A short note to add to your New Year’s card! A collection of message ideas that will make everyone smile

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

When writing New Year’s cards, many of us have struggled with what short message to add.

Set phrases can feel a bit bland, yet it’s hard to decide what else to write.

So here, we’ve gathered ideas for brief, heartwarming messages inspired by smiles—ones that will make the recipient grin without thinking.

From casual lines for close friends to one-liners for those you’re indebted to, we offer a variety of suggestions.

With a few small touches, your New Year’s card can truly reflect who you are!

A note to add to New Year’s cards! A collection of smile-bringing message ideas (41–50)

Let’s take on a year that surpasses our past selves!

You often hear that your greatest enemy is yourself.

I think this phrase connects to that idea.

The person you should compare yourself to isn’t others, but your own self.

It’s a good message that lets you reflect on yourself while looking back on the past year, without using the word “Do your best.” And ending with “Let’s challenge the new year,” rather than “Let’s make it a good year,” seems to draw out even more motivation.

Let’s send this phrase with the hope that by reflecting on last year’s failures and turning frustration into fuel, we can make the new year even better.

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A one-line note to add to your New Year’s card! A collection of message ideas that bring a smile (51–60)

Step by step toward your dreams—wishing you a year full of fruitful achievements.

How about sending a New Year’s card with this message to someone who’s working hard toward their dreams and goals? Achieving a dream requires daily effort.

But if you keep pushing yourself, you’ll inevitably run into obstacles.

When you can’t seem to overcome those hurdles, it’s easy to feel impatient.

In moments like that, remember the words “one step at a time” and take a deep breath.

The phrase “a fruitful year” also evokes the idea that your efforts will bear fruit and your dreams will come true, so it can be very encouraging.

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Wishing for a year filled with even more smiles for our family.

This is a message you’ll want to send to someone who cherishes their family.

For those who think more about their family’s happiness than their own, these words will be especially heartwarming.

When family smiles increase, the home brightens, and happy times will naturally continue.

To relatives you’re close with as families, share this phrase while wishing happiness for each other’s families.

Sending it along with a smiling family photo will heighten the sense of joy and may light the way to a wonderful future.

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May everyone in the family stay healthy and keep building joyful moments together.

Staying healthy is absolutely essential for enjoying life, isn’t it? If you want to stay active and do things, you first need a healthy body and mind.

So how about sending this message as a New Year’s greeting? It’s a wish for your family to stay well, and on that foundation, to enjoy many happy times and create wonderful memories.

It’s a perfect line for relatives or family friends you’re close with.

And feel free to use it in various situations beyond New Year’s cards, too.

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Wishing you a year where you can even enjoy the little mishaps.

There’s a saying, “A pinch is a chance!” That spirit is embedded in this message as well.

Small mishaps can be startling, but they’re usually things you can recover from.

If you can see them not as crises but as a spice of everyday life—opportunities to grow—you might even be able to enjoy those moments themselves.

It’s a phrase that conveys the wish for you to become someone who can enjoy them, and the desire to support you when unexpected things happen.

Try sharing it with friends who have helped one another or with teammates who share the same dream.

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Let’s make this a year to enjoy the small changes.

We tend to overlook small changes, but just noticing them can make everyday life feel richer, don’t you think? A calm life where you can enjoy new discoveries… From this message, you can feel a wish for days like that.

Even without big changes, this lovely phrase reminds us that small joys and happiness are often closer than we think.

It might even lower the bar for someone’s happiness and raise their sense of well-being.

If you like, try sharing it with someone important to you.

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A year to savor small happiness in a big way

Savoring small happiness in a big way… that’s truly wonderful, isn’t it? It evokes the idea of feeling modest joys more deeply and more lastingly than anyone else.

By not overlooking small happiness and choosing to rejoice in it consciously, our daily richness may change.

Meeting a friend, seeing a rainbow—let’s be grateful for each of these little blessings and live our days abundantly.

It’s a message you’ll want to send to someone you wish happiness and a gentle life.

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