What to write in a card, on a gift tag and on a shagun envelope

The card is bought, the pen is in your hand, and the inside is very white. This guide tells you what to write in a greeting card, on a gift envelope and on a gift tag, for the occasions that come up most in Indian families and offices.

The parts of a card message

1. The greeting: "Dear Simran and Arjun," or "Respected Sharma Uncle and Aunty,".
2. The wish: one or two sentences for the occasion.
3. One personal line: a memory, a thank you, or a hope that is about this person.
4. The closing: "With love", "With best wishes", "With regards and blessings".
5. Your name, or your family's: "The Verma family" or "Anil, Sunita and children".

Write on the right-hand inside page. Keep it to four or five lines, in your best handwriting, in ink. If your handwriting is poor, write slowly in capital letters. A handwritten line is always better than a printed one alone.

What to write on a shagun envelope

At weddings, engagements, housewarmings and births, money is given in a decorated envelope. The envelope needs only three things:

• To whom: the couple's names, the child's name, or "For the bride and groom".
• A short blessing: one line.
• From whom: your full name or family name, and your town if the family is large. The hosts open hundreds of envelopes and need to know whose blessing it is.

How much to give is a matter of family custom and your own means, and no website should tell you. Many families add one rupee to a round sum as a sign of good luck and of a relationship that continues.

Gift tags

A tag has room for "To", "From" and three or four words: "With love", "Happy birthday, Dadi", "For the new home". Write the names in full if the gifts will be opened later in a pile.

Occasion by occasion

Signing a card as a group

• Leave room. If twelve people are signing, write two lines, not ten.
• Do not repeat what the person above you wrote. Add one small thing of your own.
• Sign so that your name can be read.
• For a farewell card, an inside joke the person will understand is welcome. One the boss will not understand is a risk.

Cards in Hindi and Punjabi

For parents, grandparents and elders, a card in their own language is read aloud to visitors. Useful openings and closings:

• Hindi: "आदरणीय ..." or "प्रिय ...", closing with "सादर प्रणाम" to elders, "शुभकामनाओं सहित" generally, and "ढेर सारा प्यार" to those younger.
• Punjabi: "ਸਤਿਕਾਰਯੋਗ ... ਜੀ" or "ਪਿਆਰੇ ...", closing with "ਸਤਿਕਾਰ ਸਹਿਤ" to elders, "ਸ਼ੁਭ ਇੱਛਾਵਾਂ ਨਾਲ" generally, and "ਬਹੁਤ ਸਾਰਾ ਪਿਆਰ" to those younger.

Sympathy cards

A sympathy card is the hardest to write, and the shortest is the best: that you are sorry, one good memory of the person, and that you are there. Ready lines are on our sister site at condolence messages.

Small things that matter

• Check the spelling of names. Ask someone if you are unsure.
• Write the date in a corner. Cards are kept, and years later the date is the first thing people look for.
• Write in ink, not in pencil.
• If you are posting the card, write the message before you seal it. It has happened to everyone.

A short verse can replace the wish in any card. See our sister site, Poems for birthdays and festivals. Printed invitation wording is on Invite.