Birthday message for your mum

Writing to your mother is hard because there is too much to say at once. Start with one sentence; the rest tends to follow.

• Happy birthday, Mum. I hope this year treats you the way you treat everyone around you.

• Happy birthday, Mum. One year wiser, one year of better stories, and still incapable of leaving on time.

• Happy birthday, Mum. May the day be everything you deserve.

• Mum, happy birthday. I do not say it often, but it matters that you are here. In the harder months you were the one who asked nothing and simply stayed.

• Mum, happy birthday. Everything is allowed today: cake counts as breakfast and nobody gets a vote.

• Mum, happy birthday. I am glad I know you.

• Happy birthday, Mum. All the years do is give me more reasons to be glad you are in my life.

• Happy birthday, Mum. I hereby confirm that you remain my favourite accomplice in bad ideas.

Can I use these messages as they are?

Yes. Copy one, shorten it, change a word — there is nothing to pay and nothing to credit. They are here to be the first line of something you write, or the whole thing if it already fits.

How long should a birthday message be?

Two or three sentences is plenty for a card or a chat. Longer works when it is going somewhere that holds it — a letter, or a page they will open once and keep.

How do I put one inside a gift?

Pick a template, paste the message into it, add your photos and the date, and you get one private link to send. Writing and previewing are free; you only pay when you send it.

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