What to write in a Thanksgiving card
Thanksgiving cards are really thank-you cards with a date attached, and the ones that work say what you are thankful for *about them* rather than in general. The second audience is the one people forget: everyone who is not at the table this year. A short card to them is worth more than anything you write to the people you are about to see.
Warm
Friendly, unfussy, safe with almost anybody.
- Happy Thanksgiving! Grateful for you, this year and most years.
- Give thanks — and I give thanks for you. Happy Thanksgiving.
- Wishing you a table full of people you like. Happy Thanksgiving.
- Happy Thanksgiving. Save me a seat next year.
- Thinking of you today, and glad you’re mine to be thankful for.
Funny
A joke with affection behind it. Read the room first.
- Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful you host, so I don’t have to.
- Give thanks, eat too much, nap without shame. Happy Thanksgiving.
- Happy Thanksgiving! I’ll be thankful from a safe distance from the kitchen.
- Wishing you a Thanksgiving with no political conversation whatsoever.
- Happy Thanksgiving. The sides are the main event and we both know it.
Heartfelt
For the people you would actually say this to out loud.
- Happy Thanksgiving. You’re near the top of a short list of things I’m grateful for.
- Thinking of you today — the table’s a bit emptier without you.
- Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for a year of being exactly who you are.
- Grateful for you, and not only today. Happy Thanksgiving.
- Wishing you a warm one, with the people who make it worth it.
Simple
When short is the right answer, and it often is.
- Happy Thanksgiving!
- Grateful for you.
- Happy Thanksgiving — enjoy the day.
- Give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving.
- Thinking of you today.
What to avoid
- Don’t write a list of everything you are grateful for. One thing, about them, is the card.
- Don’t assume a full table. Plenty of people are spending it alone or short of someone.
- Don’t bring up who is not speaking to whom.
- Don’t send it a week late. Thanksgiving does not keep.
Copper — one of the thanksgiving designs in the Sincerio library. Whatever you pick, the words above are yours to use.
Sincerio keeps the dates and sends the card on the day, in your own words. The thought stays yours; the remembering stops being your job.
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