Christmas Messages for Grandparents: 50 Loving Notes

Grandparents read a Christmas card more than once. It goes on the mantel, then into a drawer with the cards from other years, and it comes out again in February when the house is quiet. That’s a good reason to write something with a little life in it: a memory of their kitchen, news of the family, a question they’ll enjoy answering on the phone. The messages below are grouped by who you’re writing to, from Grandma and Grandpa to elderly neighbors and relatives in a care home.

Christmas messages for grandparents

For a card to both of them, or to the grandparent who keeps the family together.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa, every tradition we keep at Christmas started at your table. Thank you for giving us so many.
Merry Christmas to the two people who taught us that there’s always room for one more chair and one more potato.
We still play cards the way you taught us, with the same house rules and the same arguments. Merry Christmas, from your loyal opponents.
Your house at Christmas smelled of oranges, pine needles and something in the oven. We try to make ours smell the same.
Wishing you a gentle Christmas full of visitors, phone calls and a good long nap in the armchair afterwards.
You’ve watched over three generations of Christmas mornings. This year, let us watch over you.
Thank you for the knitted hats, the stories by the fire and the five-dollar bill (or the fiver) tucked into every card. We love you both.
We hope the snow stays pretty and the paths stay clear, and that the kettle is always on when we knock.

What to write in a Christmas card to Grandma

Grandma, Grandma Rose, Nana, Nan, Granny or Gran: use the name you’d call out across the kitchen.

Dear Nana, I made your shortbread this year. It wasn’t as good as yours, but the kitchen smelled exactly right.
Merry Christmas, Grandma. I wear the scarf you knitted every day from November to March, and people always ask where I got it.
Dear Gran, your Christmas cake is still the one I measure every other cake against. None of them have come close.
To my granny, who always knew which of us needed an extra cookie and a quiet word: Happy Christmas, with all my love.
Grandma, I found your old recipe card for cranberry relish, stained and folded in four. It’s going on our table this year, in your honor.
Dear Nan, thank you for still sending a card with a crisp note inside. I’m far too old for it and I love it every year.
I’ll call on Christmas morning, Grandma. Have your tea ready and the news from the street.

For Grandpa

Grandpa, Grandad, Granddad, Pop or Papa: grandfathers often say the least and keep the most.

Dear Grandpa, I still think of you every time I hang the lights in a perfectly straight line. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Grandad. Save me a seat by the fire and the last of the walnuts.
Pop, thank you for teaching me to carve, to fish and to keep a secret about the presents. Merry Christmas.
To my grandpa, who could fix anything with a screwdriver and a cup of coffee: a very merry Christmas.
Dear Granddad, the old sled you made is in our garage, and this year your great-grandson is going to ride it.
Wishing you a peaceful Christmas, Papa, and a good football game on the radio afterwards.

From little grandchildren

For a child to sign, or to dictate while a parent holds the pen. Keep it short enough that they can write part of it themselves.

Dear Grandma, I drew you a reindeer. It has six legs because it’s very fast. Love, Mia.
Merry Christmas, Grandpa! I lost a tooth and I can whistle now. I’ll show you.
I helped make the cookies for your visit. I only ate three. Love from Sam.
Dear Nana, I’m the angel in the school play. I have one line and I know it by heart.
Grandma and Grandpa, please come for Christmas. You can have my room and I’ll sleep in the tent.
I’m counting the sleeps until we see you. Mom says there are eleven. Love you, Noah.

For grandparents far away

For grandparents in the old country, or for grandchildren who moved across an ocean and miss the farmhouse, the flat in the city or the cottage on the hill.

Dear Granny, we can’t be in your kitchen this Christmas, but we’re making your stuffing in ours, and the children are fighting over the crispy bits just like we did.
Merry Christmas, Grandpa. The children have your photo on the windowsill so you can watch them open their presents.
We’ll call on Christmas Day at your lunchtime and our breakfast. Keep the phone by your chair.
It’s a long way from Chicago to Galway, but the children know every one of your stories by heart, and they tell them back to us.
Dear Grandma Lucia, the tree is up and the nativity you sent us has pride of place beneath it. We miss you every day of Advent.
Next summer we’re coming home for a whole month. Start saving your best stories, Grandad.

Christmas messages for elderly relatives and neighbors

For great-aunts and great-uncles, a godmother in her nineties, or the neighbor who has lived on your street longer than anyone.

Merry Christmas, Aunt Peggy. We’d love to hear about the Christmases on the farm when you were a girl, so we’re coming for tea in the new year.
Wishing you a warm and peaceful Christmas, Mr. Kowalski. Thank you for watching over our street all these years.
We hope your Christmas is cozy and bright, and that you’ll let us shovel your path whenever it snows.
Dear Uncle Tom, ninety Christmases and you still sing every carol louder than anyone. Have a wonderful one.
To our dear neighbor at number four: thank you for the waves from your window every morning. A very happy Christmas to you.
Thinking of you this Christmas, Auntie May, and looking forward to hearing your laugh on the phone.

Christmas card messages for nursing home residents

For a relative in a nursing home (a care home, in Britain and Ireland), or for cards a school, church or volunteer group sends to residents. Write large and clearly, keep sentences short and promise only visits you can make.

Merry Christmas! We hope your room is bright with cards and your days are full of good company.
Wishing you a peaceful Christmas, warm socks and a cup of tea just the way you like it.
Dear Dad, we’ll be there on Christmas afternoon with the grandchildren and the photos from the summer. Merry Christmas.
Hello from the children in Class Two! We made this card for you and we hope it makes you smile.
You may not know us, but we’re thinking of you this Christmas and sending you our warmest wishes.
Mom, the nurses tell us you’ve been teaching everyone the old carols. Keep singing. We love you.

For a grandparent spending Christmas on their own

For a grandparent who lives alone, or who can’t travel this year.

We know the house is quieter this year, Grandma. We’ll be on the phone the moment the turkey’s in.
Christmas Eve won’t be the same without you at the head of the table, Grandpa. We’ll keep your chair warm until next year.
Your card is the first one on our mantel, and we’ve put your photo right beside it.
Dear Nan, there’s a parcel on its way with a scarf, a book and a jar of the marmalade you like. Open it slowly.
We’re all coming to you on the 27th, every last one of us. Rest up, Gran.

Make it personal

Ask them something. “What did you find in your stocking when you were seven?” gives them a reason to call, and a story to tell.

Send the family news. A new job, a first tooth, a garden that finally grew tomatoes. Grandparents want the details nobody else has time to hear.

Write it so they can read it. Larger handwriting, dark ink and short lines help. In a Paper Lantern card, keep the message to a few lines so it fits comfortably on the screen.

Include the great-grandchildren. A name, an age and a single funny line about each one.

For the cards grandparents send the other way, there’s a page of messages from grandparents to granddaughters and grandsons. For other members of the family and many more tones, browse our full collection of card messages.

If your grandparents grew up in Ireland, they may remember a candle lit in the window on Christmas Eve. Our Thatched Cottage card shows a whitewashed cottage with a red door and that same candle, with sheep in the snowy fields around it.

Questions

Should I send my grandmother a card or call her?

Both, if you can. A phone call on Christmas Day is the moment; the card is what she keeps. An animated card sent by email or text can also be shown to her on a tablet by whoever is with her.

What do I write to a grandparent with memory loss?

Keep it simple, warm and in the present: who you are, that you love them, one gentle picture (“The tree is up and it’s covered in your old glass baubles”). Sign with your full name and how you’re related.

Can children write their own message to their grandparents?

Yes, and grandparents almost always prefer it, spelling mistakes and all. Let the child write the first line and add a short note of your own below.