What to write on a New Year wish card (and how to keep it short)

Last updated 14 October 2026 by Tim Grassin, founder and head pastry chef at Ondine.

Short answer: Match the words to the person, then keep it to one wish. For an elder, wish them good health and happiness in polite words. For your boss, wish them success at work. For a colleague or friend, be warmer. For your partner, make it personal. One short line, their name and yours is plenty. On an Ondine wish card you have up to 140 characters, and we print your message for you.

You know the moment. The box is open, the ribbon is off, and before anyone reaches for a madeleine, they pick up the card. They read it once, then again, a little slower.

That card is the part of the gift that speaks for you. It does not need to be long. It needs to sound like you meant it.

First, match the words to the person

WordyGuru, a Thai wording site, suggests choosing a wish that fits your relationship with the person and their position, so it feels sincere and right. Its short guide:

• Elders: wishes often call on sacred things and the Triple Gem, ask for good health, a long life and a happy family, and use polite, humble words.
• Bosses and managers: focus on success and progress at work, in formal words. Do not be too casual or joke around.
• Colleagues: formal is fine, with a little more warmth, such as wishing that work goes smoothly and you are happy together for another year.

It also notes that you do not need royal vocabulary (ราชาศัพท์) for ordinary elders. Polite words are enough.

Below are short lines for each person, copied from three Thai sources: Thairath, WordyGuru and HumanSoft. The English in brackets is our own rough meaning, not the source's. Where a source gives a line in English, we quote it as written.

For an elder: parents, grandparents, the family you visit

Respect first, then warmth. These three are short enough for a small card:

• สวัสดีปีใหม่ ขอให้ท่านสุขภาพร่างกายแข็งแรง และมีความสุขยิ่ง ๆ ขึ้นไป (Happy New Year. May you stay strong and healthy, and be happier still.) From WordyGuru's short wishes for elders.
• ในวารดิถีขึ้นปีใหม่ขอให้ท่านและครอบครัวพบแต่ความสุขความเจริญ (On this New Year, may you and your family find only happiness and prosperity.) From Thairath.
• สวัสดีปีใหม่ ขอให้ท่านโชคดีมีชัย คิดสิ่งใดสมหวังดั่งใจหมาย (Happy New Year. May luck be on your side, and may all you hope for come true.) From WordyGuru.

In English, Thairath's list has: "Wishing you and your family health, happiness, and prosperity in new year."

If you are also choosing the gift, our guide to New Year gifts for elders goes through what to give, by situation.

For your boss

Formal, respectful, and about the year ahead at work. WordyGuru's own lines for bosses are long and formal, so these two shorter ones come from HumanSoft's all-occasion list. Both use the polite ท่าน:

• สวัสดีปีใหม่ขออวยพรให้ท่านจงประสบความสำเร็จในทุก ๆ สิ่งในปีใหม่นี้ (Happy New Year. Wishing you success in everything this new year.) From HumanSoft.
• ปีใหม่นี้ขอให้ท่านมีสุขภาพแข็งแรง มั่งคั่ง และมีความสุข (This New Year, may you be healthy, prosperous and happy.) From HumanSoft.

In English, HumanSoft has: "Wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year".

For a colleague or a friend

You can relax a little here. These are bright and easy:

• ปีใหม่ วันใหม่ เริ่มชีวิตใหม่ ขอให้สุข สนุกสดใส เบิกบานใจ สวัสดีปีใหม่ (New year, new day, a new start. Be happy, have fun, feel bright. Happy New Year.) From Thairath.
• ขอให้ปีใหม่ของเธอเต็มไปด้วยสิ่งดี ๆ และความสดใสในทุกวัน (May your new year be full of good things and brightness every day.) From HumanSoft. เธอ is casual, so save it for a friend.

In English, HumanSoft has: "Cheers to another year! I wish you happiness in the year to come". If the box is for your office gift exchange, here are Secret Santa gifts under 500 baht.

For your partner

None of the three guides has a section for partners, so these come from HumanSoft's all-occasion list. They are the warm, personal ones:

• ขอให้ปีใหม่ของคุณพิเศษแบบไม่เหมือนใครอย่างที่คุณเป็น สุขสันต์วันปีใหม่ (May your new year be one of a kind, just like you. Happy New Year.)
• ขอให้ปีที่จะมาถึงนี้เต็มไปด้วยทุกสิ่งที่ทำให้คุณมีความสุข (May the year ahead be full of everything that makes you happy.)

In English, HumanSoft has: "Happy New Year! Thinking of you as we begin anew".

How to fill in your Ondine wish card

Every Ondine box comes with a wish card that carries your message. You add your wish, and we print it on the card.

1. At checkout, choose "It's a gift". Step 3, "Your wish card", opens a box for your message.
2. Keep it to 140 characters. That is the limit, and a counter shows how many you have used. A preview shows how it will look on the card.
3. Use a simple shape: their name, one wish, your name. WordyGuru's tip is the same: pick a line that fits the person, then add their name or a short personal note, and the wish feels more sincere.
4. Choose a short line, not a long one. The long formal wishes are beautiful, but some run past the limit. By our count, one of WordyGuru's formal wishes for elders is 169 characters. The lines above all fit, with room for a name.
5. Check the year. The coming New Year is 2027, which is 2570 in the Thai calendar. The guides above were written for 2569 (2026). WordyGuru points out that its formal wishes work in any year because they are not tied to one, so a line with no year is the easy choice.

Here is our own example, built on WordyGuru's line, at 96 characters:

คุณแม่คะ สวัสดีปีใหม่ค่ะ ขอให้ท่านสุขภาพร่างกายแข็งแรง และมีความสุขยิ่ง ๆ ขึ้นไป รักแม่นะคะ พลอย

(Mum, Happy New Year. May you stay strong and healthy, and be happier still. Love you, Mum. Ploy.)

Then let the box do the rest

We bake in Bangkok and deliver across central Bangkok by Grab Express (roughly Bang Sue to Bang Na, and Thon Buri to Bang Kapi), Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00, closed on Sundays, often the same day. Send the box to yourself to hand over, or straight to their door with the card inside. Every box goes in an Ondine logo bag with a ribbon and your wish card.

The Petite 3 (฿290) holds three madeleines: a thank you, a little hello for a colleague. The Signature 5 (฿450) holds five, for a family table or someone who deserves more than one. New to madeleines? Here is what a French madeleine is.

Choose your box. If a batch is gone when you look, you can put your name down for the next one.

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Sources: Thairath, "100 คำอวยพรปีใหม่ผู้ใหญ่ 2569 ความหมายดี Happy New Year 2026" (31 December 2025); WordyGuru, "คำอวยพรปีใหม่ ผู้ใหญ่ เจ้านาย แบบทางการ พร้อมกลอนอวยพร" by Kittipong Intaboot (updated 3 July 2026); HumanSoft, "คำอวยพรปีใหม่ภาษาไทย&อังกฤษ พร้อมแจก Prompt สร้างการ์ดอวยพร" (updated 21 July 2026). All read 14 October 2026. English meanings in brackets are Ondine's own.