Say the name first, and say it loud. Kids want to hear it.
After that, birthday wishes for kids need their favourite thing in them. Dinosaurs, or the new puppy. Then one joke, ideally with a burp.
It's all grouped by age, then by who's sending it. Plenty of lines are short enough for the birthday child to read alone, one finger under each word.
Birthday wishes for kids of any age
Two or twelve, kids like hearing they're in charge for the day. If a line says dinosaurs and your kid's into trains this month, change the word.
- Happy birthday! Today you're the boss of the whole house, grown-ups included.
- Squeeze your eyes shut and make a wish. A really big one.
- Cake first. Everything else can wait.
- One more candle, and your giggle still reaches the gate.
- May every balloon at your party be the colour you asked for.
- The paper crown stays on through dinner. Birthday rules.
- Everybody's singing for you today, even the ones who can't sing.
- Happy birthday, superstar. Being loud is allowed until bedtime.
- Hope you get a sheet of dinosaur stickers and stick one on everything, the doorbell included.
Pick the Fruit Ninja style on the kids' birthday card and your wish arrives as a game they play on the phone.
Toddlers, 2 to 4, who mostly want the balloon
A two-year-old can't read yet, so small kid birthday wishes get said out loud. Sing-song works best. On the last word, hold up the right number of fingers and let them count.
- Happy birthday, puddle-jumper. You found every puddle this monsoon, and so did your new shoes.
- Two candles, one big blow. Whoosh!
- Guess who turned three today. You did!
- Choo choo! Here comes the birthday train, and you're driving it.
- You're two now, so you can say no to everything. Except cake.
- Beep beep, four-year-old coming through.
- Even the rubber ducks get party hats tonight.
- Big hug from me, and a bigger one from teddy.
- Four is big. Big enough to do your own buttons, nearly.
- Pop goes the first balloon. Only nineteen to go.
When they're 5 to 8 and know every dinosaur
Somewhere around six, kids start grabbing the card and reading it before you can. Leave a gap between the lines so a finger can follow along. Big, plain letters help too.
- Five is a whole hand. High five!
- Roar! That's dinosaur for happy birthday.
- Six candles and one wobbly tooth. Don't blow too hard.
- I hope the music stops every time you're next to a chair.
- Happy birthday, train expert. You know more engines than the station master.
- Your cardboard spaceship is fuelled up. Blast-off is at cake time.
- Make a wish on every glow-in-the-dark star on your ceiling.
- You're eight, which is old enough to choose the cake and still young enough to wear the crown.
- Training wheels off by your next birthday. I'll run behind you.
- Dinosaurs were around for millions of years, and not one of them had a party like yours.
- Happy birthday, superhero. Your cape's in the wash, but the powers still work.
- Seven today! Pin the birthday badge on your shirt and walk into class like you're famous.
- A unicorn told me you're turning six. I said I already knew.
Ages 9 to 12, less baby talk and more cheek
Nine is when "cute" starts to sound like an insult, so drop the baby voice. Keep the jokes, though. A little teasing about whatever they're proudest of goes down well.
Ask before you post it with a photo. Ten-year-olds have strong views about which one, and they'll explain them at length in the car.
- Double digits! Ten's a big deal, so try to act like it for at least an hour.
- Happy birthday from me and the goldfish you named after a fast bowler.
- Nine! You may now roll your eyes at my jokes.
- You picked the cake and the music. Next year you can pay for them.
- Too old for pass the parcel, apparently. Fine. More parcel for me.
- Eleven, and the other shoe still goes missing every school morning. Happy birthday anyway.
- Thanks for fixing my phone three times this year. Happy birthday, tech support.
- Happy birthday to the scientist whose volcano project is still on the kitchen ceiling.
- Twelve. Nearly a teenager. Please stay this nice for one more year.
- May your internet be fast and your maths homework short.
- Two chess wins against me this month, and you haven't stopped mentioning either. Rematch after cake, and this time I'm not letting you win.
Silly lines for kids who laugh at burps
Burps win, every time. These land best between 4 and 9, the years when one smelly sock can set off a whole class. Do the sound effects yourself when you read them out.
- I got you a burp for your birthday. Buuurp. You're welcome.
- Shh. The balloons are planning a surprise, so act normal.
- My socks are older than you, which is why they smell like that.
- Careful, the candles look nervous. They know what you're about to do.
- I made you a rocket cake, but it blasted off before you woke up.
- Roses are red, dinosaurs are green, you're the silliest six-year-old I've ever seen.
- The magician pulled a hanky out of Chachu's ear. Your present was in there too.
- Wear your underpants on your head today. It's your birthday, and nobody can stop you.
- Your teddy told me you snore. I promised not to tell anyone. Oops.
- The puppy next door says happy birthday. Well, he said "woof", but I knew what he meant.
- By tomorrow you'll be seven and one day old, which is very, very old.
- Your balloon sword has beaten three grown-ups and one sofa. Happy birthday, champion.
From mummy and papa, for the card they wake up to
You'll be the one reading these out for a few years yet, so they can run longer. Write yours the night before and leave the card on the pillow.
- Every night you ask for one more story. Tonight you get two, and I'll do all the voices.
- Papa wanted to write something wise here. Then you walked in asking if dinosaurs had birthdays, and he forgot what it was. Happy birthday, kiddo.
- I packed star-shaped sandwiches in your tiffin today. Please don't tell anyone they took me forty minutes.
- Happy birthday, jaan. We measured you on the bedroom door this morning and the new pencil line is above the old one. I cried a bit. Papa says he didn't. He did.
- Being your papa is the best job I've had, and the pay is mostly sticky hugs.
- You fell asleep on my arm at last year's party with the crown still on. I didn't move for an hour.
- My girl is seven and already corrects my spellings. Keep doing it, beta. Mummy needs the help.
- I still have the first drawing you gave me, a purple sun with legs. It's on the fridge, and it isn't coming down.
The birthday wishes for a son and birthday wishes for a daughter pages have plenty more from mummy and papa.
Grandparents on a video call, one line at a time
Read it aloud first. Calls lag. A long sentence gets chopped in half when the screen freezes, so keep each line to one breath.
Under-fives will mostly want to hold their new toy up to the camera. Let them.
- Happy birthday, my little dinosaur. Nani is roaring from here, so roar back.
- Blow the candles out slowly so I can see them on my screen.
- Dadu has shown your cake photo to every single person on his morning walk.
- Here comes a hug through the phone. Catch it before the screen freezes.
- I've kept the red kite for you. We'll fly it from the terrace when you come in the holidays.
- You're six, so you're old enough to teach Dadi how to turn the video on. Thank you, teacher.
- Happy birthday, mera bachcha. Show me your new shoes again. I didn't see them properly the first time.
For the birthday child in your class
On a class birthday it's colour dress instead of uniform, and a jar of toffees goes round the room. The song always gets sung slightly too fast.
Kids aged 4 to 10 will take these happily. Say yours in front of the class, then once more, quietly, at their desk.
- Happy birthday, Ishaan! The whole class sang for you, and only two of us were out of tune.
- Thank you for the toffees. Everyone says happy birthday, with their mouths full.
- You're seven, so you get to be class monitor for the day.
- There's a star next to your name on the board this morning. Happy birthday from Class 2B.
- Birthday kids pick the last story of the day. Choose a good one.
- Six years old and you already find the chalk before I do. Happy birthday, helper.
Hinglish lines for the bachcha party
Hindi at home and English at school is how a lot of kids talk anyway. So these won't sound odd to them.
Most suit ages 3 to 8. The last two are for older kids, who'll pretend they don't like them. Drag the ending out when you say them, so "jaldi aao" turns into "jaldi aaaao".
- Cake kaatne ka time ho gaya, jaldi aao!
- Happy birthday, chhotu! Itne saare balloons, aur sab tumhare liye.
- Mera sher aaj paanch saal ka ho gaya. Ek roar karke dikhao!
- Candles ek hi phoonk mein bujhao, champion.
- Gift kholo, par paper mat phaado. Achha theek hai, phaad do.
- Aaj homework ki chhutti hai. Jitna naachna hai, naacho.
- Tum badi ho gayi ho, par godi mein abhi bhi aa sakti ho.
- Das saal ka ho gaya, ab toh phone maangega.
- Kitne bhi bade ho jao, mummy ko hug karna mat bhoolna.
Making a small person's birthday feel big
Big numbers first. Write the age on chart paper, taller than the child if you can manage it. It goes on the front door, before they wake up.
The wish itself sounds better in a silly voice. Try a robot, or a very posh dinosaur.
Kids who'd rather tap than listen can play through a card from the birthday card games page after the real cake. There's a cake on the card too, and that screen greets them by name. Expect a five-year-old to want that bit twice.
On the real cake, the name and the age are plenty. If the baker has room for more, borrow one of the birthday cake wishes.
Frequently asked questions
What goes in a card for a one-year-old?
Something for later, since a one-year-old won't follow the words yet. A single line about this year is plenty, like the first steps or the first word. They'll read it themselves when they're ten.
How many words should a child's birthday wish have?
Under 15, if they'll be reading it themselves. Most birthday wishes for kids work best at that length. A letter that a parent reads out can go to four or five sentences before a six-year-old wanders off.
What do I write for twins?
Two wishes, one for each child, each with their own name and their own favourite thing. "You two" gets old by lunchtime. There's a full page of twins birthday wishes if you need more.
Can a child without a phone open a HeartCraft card?
Yes. Send the link to a parent's phone and let the child pop the balloons from the sofa. There's nothing to install, and the QR code you get with it can go on a gift tag.