5-step guide to writing the perfect Birthday card message during Coronavirus

May 06, 2020

Written by Rebecca Green

5-step guide to writing the perfect Birthday card message during Coronavirus

I’m not even sure what week of lockdown we’re in? Six? Seven? During this period, I’ve had a lot of friends and family who have celebrated their big Birthday in some creative ways – mostly involving a digital get together and singalong at the very least.

If you’ve got a friend or a loved one who is celebrating their Birthday during isolation, it is very likely going to be a totally different experience to what they had planned to do. And with that said, some people might get a little bit of ‘writer’s block’ as to what to write when sending a Birthday card to them. We’ve compiled a few thought starters that might just get those creative juices flowing again.

Eat Cake all Day Birthday Cake Card

Here’s a quick 5-step starter guide to get going:

1. Find an appropriate card design

Even before the writing begins, you can score major points by choosing an appropriate card for your audience. Do they rave about rainbows? Fanatic about florals? Or go crazy for cake? Once that’s been decided and you’ll know they’ll appreciate the thought gone into the design selection, we can then move on to step two

2. Don’t dive in right away when greeted with the blank space inside

The last thing you want to do after you’ve sourced the perfect card is to make a hasty mistake while writing your message. A suggestion based on what I do is to arm yourself with a scrap piece of paper with plenty of room for thought scribbles.

3. Start with the key message

Sounds so simple but needs to be said. We’ve got the card and know exactly who’ll be receiving it. Kicking off the card with the main message will then form the basis for the other, more thoughtful, content to follow. Is it a big Birthday milestone? Make sure to shout about that too, e.g. Happy 50^th Birthday Sue!

4. Add thoughtfulness and personality

In my experience, when you receive any card it is always the ones that read as though the writer has composed it from the heart that are the most enjoyable. Key here is to be genuine and yourself. We know that Coronavirus has scuppered Birthday celebrations and has been a difficult and surreal time for us all but we want to remain as positive and joyful as we can. Here’s a few thought starters:

Reminisce about previous Birthday celebrations you’ve had together
Plan on how you’ll celebrate their big day when you can
Get that virtual Zoom call in the diary to belt out ‘Happy Birthday’

5. End on a high

You’ve got the body of the message down to perfection and it’s the closing words that you just need to get right to nail that ‘perfect card sender’ title to your CV. At this time, I think the recipient would love to know how much you’re thinking about them. Again think about their personality and something they’d enjoy to see at the bottom of the card. My go to sign-offs are:

'Big love'
'All my love'
'You’re the best'

So I hope you found those points useful. Below I have written out an example message which contains a few options you can use as a thought starter:

To my fabulous Sophie,

Happy Birthday you superstar!

Sorry we cannot celebrate your big day like we normally do – drunk and singing Karaoke until the early hours
Gutted we can’t be together to share in your Birthday celebrations but cannot wait to make up for it when ‘normality’ resumes
I hope you’ve baked a lockdown cake to enjoy all by yourself
Missing you so much on your big day. We’ll celebrate in style as soon as we can

All my love,

Rebecca x

I think the important take-out is to allow yourself the time to be thoughtful. As soon as you grant yourself that license, you can follow steps one to five and absolutely smash out the perfect card. And if you're looking for inspiration for what cards to buy, please see a few examples of our designs below:

Rainbow Birthday cards by Raspberry Blossom