40 Christmas Card Messages for Coworkers (Warm, Funny and Short)

A Christmas card for a coworker is the easiest card in the office to write and the easiest to get slightly wrong. Easy, because two sentences is plenty. Slightly wrong, because “Merry Christmas, have a great new year!” is what everyone writes, and a card full of it reads like a form. The fix is one small detail from the year: the project, the desk you shared, the meeting you survived together. Below are 40 Christmas card messages for coworkers: warm, funny and short, plus versions for a close work friend, someone you barely know, your boss, and a holiday card for a mixed team where “Christmas” might not fit.

Warm and simple

1. Thanks for making this year easier than it had any right to be. Have a wonderful Christmas.
2. Merry Christmas! Working with you has been one of the best parts of the year.
3. Wishing you a restful Christmas and a proper break. You’ve earned it.
4. Thank you for all the help this year, especially the bits nobody else saw. Merry Christmas.
5. Have a lovely Christmas, and I hope it involves no laptops at all.
6. It’s been a good year to sit next to you. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Funny (about the work, not the person)

7. Merry Christmas! May your inbox be empty and your out-of-office be bulletproof.
8. Wishing you a Christmas with more mince pies than meetings.
9. Thank you for being the only person who knows how the printer works. Merry Christmas.
10. Have a great Christmas. Our quarterly review is a distant memory, and long may it stay that way.
11. Merry Christmas to my favourite person to complain about the Wi-Fi with.
12. May your Christmas have fewer “quick questions” than our Tuesdays.
13. Here’s to a break with no “per my last email”. Merry Christmas.
14. Thank you for always replying-all with something worth reading. Merry Christmas.

For a close work friend

15. This year would have been a lot worse without our coffee breaks. Merry Christmas, friend.
16. Thank you for being my sanity check, my sounding board and my emergency snack supplier. Have a brilliant Christmas.
17. You made the hard weeks funny. Merry Christmas, and see you on the other side.
18. Best desk neighbour, best meeting ally, best person to roll my eyes at across the room. Merry Christmas.
19. I’m really glad we ended up on the same team. Have the best Christmas.

For someone you don’t know well

20. Wishing you a relaxing Christmas and a good start to the new year.
21. Merry Christmas! It’s been good working with you this year.
22. Have a lovely break, and all the best for next year.
23. Thanks for your help on the project this autumn. Merry Christmas.
24. Season’s greetings, and I hope you get some proper time off.

For your boss or manager

25. Thank you for a good year, and for backing us when it mattered. Merry Christmas.
26. Have a restful Christmas. I hope nobody sends you anything urgent.
27. Thank you for the support and the trust this year. Wishing you a lovely break.
28. Merry Christmas, and thank you for being a manager people actually want to work for.

For someone new or someone leaving

29. Welcome to your first Christmas with the team! Glad you’re here.
30. You’ve only been here a few months and it already feels like longer, in the best way. Merry Christmas.
31. Your last Christmas with us. We’ll miss you in the new year. Have a wonderful one.

Non-religious versions for a mixed team

When a whole team signs a card, or you’re not sure how someone marks the season, these include everyone.

32. Happy holidays! Thank you for a great year together.
33. Wishing you a restful break and a happy new year.
34. Enjoy the time off. You’ve more than earned it.
35. Season’s greetings, and thank you for this year.
36. Have a wonderful holiday, however you spend it.

A team holiday card goes further when everyone actually signs it, not just the five people near the desk where it’s being passed round. TeamRally Cards sends each teammate a personal invite by email, so remote colleagues sign too, and delivers the card on the day you choose. Free to make, sign and send, with up to 100 invited signers.

Short ones

37. Merry Christmas, and thank you.
38. Have a brilliant break!
39. Warmest wishes for Christmas and the new year.
40. Merry Christmas. See you in January!

What makes these work

One detail from the year. The printer, the coffee breaks, the autumn project. One reference turns a stock wish into a card from you in particular.

Humour aimed at the shared work. Meetings, inboxes, the Wi-Fi. Everyone is in on those jokes. Jokes about someone’s habits or workload aren’t.

Matching the relationship. A close work friend can take “emergency snack supplier”. Someone you’ve met twice gets a warm, simple wish. Neither is wrong; they’re different cards.

What to avoid

• Assuming everyone celebrates Christmas. On a card the whole team signs, “happy holidays” or “enjoy the break” includes people who mark the season differently or not at all.
• Work talk. “Can’t wait to tackle Q1 together!” Nobody wants a deadline in a Christmas card.
• Jokes about drinking or the office party. What’s funny over drinks reads differently in writing, and the card might be passed around.
• In-jokes on a group card. If only two people will get it, write it in a private message instead.
• Over-familiarity with someone senior. Warm is good; “love you loads x” to your manager’s manager is a lot.

Frequently asked questions

What do you write in a Christmas card for a coworker? A short wish for the break plus one line about working together this year. Two sentences is plenty.

What about a coworker you don’t know well? Keep it warm and general, and mention one good exchange if you’ve had one.

Is it OK to say Merry Christmas at work? To someone you know celebrates it, yes. For a team card, “happy holidays” includes everyone.

Can you write something funny? Yes, if the joke is about the shared work rather than the person.

Related: holiday messages for employees · what to write in a group card · thank you messages for a coworker · group holiday cards