Birthday wishes for everyone on your list

Short birthday wishes

For a text, a comment or the back of a gift tag. Short doesn’t have to mean lazy.

• Happy birthday. I hope today is as easy to love as you are.

• Cake first, responsibilities later.

• Another trip around the sun and you’re still my favourite person to sit next to.

• Today’s agenda: you. That’s the whole list.

• Hope the cake is huge and the day is slow.

• Go be loud about it. It’s your birthday.

• One year older, zero percent less fun.

• Sending you a hug the size of your cake.

• Big day for the best person I know. Enjoy every minute.

• Eat the good chocolate today. No saving it for later.

• Glad you were born. Genuinely.

Funny birthday wishes

For people who’d roll their eyes at anything soppy.

• You don’t look a day older. You look about a year older, which is correct.

• Congratulations on surviving another year of adulting with only minor damage.

• At your age the candles cost more than the cake. Worth it, though.

• I got you nothing, but I’m saying it very nicely. Happy birthday.

• Your birthday is my favourite excuse to eat cake at 11 am without being judged.

• Age is just a number. Yours is a fairly big one now, but still.

• Relax, you’re not old. You’re vintage. There’s a difference, and it’s mostly the price.

• Please blow out the candles before the smoke alarm joins the party.

• Today you can say “it’s my birthday” to get out of anything. Use it wisely.

• Statistically, people who have more birthdays live longer. Keep up the good work.

Heartfelt birthday wishes

When you want them to read it twice.

• I don’t say it enough, so here it is in writing: things are better with you around. They just are.

• Thank you for the ordinary days. The lifts to the station, the late phone calls, the way you always remember. Happy birthday.

• You’re the person I think of when something good happens. That says everything, really.

• I hope this year is kind to you. You’ve been kind to so many people, it’s only fair.

• Some people make a room feel warmer just by walking in. You’re one of them.

• If I could give you one thing today, it would be the way everyone else sees you.

• There aren’t many people I’d drop everything for. You’re at the top of that very short list.

• However you spend today, I hope at some point you stop and notice how loved you are.

• You’ve had a hard year and you’re still the one checking on everyone else. Let someone look after you today.

• I’m so glad you exist. That’s it. That’s the card.

Belated birthday wishes

Late is fine. Late and honest is better than a made-up excuse.

• I’m late, but my wishes are full size. Happy belated birthday.

• I didn’t forget your birthday. I was just giving you a longer one.

• Happy belated birthday. My calendar and I are no longer speaking.

• This is officially the last birthday wish you’ll get this year, which makes it the most memorable.

• Sorry this is late. The good news is your birthday week has been extended, by me, personally.

• I missed the day, but not the point: you’re wonderful, and I owe you cake.

• Belated, but completely sincere. I hope it was a good one.

• Consider this the after-party. Happy birthday, a few days late.

• My excuse is terrible, so I won’t bore you with it. Lunch is on me.

• You were on my mind on the day. My phone just didn’t get the message until now.

Milestone birthdays

Two wishes each for the big ones: 18th, 21st, 30th, 40th and 50th. The number is in the wish, so you can find yours.

• Eighteen. You can vote, sign things and still call me when you don’t know how to boil an egg.

• Happy 18th. Welcome to adulthood. The paperwork is terrible but the freedom is great.

• Happy 21st. Go out, have fun, drink water in between, and text me when you’re home.

• 21 looks good on you. Enjoy the year when nobody expects you to have it figured out.

• Welcome to your thirties. The knees get louder but the opinions get better.

• Thirty is when you stop apologising for what you like. Have the birthday you actually want.

• Happy 40th. You’ve earned every one of those years, and you still make them look easy.

• Forty and still the one everyone calls when they need a plan. Take the day off from planning.

• Half a century. Fifty years of stories and I’ve only heard about half of them. Tell me the rest over dinner.

• Happy 50th. You’re proof that the best people only get more interesting.

For someone far away

When there’s a time zone or two between you and the cake.

• I’d hand you this cake myself if the flight weren’t eleven hours. Eat a slice for me.

• Wherever you’re waking up today, I hope it feels like home for a few hours.

• The distance is big. The hug I’m sending is bigger.

• I set an alarm so I could wish you at midnight your time. Worth it.

• Can’t be at your party, so I’m sending the loud part in writing: HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

• Miss you most on days like this. Call me when the candles are out.

• Different city, same person rooting for you. Have the best day.

• Distance means I can’t steal your cake this year. You’re welcome.

• I checked the weather where you are. Good day for a birthday. Go outside and enjoy it.

• Next year, same day, same table. Until then, this will have to do.

For a colleague or boss

Warm, not weird. These work in a team card, a work chat or a quick email.

• Happy birthday. Hope nobody books a meeting with you today.

• Here’s to a year with more good days than you can count and fewer emails than you deserve.

• Wishing you a great birthday and a very short to-do list.

• You make Mondays more bearable, which is a real skill. Enjoy your day, the inbox can wait.

• To the person who actually reads the whole email: we notice, and we appreciate it. Have a great birthday.

• Hope your day is full of cake and completely free of spreadsheets.

• Working with you is one of the better parts of the job. Have a lovely birthday.

• Thanks for being the kind of boss nobody complains about at lunch. Enjoy your birthday.

• Have a relaxed birthday. You’ve earned a day where someone else makes the decisions.

• From all of us at the desks nearest the snacks: happy birthday. Save us a slice.

Birthday blessings

Gentle wishes for anyone who’d like a blessing more than a joke. They work across faiths.

• Wishing you good health, a peaceful heart and people around you who love you well.

• May this year bring you calm mornings, kind people and answers to the things you’ve been hoping for.

• Sending blessings your way today, and every day after it.

• May you be kept safe on every road you take this year, and always find your way home.

• I prayed for you today. Mostly that you’d be happy, healthy and a little less tired.

• May your home be full of laughter and your table full of food this year.

• Blessings on your birthday. May the year ahead give back all the kindness you give out.

• Wishing you strength for the hard days and gratitude for the good ones.

• May every candle on your cake be a small prayer answered this year.

• May you grow in peace, in health and in joy. Happy birthday.

Birthday wishes by who they’re for

• Birthday wishes for your girlfriend (63 wishes)
• Birthday wishes for your boyfriend (55 wishes)
• Birthday wishes for Mom (64 wishes)
• Birthday wishes for your best friend (55 wishes)

Make it sound like you

• Swap one general word for a specific one. “Dinner” becomes “that dosa place”. “Your trip” becomes “Lisbon”.
• Add their name or nickname. Even the shortest wish feels personal with one.
• Mention something from this year: the new job, the move, the dog.
• If you’re funny in real life, be funny in the card. If you’re not, today isn’t the day to start.
• Read it out loud. If you wouldn’t say it to their face, change it until you would.

Found the words? Give them a better envelope

Put your wish inside an interactive birthday card: they pop balloons, blow out the candles and then find your message.

Frequently asked questions