Merry Christmas Wishes: 60 Free Messages, Funny to Heartfelt

A good Christmas message is short, warm and sounds like you. The 60 wishes below were written for this page and are free to copy into a card, a text or a group chat. They are sorted by who you are writing to, with a few funny ones for people who would roll their eyes at anything sentimental.

Short merry Christmas wishes

These fit a text message, a gift tag or the corner of a card.

1. Merry Christmas! Wishing you a warm, slow, happy day.
2. Hope your Christmas is full of good food and better company.
3. Merry Christmas and a calm, bright new year.
4. Sending love, cookies and zero stress your way. Merry Christmas.
5. May your Christmas be cozy and your coffee stay hot.
6. Wishing you a Christmas that feels like home.
7. Merry Christmas! Thank you for being part of my year.
8. Here's to twinkling lights and good people. Merry Christmas.
9. Peace, joy and a long nap after dinner. Merry Christmas.
10. Wishing you every good thing this season can hold.

Christmas wishes for family

1. Merry Christmas to the people who knew me before I was any good at anything.
2. However far apart we are, Christmas always brings me straight back to you.
3. Thank you for every Christmas morning, and for the ones still coming.
4. Mom and Dad, merry Christmas. Everything I love about this season, I learned from you.
5. To my brother and sister: still the best gift I never asked for. Merry Christmas.
6. Merry Christmas to my favorite people to argue with over board games.
7. Wishing our family a loud table, full plates and a picture where everyone's eyes are open.
8. Grandma and Grandpa, your kitchen is still my favorite place on earth. Merry Christmas.
9. Merry Christmas to my kids, who made this the best and busiest year yet.
10. Home is wherever you all are. Merry Christmas.

Christmas wishes for friends

1. Merry Christmas to the friend who feels like family, and is much easier to shop for.
2. Thanks for another year of inside jokes and emergency phone calls. Merry Christmas.
3. Wishing you a Christmas as fun as our worst ideas.
4. Merry Christmas! Let's make next year's catch-up an actual date on the calendar.
5. You're my favorite reason to be on the nice list. Merry Christmas.
6. Raising a mug of cocoa to you, wherever you're celebrating.
7. Merry Christmas to my plus-one for every holiday party.
8. May your Christmas have zero awkward questions from relatives.
9. Grateful for you this year, and every year. Merry Christmas.
10. Merry Christmas! The group chat wouldn't be the same without you.

Christmas messages for coworkers and clients

These stay friendly without getting personal, so they work in a team card or a client email.

1. Merry Christmas! Thank you for making this year's work feel easier.
2. Wishing you a restful holiday and a happy return in January.
3. Happy holidays, and thank you for a great year of working together.
4. Hope your break is full of good food and no notifications.
5. Season's greetings! It's been a pleasure working with you this year.
6. Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy holiday season.
7. Merry Christmas to the best team I could ask for.
8. Thank you for your trust this year. Wishing you a joyful holiday season.

For someone who may not celebrate Christmas, "Happy holidays" or "Season's greetings" is the safe, kind choice.

Funny merry Christmas wishes

1. Merry Christmas! May your stretchy pants be ready.
2. I'd give you my last Christmas cookie. Just kidding. Merry Christmas.
3. Hope Santa brings you everything you've been hinting at since July.
4. Merry Christmas from someone who is mostly here for the snacks.
5. Wishing you the patience to untangle every string of lights.
6. Let's not count the cookies. Merry Christmas.
7. May your Wi-Fi be strong and your relatives be brief.
8. You're on the nice list. I made a few calls.
9. Merry Christmas! Remember, calories don't count after December 20th.
10. Hope your gifts are thoughtful and your returns are easy.

Religious Christmas blessings

1. May the peace of Christ fill your home this Christmas.
2. Celebrating the birth of Jesus with you, and wishing you every blessing.
3. May the light of Christmas guide you through the new year.
4. Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth. Merry Christmas.
5. Praying that your Christmas is full of hope, joy and quiet wonder.
6. May the love that came down at Christmas stay with you all year.

Christmas and New Year wishes together

Use one of these when a single card has to cover both.

1. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Here's to more good days than we can count.
2. Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a fresh, kind start to the new year.
3. Merry Christmas! May next year bring everything this one forgot.
4. Cheers to the end of a big year and the start of a better one.
5. Merry Christmas and happy New Year from our home to yours.
6. Peace this Christmas, and courage for whatever the new year brings.

How to make a Christmas message personal

Add one real detail to any line above: a trip you took together this year, something they made you laugh about, or a hope you have for them in January. "Merry Christmas, and thanks again for driving me to the airport at 5 a.m." means more than a long poem.

Send it with an animated Christmas GIF

A short message and a moving picture stand out in a busy holiday group chat. Send the wish as your text and add a GIF:

• A merry Christmas GIF with a twinkling tree, a snowman or Santa's sleigh. You can add a name to it.
• A funny Christmas GIF to go with the jokes above.
• A merry Christmas family GIF for the family group chat.
• A religious Christmas GIF with a nativity, an angel or candles.
• A happy New Year GIF for the week after.

If a GIF arrives as a still picture, this guide on how to send a GIF in a text explains why.

Questions

What is a short merry Christmas wish? "Merry Christmas! Wishing you a warm, slow, happy day." Short wishes work best in texts and on gift tags.

What do you write in a Christmas card for a coworker? Keep it friendly and simple: "Wishing you a restful holiday and a happy return in January."

Is it OK to say happy holidays instead of merry Christmas? Yes. It is a kind choice when you are not sure whether someone celebrates Christmas, and it covers New Year too.

When should I send Christmas wishes? December 24 or the morning of December 25 for close friends and family. For coworkers and clients, the last working day before the break.

Are these Christmas wishes free to use? Yes. Copy them into cards, texts or social posts as they are, or change them to fit.