is, with its voter ID and driving licence. A 21st there has no fixed ritual, so it's whatever the friends plan. Our 18th birthday wishes cover the earlier one.

What should a grandparent write in a 21st card?

A memory from when they were small and a short blessing, signed the way they always sign. Something like "You used to fall asleep on my lap during the news. Now you're 21. Love, Grandma."

How do I send a 21st wish at midnight in their time zone?

Send it yourself at their midnight. A HeartCraft card link goes when you send it and opens when they tap it. Make the card that evening and keep the link ready.

Someone has taped streamers to the doorframe and bought the corner-shop cake. The 21st birthday wishes are your job.

The birthday person won't be up before noon, so there's time.

21st birthday wishes that suit almost anyone

Most 21st birthday wishes sound like they came printed in the card. Skip "officially an adult", since three people will have written it before you get the pen.

Happy 21st! Hope someone else does the washing-up today.
Twenty-one looks good on you, even at 11 am in yesterday's T-shirt.
Here's to fewer 9 am lectures and longer Sundays.
Hope your first payslip beats your first credit card bill.
May every job email this year start with "We're pleased to".
You got to 21 without losing your house keys more than twice a term. Proud of you.
Wishing you a cake with your name spelt right.
Have the loudest birthday the neighbours will allow, then sleep till Tuesday.
Whatever's due on Monday can wait a day. Happy birthday.
Glad you were born, even if you answer texts at 3 in the afternoon.
Twenty-one and finally old enough for the good scissors.
Go on, take the corner piece with all the icing.

On a HeartCraft birthday card, they pop balloons and blow out candles before your photos and letter appear.

Happy 21st birthday from the parents with the slideshow

The baby-photo slideshow belongs to the parents, and so does the right to cry through it. You're probably still paying their phone bill, so you've earned both.

There are more in our birthday wishes for a daughter if she's the one turning 21.

Happy 21st birthday, love. You were three days late and you've run on your own clock ever since.
We gave you a house key years ago. This cardboard one means you can come and go as you like. You did anyway.
Your dad forwarded your job offer email to eleven people. I'm told that's normal.
Sorry in advance about the slideshow. Love, Dad.
Son, you called to ask how to iron a shirt for the interview. I've been grinning since.
Three time zones away, so this lands while you sleep. Call when you're up.
Twenty-one years of you singing in the back of the car. I'd do every drive again.
You still call home to ask how long rice takes. I hope you never work it out. Love, Mum.
We had no idea what we were doing when we brought you home from the hospital, and we still don't. You turned out lovely, so we're taking the credit.
Proud of you, kiddo, mostly for the job and a little for calling your grandmother every Sunday.

Toast lines for whoever stands up to speak

Thirty seconds is plenty for a toast. Small warning: a parent who starts with "the day you were born" will be going long after the candles melt. Say it and sit down while people still like you.

To Leah, who kept us up all night twenty-one years ago and, judging by tonight's playlist, plans to again.
Two years sharing a flat and one bathroom with Arjun, and he's never been late with the rent. Here's to Arjun.
You've all seen the baby photos twice, so we'll spare you. Happy 21st, Sam, from the two people who took them.
Raise a glass to Nisha, who has a dissertation due Monday and somehow made it here on time.
Short one, the pizza's going cold. To Callum, the kindest person I know and the worst at picking music.
Mum wanted to give this speech, but we'd be here till midnight. Happy birthday, Ellie, from all of us.
Every birthday since you were six, you asked for your own key. Here it is, and dinner's at seven, same as always.

For a best friend or a flatmate, inside jokes allowed

Best friends get the lines nobody else at the party understands. The ones about the bins are for flatmates.

For jokes that need room, the best friend birthday card has a loud design called Bestie.

Happy 21st to my flatmate, who's had laundry on that chair since March and calls it a system.
You're 21 and still label your yoghurt, which hasn't stopped me once.
Best friend since week two of first year, when you lent me a frying pan for good.
Two winters with that clanking radiator, and I'd pick you to share it with again.
Only you know my karaoke song, and you've never once stopped me singing it.
The week we lived on toast to cover the rent was my favourite week.
You survived two years of my cooking. The cake's the least I could do.
If we're still sharing a fridge at 30, I'm buying a bigger one.
My go-to for dry cereal on the kitchen floor at 1 am.
First person I text about everything, including spiders in the bath.
Because of you I know how to get candle wax out of a carpet.
I cleaned the oven for your birthday. Please don't open it to check.
Wherever the job takes you next year, you're stuck with me. I'll visit and judge your sofa.

Funny 21st birthday wishes they'll read at noon

By morning, the "21" balloon had lost enough air to read "2". Pitch your jokes at that level.

Happy 21st! You're now old enough to have a favourite saucepan.
Old enough to rent a car in some countries, unable to fold a fitted sheet.
That student discount has a year left, tops. Spend it all on cake.
Your cake had someone else's name on it until the shop scraped it off. Basically personalised.
Happy birthday to someone whose bedroom floor doubles as a wardrobe.
At 21 the dentist stops giving you a sticker. Sorry.
May your group project partners finally reply this year.
Twenty-one and already on first-name terms with your overdraft.
Your cooking has two settings, raw and on fire.
Congratulations on 21 years of never reading the terms and conditions.
I won't post the photo from last night. That's your present.

Lines a brother or sister can get away with

Brothers and sisters are allowed one insult per wish, if the rest is kind. A 21-year-old who still borrows your good shoes has earned it.

My suit was a tent on you, and you got the job. Happy 21st, little brother.
You're 21 and Mum still cuts your sandwiches into triangles. I'm telling everyone.
Happy birthday to my sister, who stole my clothes for years and now dresses better than me.
We shared a bunk bed until you were twelve, so I know you talk in your sleep. Your secrets are safe. Mostly.
Big sister, thanks for going first at everything so I knew what not to do.
Little sister, big job offer. I'll pretend I'm not jealous for one day.
Twenty-one years of being the favourite. Enjoy it while I'm abroad.
My brother fixed my laptop at 1 am before an exam and charged me in pancakes. Happy 21st.

Soft ones for a boyfriend or girlfriend

Mushy is fine here, as long as one line has something only you two would know. The dissertation they haven't started counts.

You're the only person who gets the good half of my cold pizza. Happy 21st, love.
We met when you were 19 and had a terrible haircut. The haircut's better. Everything else I liked stayed.
When the offer came through, you called me before your mum. I haven't told her.
To my girlfriend, who sings in the shower like the neighbours can't hear. They can. I don't mind.
Happy birthday to the boy who walked me to the night bus at 2 am and missed his own.
My favourite shirt looks better on you than on me. I'd like it back, though.
No idea where either of us will work next year. I'll be at your birthday anyway, and the one after.
You laugh at your own jokes before the punchline, and it's the bit I like most.
I was going to write something clever, but it's late and you're asleep with your mouth open. Happy 21st. I love you, and I'd like the duvet back.

Short enough for a caption or a gift tag

Write the gift tag in the taxi if you must. The caption waits until the birthday person finds their phone, which at 21 takes a while. There's a longer list of short birthday wishes too.

Happy 21st, sleepyhead.
Twenty-one and still the loudest in the room.
Birthday cake for breakfast, obviously.
Key to the door, glitter included.
One more year of you. Lucky us.
Happy birthday to my favourite 21-year-old, and I know several.
My person, 21 and terrible at board games.
21 suits you better than that borrowed suit did.
May 21 be kinder than your landlord.
Cake first. Inbox later.
Happy 21st. Call your mum back.
Same face as the baby photos, only taller.
Finally 21. Now go back to sleep.
May your houseplants survive the year.
Flatmate, the bins are on me today. Happy birthday.

Hinglish 21st wishes for Indian friends

If your friend slips into Hindi mid-sentence, write back the same way. Ikkees is 21, if anyone at the party asks.

Happy 21st, yaar! Ikkees ka ho gaya, ab toh apne kapde khud dho le.
Ikkees saal ki ho gayi, par neend abhi bhi dopahar tak. Happy birthday, pagli.
Bhai, ikkees ka ho gaya tu. Ab toh mummy ko roz call kar liya kar.
Tu ikkees ki ho gayi, par main tujhe ab bhi chhoti hi bulaunga. Happy birthday, behna.
Dissertation Monday ko hai, par aaj sirf cake. Happy 21st!
Itne saal ho gaye, phir bhi tere jokes pe sirf main hasta hoon. Happy birthday, dost.

Frequently asked questions

What's the key at a 21st birthday for?

Is 21 a big birthday in India?

Not the way 18 is, with its voter ID and driving licence. A 21st there has no fixed ritual, so it's whatever the friends plan. Our 18th birthday wishes cover the earlier one.

What should a grandparent write in a 21st card?

A memory from when they were small and a short blessing, signed the way they always sign. Something like "You used to fall asleep on my lap during the news. Now you're 21. Love, Grandma."

How do I send a 21st wish at midnight in their time zone?

Send it yourself at their midnight. A HeartCraft card link goes when you send it and opens when they tap it. Make the card that evening and keep the link ready.