Halloween Wishes: What to Write in a Halloween Card

The Origins of Halloween

Halloween comes on October 31, and for most people, it’s all about fun. It’s celebrated in dozens of ways, from carving jack-o’-lanterns and hanging spooky decorations to watching scary movies and braving haunted houses, to making seasonal treats and crafting a perfect costume, to hanging out with a few friends or throwing a big ol’ party.

And for kids, the highlight of Halloween is trick-or-treating: going door-to-door in costume until their baskets and bags are filled with candy.

Halloween wasn’t always about candy and costumes though. The word “Halloween” is actually a smushed-together version of “All Hallows’ Eve” which is a Christian celebration of the night before All Hallows’ Day (better known now as All Saints’ Day).

Halloween as we celebrate it today also owes a lot to Samhain, a Celtic festival that fell on October 31 – November 1. Samhain traditions included bobbing for apples, carving scary faces into vegetables and going door-to-door in costume to ask for food.

Sound familiar? It should. Samhain may well be the source of many of our modern Halloween traditions, and the 10th-century Christian church might have placed All Saints’ Day on November 1 in an attempt to replace it.

Halloween is a great time for fun, playful cards—so here are some funny Halloween messages to help you get an extra chuckle.

• “Happy Halloween to a really BOO-tiful person!”
• “Hope your Halloween is a skele-TON of fun!”
• “Have a BONEafide awesome Halloween!”
• “Best WITCHes for a happy Halloween! (Sorry if I SPELLed that wrong!)”
• “Have a deFRIGHTful Halloween! Hope all your SCREAMS come true!”
• “Q: What has six eyes, purple claws and a mouth the size of a hula hoop? A: I don’t know but it’s RIGHT BEHIND YOU! (Made you look! Possibly! Happy Halloween!)”
• “You must be a hay maze ’cuz you’re HAY-MAZING!”

Or just use the all-time favourite:

• “Have a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween!”

Helpful tip: Don’t feel boxed in by the way we’ve categorized the messages in this article. For example, if you’re writing something for your friends, the “Friends” category of this article might have what you’re looking for. But so could this “Puns” category…or the “Heartfelt” category…or the “Spooky” one. Feel free to look around until you find what you need.

There’s no pressure to write a long or clever message if that isn’t your style. These simple happy Halloween messages are a good way to wish someone a great day.

• “Hope your day is full of good times and good treats.”
• “You’re the best—hope your Halloween is, too!”
• “Wishing you a great Halloween and a fantastic fall.”
• “You’re sweeter than a full-size candy bar. Have an amazing Halloween.”
• “Hope your Halloween’s so fun, it’s scary!”

Helpful tip: Words aren’t the only way to personalize your Halloween card. Try adding a drawing. If you’re a skilled artist, that’s great, but if sketching isn’t really your thing, a simple, playful doodle of a ghost or jack-o’-lantern is still sure to bring a smile.

And when it comes to doodling, the real champions are kids: Getting them involved will really dial up your card’s “aww” factor. Or you can let the kids fill in a Halloween colouring page, then fold it into your card—we’ve got free Halloween colouring pages.

Did you have so much fun decorating the card that now you don’t want to stop? No problem—now you can decorate the envelope. Fun lettering, stickers and washi tape are all great touches, and if you want more tips on how to use them, you can look here.

Just because Halloween is a fun (sometimes spooky) holiday doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to say something really nice to the people who mean a lot to you. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• “This season is sweet and fun—no wonder it makes me think of you. Hope you have a great Halloween.”
• “Just thought I’d send a little extra love your way today—Halloween hugs from me!”
• “Thinking of you on Halloween—just like I’m thinking of you most days. Have a good one!”
• “Have I mentioned lately how great you are? Because you’re pretty great. Hope your Halloween is great, too.”
• “You light up my life like a full harvest moon. Today and all year, I feel really lucky to know you.”

Helpful tip: Most of the messages in this article are written to work for just about anyone. You can certainly use them as is, but don’t be afraid to add some personal detail. Try mentioning something specific you love about the recipient (their sense of humour, their cooking, their mad unicycle skills, etc.), recalling a favourite memory of time spent together (whether recently or years ago) or expressing your excitement for the next time you’ll get to see each other.

In some ways, Halloween is a kids’ holiday. After all, they’re the ones who get to demand free candy from dozens of strangers. These messages play to the excitement of being a trick-or-treating-age kid.

For very young children:

• “Happy Halloween to my favourite little trick-or-treater. Have fun out there tonight!”
• “I bet you’ll look EVEN CUTER THAN USUAL in your costume! Happy Halloween!”
• “Hey, you little sweetie—hope you have a sweet Halloween!”
• “Hope you get lots of candy and have the best Halloween ever!”

For school-age children:

• “Good luck out there tonight—hope you get lots of the good candy and not too many gross ones!”
• “Wishing you a costume that fits comfortably, good trick-or-treating weather—and an awesome haul!”
• “Happy Halloween! Have fun, stay safe and avoid the zombie apocalypse.”
• “Bet you’ll have the coolest costume on the block. Can’t wait to see it!”

Got friends you want to connect with on Halloween? Perfect—we’ve got playful messages to help you do just that.

• “FANGS so much for being my friend. I’m glad we’re BLOODies!
• “You’re my BFF (Best FIEND Forever).”
• “Being friends with you makes life a lot more fun—so I hope you have tons of fun this Halloween.”
• “We go together like vampires and Bloody Marys. Thanks for being a great friend!”
• “Our friendship will last even longer than an undead mummy. And those are basically immortal, so that’s a pretty big deal.”
• “Whenever things get scary, it’s great knowing I can count on a friend like you.”

It’s great when families can get together on Halloween to share some festive fun and show off the kids’ adorable costumes. That being said, unlike some major holidays, Halloween isn’t normally a big day for family gatherings—which means that sending a card can be even more appreciated. Here are some family-specific messages you can add.

• “Getting to call you family is a real treat! Have a great Halloween.”
• “We might be too old to trick-or-treat, but I still hope you’ll ring my doorbell sometime soon.”
• “In the treat basket of this family, you’re the full-size candy bar. Thanks for being the best!”
• “Sending warm Halloween wishes, because I love being family with you.”
• “We might not be vampires, but I’m still glad we’re BLOOD related! Have a FANGtastic Halloween!”

There are plenty of grown-ups who love Halloween and aren’t afraid to show it. These messages are written especially for the ones who go all-out celebrating the spookiest night of the year.

• “It’s finally Halloween! Hope your costume is a big hit and your night’s full of thrills and chills.”
• “Party your BOO-ty off this Halloween.”
• “It’s time to argue about which spooky movie is the best and eat ALL THE CANDY. Have a great Halloween!
  PS: [Insert favourite Halloween movie] is the best and everybody knows it.”
• “It’s the spookiest time of year! Hope you have more fun than a vampire in a blood bank.”
• “Hope your house is the spookiest in the neighbourhood and your costume is talked about for years to come.”
• “Halloween is low-key the best holiday ever, and you’re low-key the best person ever, so you totally deserve the best Halloween ever.”

Helpful Tip: Want to craft your own Halloween messages for cards? Here’s a list of words to give you some subject matter and get your head in the right spooky space: ghost, ghoul, spirit, goblin, werewolf, vampire, Frankenstein, mummy, zombie, grave, haunted house, spider, bat, cat, witch, cauldron, broomstick, spell, moon, chill, thrill, haunt, scare, fright, terror, scream, spooky, creepy, jack-o’-lantern, carving, bobbing for apples, costume, trick, treat, candy, chocolate, sweet.

Halloween might be one of the high points of fall, but the whole season is packed with fun traditions. From pumpkin patches to corn mazes to porch decorations to seasonal sweets, all things autumn seem to be gaining in popularity. So if you know some big fall fans, try one of the messages below.

• “Whether you call it ‘fall’ or ‘autumn,’ I hope you’re having a sweet, cozy season.”
• “Hope you’ve been having a fantastic Pumpkin Spice Season.”
• “Whether you’re picking apples, walking through crunchy leaves or baking treats, I’m wishing you an awesome fall.”
• “Sweater weather, fall colour and YOU are a few of my favourite things.”
• “Hope your fall brings a bountiful harvest of good times and great memories.”

Helpful tip: If you want to write your own festive fall wish, here’s a word list to get you started: cool, crisp, fresh, cozy, breeze, leaves, colour, change, apples, apple-picking, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, gourds, squash, corn, corn maze, hay maze, harvest, plenty, bounty, hayride, campfire, sweater, jacket, treats, sweets, baking, pumpkin spice, pie, cider.

These messages are great for anyone who loves horror movies, haunted houses and the whole scary side of Halloween.

• “Have a happy Halloween! Or my spirit will torment you for the rest of your days.”
• “Wishing you a pale moon, a chilly breeze, a mysterious creaking and everything that makes for a thrilling Halloween!”
• “Hope your Halloween’s full of plenty of terror and plenty of snacks.”
• “Happy Halloween! Hope you survive the night!”
• “Happy Halloween…and good luck outwitting all the axe-murderers, swamp creatures and vengeful ghosts.”

Helpful Tip: The timing for sending a Halloween card is very flexible. If you mostly want to wish somebody a good fall, sending earlier in October is appropriate. Otherwise, the last several days of October are probably the sweet spot—unless you get the chance to hand-deliver your card on Halloween itself.

Even though today Halloween is mostly celebrated as a secular holiday, it still is the eve of All Saints’ Day, a major feast day in the Catholic church celebrated on November 1. Also, November 2 is All Souls’ Day, a day to remember and pray for the faithful who have died. Together, the three days make up the season of Allhallowtide. The messages below are suitable for people who celebrate the religious side of Halloween.

• “Wishing you a safe and blessed Halloween.”
• “May you be blessed with faith and guided by God’s love this Halloween.”
• “Wishing you togetherness, prayerfulness and happiness this All Hallows’ Eve.”
• “Sending enough good thoughts your way to last through All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.”
• “Wishing you the best as we celebrate the saints and remember our loved ones.”

Helpful Tip: Don’t confuse Halloween with Día de los Muertos. Although Día de los Muertos (known in English as Day of the Dead) falls on November 1–2, and shares important themes with All Souls’ Day, it’s a distinct holiday with its own cultural background and unique celebrations. You can learn more about Día de los Muertos right here.