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60th birthday.
What to write.

Name the milestone, say one specific thing about them, and wish them a good day. Keep it personal and the card gets read twice.

These 60th birthday wishes are sorted by who is writing. Pick your group, add their name, and sign.

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Everyone's words in one card.

Updated

Two-colour printed lettering. Happy birthday. Yes, there's cake. No, you don't have to speak.

Still the first person I call. Happy 60th.

From Kofi

The person we call first, last, and always. Happy 60th.

From Rosa

Still my favourite person. Happy 60th.

From Sam

Pick a design

  • A party with balloons. Hold a balloon. Hold a friend. Happy birthday.
  • A mug. Happy birthday to the one who knows how everyone takes their tea.
  • A sun. Happy birthday. Hope the sun comes out.
  • Half a biscuit over a mug of tea, the other half gone in, and the words one, two, three, four. Happy birthday. Try not to go soft.
  • A pair of socks. Happy birthday. It's socks. You knew it was socks.
  • Blowing out the candles. Small hands on a big cake. Happy birthday.
  • Botanical birthday card. Happy birthday.
  • Marker lettering with a highlighter stroke. Happy birthday. Stay exactly as you are. Maybe tidier.
  • Dinner together. Table for two, cake for one. The birthday rules.
  • Marker lettering. Happy birthday. I got you a card. "present" is crossed out and "card" written above it.

The question

Each writer gets a question.

One at a time, about Sam. They answer in their own words, or write without one.

Who they are to you
  1. Something Sam did this year that you still think about.
  2. Words of Sam's that you have caught yourself using.
  3. A day Sam made better just by turning up.
  4. Something Sam taught you without meaning to.
  5. A small thing about Sam that nobody else would notice.
  6. The story about Sam you tell most.
  1. The moment you knew you had a proper friend in Sam.
  2. Something Sam did that only a friend would.
  3. A thing you still laugh about together.
  4. The time Sam turned up when it mattered.
  5. Something Sam knew about you before you said it.
  1. Something Sam did for the family that went unsaid.
  2. A habit of Sam's that you have caught yourself copying.
  3. A memory of Sam from when you were younger.
  4. Something Sam put up with from you.
  5. Something Sam taught you, mostly by example.
  1. A small thing Sam did that you noticed and never mentioned.
  2. The moment you knew.
  3. Something Sam did this year that made things easier for you.
  4. A thing about Sam you would not change.
  5. Something Sam carried that was yours to carry.
  1. The thing you go to Sam for.
  2. Something you picked up from working beside Sam.
  3. A bad day at work that Sam turned round.
  4. Something a new starter should be told about Sam.
  5. Something Sam did that made the job feel worth doing.

Or write without one.

60th birthday wishes

Pick your group, add their name, and sign.

From a close friend

  • Sixty looks good on you. I mean that. Happy birthday.

  • Happy 60th. Of everyone I know, you have earned this one most.

  • Still the first person I call. Happy 60th.

  • What a milestone. Happy birthday, and I am proud to know you.

  • The best company I have had for thirty years. Happy 60th.

From family

  • Sixty years of you and we would not change a single one. Happy birthday.

  • Happy 60th. You have been our steady thing for all of it.

  • The person we call first, last, and always. Happy 60th.

  • Watched you for sixty years and still cannot get enough. Happy birthday, with all our love.

  • Six decades and still the one who makes everything better. Happy birthday.

From a partner

  • Sixty years in the world, and the best ones have been ours. Happy birthday.

  • Happy 60th. Better at sixty than most people manage at thirty.

  • I have loved watching you get here. Happy birthday.

  • Still my favourite person. Happy 60th.

Funny

  • Happy 60th. The secret to your age is that nobody believes it.

  • Still ignoring good advice after sixty years. Some people never learn.

  • Six decades in and still the most trouble. Happy birthday.

  • The big six-oh. Sixty candles is a fire hazard. Happy birthday.

Short

  • Happy 60th. What a day.

  • Sixty. Brilliant. Happy birthday.

  • Still going strong. Happy 60th.

  • The big one. Happy 60th.

  • Six decades. Well done.

What to leave out

Do not write as if sixty is the beginning of decline. They are celebrating, not surrendering.

Do not list their achievements like a CV. Pick one and say it properly.

Do not say you cannot believe they are sixty. They can. They were there.

Do not write something that would fit any birthday card. Sixty is specific. The card should be too.

One card from everyone

Friends, family, old colleagues. One link, and it opens on the day.

  1. 01

    Add the birthday date.

    The card opens that morning and not before.

  2. 02

    Share one link.

    Each person writes once, in a browser. No app needed.

  3. 03

    They read it on the day.

    Every wish signed with a name, and theirs to keep.

Create a card

Questions

What do you write in a 60th birthday card?

Name the milestone, say one specific thing about them, and wish them a good day. Sixty deserves more than a generic happy birthday.

How long should a 60th birthday message be?

Two or three sentences. Say the milestone, say one specific thing, and wish them well. That is enough.

Should a 60th birthday card be funny?

Yes, if that is how you know them. Keep the joke about who they are, not about getting old.

Part of group birthday card.

More guides

Somebody has a day coming up.

Create a card

Everyone's words in one card.