Guide · 5 minute read
How to write a New Year letter or card
In the last week of the year everyone sends the same message: "Happy New Year!" It arrives in seconds and is forgotten in seconds. A letter or a card stays differently. The good news: you don't need to be a great writer for a lovely New Year letter, only a little time. You can even write it today and have it arrive on New Year's morning.
Look back at the year first
The best part of a New Year letter is looking back. What happened between the two of you this year? A moment you laughed together, a phone call during a hard week, the day you first met.
It doesn't have to be something big. One small memory, like "I haven't forgotten the soup you brought me on that rainy day in March", says more than a long list of wishes.
Don't forget to say thank you
The end of the year is the perfect time for thank-yous that never got said. Say clearly what you're thankful for: not "You were so good to me this year" but "I still owe you for that Sunday you carried my boxes when I moved."
A specific thank-you makes the reader feel truly seen.
Make your wishes theirs
"Health, happiness, success" is what everyone writes. Instead, make a wish that belongs to them: the course they want to start, the city they want to visit, the novel they're about to finish.
You can share a wish of your own too: "Next year I want to write more letters, and I'd like you to be the first to read them." That turns a one-way greeting into a conversation.
On a card, keep it short and warm
A card's small space is a gift: one sentence is enough. A few examples:
"May your new year be as warm and surprising as you are."
"The best part of last year was meeting you. Happy New Year!"
"Shall we promise to have tea together this year?"
When you write less, every word carries more.
Writing to a friend far away
If you're writing to a friend in another country, tell them how you spend New Year's Eve: what's on the table, what happens at midnight, how the streets are decorated. Ask them about their own traditions.
Not everyone celebrates the new year on the same night; in some places it arrives with a different calendar. Even asking about it starts a lovely conversation.
Write it today, let it arrive on New Year's morning
The last days of December are always hectic. You can write your letter now, on a calm evening, and choose the delivery day. In Letterbird's Post office (post.letterbird.app, or Menu → Post office in the app) you enter the recipient's email address and set the day and time in their own time zone, and the letter or card arrives that very morning.
The recipient doesn't need the app: it arrives by email and opens in the browser. You don't need an account to send it either.
Read it once more before you send it
A letter sent from the Post office can't be taken back, so it's worth reading it aloud one last time. Is their name spelled right? Does your wish really fit them?
And give yourself a small gift: write a letter to yourself too, set to arrive next New Year. Opening it a year later and seeing what has changed is a wonderful feeling.
Let the new year begin with a letter
A message is forgotten in seconds; a letter is kept for years. Write a few lines today, choose your envelope and stamp, and wait for New Year's morning.