80 ways to phrase your Happy New Year wishes for 2024
A new year is a fresh start on the calendar, full of hope and potential. In other words, it’s the perfect time to connect with your loved ones. Whether you’re planning to celebrate in-person with your circle, or you’ll be far away from one another when the ball drops, the right New Year cards can help you let the people who matter most to you know that you’re thinking of them. While a simple “Happy New Year!” might get the job done, there are plenty of more creative ways to send your “happy New Year” wishes, depending on who your recipient is.
Table of Contents
How do you wish someone a happy New Year?
So, what to write in a Happy New Year card? The best notes feel thoughtful, whether you’re sending your letter digitally or through the mail. Your New Year card messages will also likely vary, depending on if you’re sending one to everyone on your holiday card list, or you’re planning to customize an individual “happy New Year” message to a wide variety of people (you might, for example, want to send a different kind of New Year card to your boss than you’d send to your nephew, and a different message to your close friends then you might send to your work clients).
This is all to say that there is no shortage of ways to share warm New Year greetings to everyone who matters to you. Below, you’ll find plenty of options to help you spread warm wishes to all your loved ones.
Traditional New Year’s wishes
If you’re sending a New Year’s greeting in lieu of a holiday card to a wide variety of recipients (family, friends, and colleagues), stick with a festive message that is general enough to appeal to anyone. These blurbs are simple and straightforward, while still being thoughtful:
1. Health and happiness to you and yours in the new year ahead.
2. Warmest Wishes
3. Out with the old, in with the new. Happy New Year!
4. Peace love and happiness
5. Cheers to new beginnings.
6. Have a joyful new year.
7. Peace & Love
8. Bonne Année! (French)
9. Feliz Año Nuevo! (Spanish)
10. Xin Nian Kuai Le (Mandarin)
New Year wishes for friends
For close friends, a more playful, personal note strikes the right chord. These festive “Happy New Year” messages promise continued companionship into the new year and express hope for more cherished memories to come:
11. “Stir the eggnog, lift the toddy, Happy New Year everybody! “ – Phyllis McGinley
12. “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
13. Happy New Year! Let’s eat, drink, and be merry.
14. This time of year offers us a brand new start and I want to take this opportunity to start fresh with you and wish you love and peace in the new year
15. I knew I could make it through this year because of you. Thank you for your friendship!
16. Here’s to making more memories in 2024.
17. “Tonight’s another chance to start again. It’s just another New Year’s Eve. Another night like the rest. It’s just another New Year’s Eve. Let’s make it the best!” – Barry Manilow
Motivational New Year resolution quotes
The turn of the calendar is the perfect time to reflect on how you grew the previous year, and plan your goals for the next. If you want to express support for your friends, family members, or associates as they tackle their own New Year’s resolution, a motivational New Year quote is the perfect message for the season.
18. “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier.” —Alfred Lord Tennyson
19. “You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you.” —Eckhart Tolle
20. “Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.” —Germany Kent
21. “Every moment is a fresh beginning.” —T.S. Eliot
22. “Life’s not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being and becoming.” —Mike Dooley
23. “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
24. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” —Nelson Mandela
25. “If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” —Paulo Coehlo
26. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” —William Shakespeare
27. “Celebrate what you want to see more of.” —Tom Peters
28. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” —Martin Luther King
29. “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” —Carl Bard
Funny New Year wishes and quotes
Who says a holiday greeting can’t have a sense of humor? Perfect for sending to both friends and family, these well-wishes make for a lighthearted—and realistic—message that is sure to garner a few smiles and laughs.
32. “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” —David Bowie
33. “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald
34. Remember when we were young and wanted to stay up for New Year’s? Now we are old and all we want to do is sleep.
New Year wishes for your family
When it comes to cards you’re planning on sending to your family members, you can get a little more personal. Try these New Year greetings that feel like a warm, familiar hug.
35. Hugs, kisses, and New Year’s wishes.
36. Seasons change; years come and go but our family grows stronger.
37. May you have good health, lots of happiness, and a great New Year.
38. Here’s to new adventures.
39. So. Much. Joy.
40. New beginnings.
New Year message for your love
Sure, it’s not Valentine’s Day, but New Year’s Eve is also rife with romantic possibilities. Send an extra-sweet message to your special someone to start the year on a loving note—especially if you’ll be spending the holiday apart.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. The future is bright.
43. Let’s make this year as good as the last one.
44. “A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew.” ― Aberjhani
45. “All is quiet on New Year’s Day. A world in white gets underway. I want to be with you. Be with you, night and day. Nothing changes on New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Day.” —U2
46. “How can our love go wrong if we start the New Year right?” —Bing Crosby
47. “Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight. When it’s exactly twelve o’clock that night. Welcoming in the New Year, New Year’s Eve?” —Ella Fitzgerald
Touching New Year wishes
A more emotional, heartfelt New Year card can strike a particularly poignant note with a dear friend or family member who has gone through a particularly challenging year, or who is facing an unexpected challenge. These messages let them know you’re there to support them.
48. Let your heart be light.
49. “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” —Seneca
50. “You do not find the happy life. You make it.” —Camilla Eyring Kimball
51. “When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” —Shauna Niequist
52. May the tears you cried this year water the soil of next year.
53. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” —E.E. Cummings
54. “And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” —Meister Eckhart
55. We look back over last year and find people who have impacted our lives in a positive way, you, my dear, are one of those people.
New Year’s wishes for your clients or boss
Your boss or work clientele may not expect to receive a New Year message, but the extra thought of including them in your well wishes certainly won’t go unnoticed. Keep your message hopeful and respectful, and they’ll be sure to appreciate it
56. Here’s to a brilliant new year.
57. The new year is filled with opportunity; our hopes are that you are successful in all you do in the months to come.
58. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” —Albert Einstein
59. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” —Henry David Thoreau
60. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” —Socrates
61. Let your dreams take flight in the new year!
Religious New Year wishes
If you or your family members are religious, a New Year wish for blessings and peace is especially heartfelt and meaningful. You can send these messages in lieu of a Christmas card, or add them to your seasonal greeting.
62. Joy to the world
63. Peace on Earth.
64. “Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.” —Sarah Ban Breathnach
65. “The New Year is a painting not yet painted; a path not yet stepped on; a wing not yet taken off! Things haven’t happened as yet! Before the clock strikes twelve, remember that you are blessed with the ability to reshape your life!” ―Mehmet Murat ildan
Original New Year quotes
When you don’t know exactly what to say, a good quote is always a great go-to. It’s not hard to find an abundance of inspiring New Year sayings, but these ones feel fresh and original, for a greeting that your recipients are sure to remember.
66. May the new year be even better than the old.
67. A new year to continue to write our own story. May you be the hero in the story.
68. “Many years ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to never make new year’s resolutions. Hell, it’s been the only resolution I’ve ever kept!” —D.S. Mixell
69. “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” —Oprah Winfrey
70. “We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws but for potential.” —Ellen Goodman
71. “On New Year’s Eve the whole world celebrates the fact that a date changes. Let us celebrate the dates on which we change the world.” ―Akilnathan Logeswaran
72. “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” —Robin Sharma
73. “Let our New Year’s resolution be this: We will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.” —Göran Persson
74. “And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” —Rainer Maria Rilke
Lunar New Year greetings
If your family members or friends celebrate Lunar New Year, a message of good luck and happiness is particularly appreciated.
75. In Mandarin, “Happy Chinese New Year” is “xin nian kuai le” which is used for strangers or acquaintances and means “New Year happiness.”
76. “xin nian hao” (pronounced shin nee-an how) is used for friends and family.
77. “gōng hè xīn xǐ” or 恭贺新禧 which is “Good luck in the year ahead” in Mandarin.
78. “xīn xiǎng shì chéng” or 心想事成 which is “May all your wishes come true” in Mandarin.
79. “wàn shì rú yì ” or 万事如意 which is “May everything go well for you” in Mandarin.
80. “chūn jiē kuài lè” or 春节快乐 which is “Happy Spring Festival” in Mandarin.
Find a festive assortment of digital New Year cards—just add your message and send those greetings far and wide. If you’re sending a card ahead of an in-person bash, you’ll want to figure out the best New Year party invitation wording (festive and to the point), after you’ve narrowed down all the New Year’s Eve party ideas to land on your perfect theme, of course.
