Christmas Messages for Parents: 44 Notes for Mom and Dad

Your parents have probably kept every card you ever made them, from the glitter-covered one in first grade to the one you wrote in a hurry last year. That’s a lot of cards, and the easiest way to make this one stand out is to be specific: a Christmas you remember, something they did that you only understood later, a plan for the next time you’re home. The messages below are grouped for both parents, for Mom (or Mum, in Britain and Ireland) and for Dad, and for parents who are far away or spending Christmas on their own.

Christmas messages for parents

For one card to both of them, at the house where the tree always went in the same corner.

Mom and Dad, thank you for every Christmas Eve you stayed up until two assembling bikes and wrapping things in the garage. I see it now.
Merry Christmas to the two people who made Christmas feel like magic and never once let us see how tired they were.
Thank you for the house that’s always warm and the porch light that’s always on. Merry Christmas, both of you.
I learned what Christmas is supposed to feel like at your kitchen table. I’m still trying to get it right at mine.
To my parents, who still hang the paper chain we made in 1998: Merry Christmas, and thank you for keeping everything.
You taught us to go out into the world, and every December you give us a reason to come back to it. Merry Christmas.
Wishing you a slow Christmas morning, a fire that catches on the first match and a whole day with nothing to fix.
We’re bringing dessert this year. Please don’t cook for twelve when there are six of us. Love you both.

Christmas messages for Mom (or Mum)

Mom, Mum, Mam or Ma: for the person who knew where every ornament lived and which child was hiding which present.

Merry Christmas, Mom. Every year I put the star on my tree a little crooked, because that’s how you always did it.
Dear Mum, nobody makes gravy, peace and a fuss quite like you. Happy Christmas, and thank you.
Mom, you made every Christmas look effortless. Now that I host it myself, I know it wasn’t. Thank you.
Merry Christmas to the woman who still sends me a parcel of my favorite cookies every December, even though I’m forty-two.
Dear Mam, I hear your voice every time I count the potatoes. Have a beautiful, restful Christmas.
To the best mother in the world (we’ve checked): Merry Christmas.
Mom, I hope this Christmas someone else carries the turkey, does the dishes and makes you a cup of tea without being asked.
Thank you for the Advent calendar you still send me every November. I open each door like I’m eight again.

What to write in a Christmas card to your mother

When a single line isn’t enough. These longer messages follow a simple shape: a memory, a thank-you, a look ahead.

Dear Mom, I was making cookies last week and found myself humming the same carol you used to sing while you rolled out the dough. I didn’t even know I remembered it. Thank you for all the Christmases you made for us, and for the ones you’re still making. See you on the 23rd. All my love, Kate.
Dear Mum, I know this year has been a hard one, and I know you’ll still put the lights up and make the trifle and ask everyone else how they are. This Christmas, let us look after you. I’ll be home on Christmas Eve. Love always, Ben.
Mom, you always said Christmas was about the people, not the presents. I didn’t believe you when I was nine. I do now. Merry Christmas, from your grateful daughter.

Christmas messages for Dad

For the father who was in charge of the tree, the lights, the car in the snow and the jokes nobody laughed at.

Merry Christmas, Dad. I still check the tree lights one bulb at a time, just like you taught me.
Dad, thank you for every snowy drive to Midnight Mass, every carol you sang off-key and every present you swore you knew nothing about.
Happy Christmas, Da. The first cup of coffee of Christmas morning is still yours, as always.
To my dad, who could carve a turkey, fix a fuse and tell a ghost story all before dessert: Merry Christmas.
Dear Dad, I finally understand why you were always so tired on Christmas Day. Thank you for all of it.
Merry Christmas to the man who taught me to drive, to shovel snow and to say sorry first.
Dad, this year the grandchildren want to hear the story about the Christmas the car broke down. Get it ready.

For parents far away

For parents in the house you grew up in, in another country or on another coast, while you build a Christmas of your own somewhere else.

Mom and Dad, I can picture the kitchen right now: the radio on, the window steamed up, the cat on the warm chair. I’m there in spirit, as close as I can get.
It’s my third Christmas in Boston, and it still doesn’t feel like Christmas until I hear your voices on the phone.
Dear Mum and Dad, I’ve hung the old tin star you gave me when I left. It’s the first thing anyone sees when they come in.
I’ll call at your seven o’clock and my two. Keep a mince pie by the phone and I’ll pretend it’s mine.
Merry Christmas from the other side of the world. The sun is shining here and it feels all wrong without frost on the windows.
This is the year I come home. Put the kettle on and keep my room the way it is.
I miss your Christmas more than I can write on a card, so I’ll just say this: thank you for giving me one worth missing.

For a parent on their own at Christmas

For a mother or father who is widowed, divorced or simply spending this Christmas without a partner beside them.

Mom, I know Christmas is different now, but it’s still yours. We’ll make it together this year.
Dad, you were mother and father to us for a long time, and you never missed a Christmas. Thank you.
We’ll be there on Christmas morning with coffee, croissants and the grandchildren. You don’t have to do a thing.
However quiet the house feels this year, Mom, you are never alone at Christmas. We’re only a phone call and a short drive away.

For stepparents

For the person who married into the family and has been showing up at Christmas ever since.

You didn’t have to take us all on, but you did, and you’ve made every Christmas since better. Merry Christmas.
To my stepdad, who learned all our strange family traditions and never once complained about the singing.
Thank you for loving my mom, and for loving us too. Happy Christmas, with love.
You’ve been part of our Christmases for so long now, it’s hard to remember a time without you. Merry Christmas.

For parents who are new grandparents

For the first Christmas your parents become Grandma and Grandpa.

Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad, from your newest and smallest fan. She can’t hold a pen yet, so I’m writing for her.
Your first Christmas as grandparents. We hope it’s the start of many more, with sticky fingers and too many presents.
Thank you for everything you did for us. Now we get to watch you do it all again for him.

Openings and closings for a card to your parents

Openings

Dear Mom and Dad (Mum and Dad),
To my favorite parents,
Dearest Ma,

Closings

From your grateful son,
Your loving daughter, always,
Home for Christmas, in heart if not in person,
Love from all of us in Denver,

Make it personal

Thank them for something small. The lunch notes, the ride home at midnight, the year they let you open one present early. Parents remember the big days; it’s the small ones they think nobody noticed.

Use the name you use. Mom, Mum, Mam, Ma, Dad, Da, Pop: write it the way you say it.

Give them a date. “We’ll be with you on the 23rd” or “I’ll call at noon your time” is often the best line in the card.

Add the grandchildren. A line in a child’s handwriting, or a funny thing they said, will be read out to every visitor.

Writing to your children as well? See our page of notes for a grown-up son, daughter and their partners. For many more lines in every tone, browse the main collection of card messages.

Our Christmas Cottage card shows a thatched stone cottage at twilight with a candlelit tree in the garden, a scene that looks a lot like the place many of us still call home at Christmas.

Questions

What do I write to my parents if we don’t always get along?

Keep it warm and honest. A wish for a peaceful Christmas, a thank-you for one real thing, and your name. A card is a good place to keep the door open, not to settle old arguments.

Should I send separate cards to divorced parents?

Yes. Each parent should have their own card with a message written just for them. Avoid mentioning the other parent’s plans unless you know it will be welcome.

What if my parents don’t use email?

Send the card to a brother, sister or neighbor who can show it to them on a phone or tablet, or bring it with you on your phone and play it for them when you visit.