What to write in an Easter card

Easter cards split two ways and it is worth knowing which one you are sending. For some people it is the most important day of the year; for others it is a long weekend and chocolate. Both cards are fine — the mistake is sending the wrong one. If you are unsure, spring and warmth are safe ground and nobody has ever minded them.

Warm

Friendly, unfussy, safe with almost anybody.

• Happy Easter! Spring has sprung.
• Wishing you a lovely Easter — good weather and better company.
• Happy Easter. Enjoy the long weekend.
• Thinking of you this Easter. Have a restful one.
• Happy Easter to you and the family.

Funny

A joke with affection behind it. Read the room first.

• Happy Easter. May your chocolate outlast the children.
• Wishing you an Easter with a well-hidden egg and a good hiding place for yours.
• Happy Easter! Eat the ears first, it’s tradition.
• Have a lovely Easter — and pace yourself on the chocolate. Or don’t.
• Happy Easter. Four days off is the real miracle.

Heartfelt

For the people you would actually say this to out loud.

• Wishing you a peaceful and happy Easter.
• Happy Easter — thinking of you and hoping the spring is kind.
• Wishing you and yours a blessed Easter.
• Happy Easter. Here’s to light mornings and a slower few days.
• Thinking of you this Easter, with love.

Simple

When short is the right answer, and it often is.

• Happy Easter!
• Wishing you a happy Easter.
• Happy Easter — enjoy the weekend.
• Have a lovely Easter.
• Happy Easter, with love.

What to avoid

• Don’t send a religious card to someone for whom it is a chocolate weekend, or the reverse.
• Don’t make a joke about Lent unless you know they kept it.
• Don’t assume the date — Easter moves by more than a month between years.
• Don’t lead with the chocolate if you are writing to someone in mourning.