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What do you write in a card for a new home?

Open with the news, add one thing only you would say, and sign it. The messages below are written to be copied as they are, trimmed, or bent to fit the person.

Most people get stuck on the second line. The first is easy: congratulations, or welcome to the new place. What comes next depends on who's getting the card, so the examples are sorted that way. Swap in a street name, a room or a joke only the two of you share, and they stop being examples.

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If you've only a minute

  • "Congratulations on the new house. I can't wait to see it with the boxes gone."
  • "You did it. All the love to you both in the new place."
  • "Happy new home. Put the kettle on, we're coming round."

A first-time buyer

The keys are in their hand and the mortgage is real. A line about the leap goes down well, and so does a bit of envy.

  • "Your first front door. I'm so pleased for you, and slightly jealous of the garden."
  • "Renting is over. Go and hammer a nail into a wall, you've earned it."
  • "Nobody can tell you to keep the walls white now. Congratulations."

A couple moving in together

  • "Two toothbrushes, one door. Wishing you both a happy home."
  • "May the first row be about something daft, like where the mugs live."
  • "New address, same two people. It suits you."

Parents who are downsizing

Take care here. A smaller house can feel like leaving something behind, so write to the next chapter and leave the old rooms out of it, unless they bring them up first. If you're their child, say you'll be round.

  • "Mum, Dad, congratulations on the new place. The old house had a good run, and I know this one will too. See you Sunday."
  • "Fewer stairs, less to dust, more time for everything else. Happy new home, both of you."
  • "Still home. Different postcode."

A friend

  • "I've watched you pack three times and I'm glad this is the last. Happy new home."
  • "Save me the room with the good light. Congratulations, love."
  • "I'll come and help you unpack, by which I mean I'll hold the biscuits."

A neighbour, arriving or leaving

Two neighbouring front gardens divided by a low fence, a ladder leaning by one door.
A card over the fence costs a neighbour nothing to read.

For the new arrival, go light. You're a stranger with a card, and they've a van to empty.

  • "Welcome to number 14. We're at 12 if you need a ladder, a cup of tea or the bin day. No need to reply."
  • "Welcome to the street. There's no rush to meet anyone."
  • For one who's leaving: "We'll miss you over the fence. Come back and see how the hedge is getting on."

A colleague

If the card is going round the office, a full name and your team beat a first name on its own. Save the mortgage jokes for people who've seen the house.

  • "Congratulations on the new home, from all of us on the team."
  • "Hope the move goes smoothly and the commute gets shorter. Many congratulations."

A first Christmas card for the new place

If they moved this year, the first Christmas there can have a line of its own. Our first Christmas in a new home page has gift ideas for the same occasion.

  • "Merry Christmas from our house to your new one. May the tree fit in the front room."
  • "First Christmas in the new place: may the heating behave, the oven cope and the guests stay for the second bottle."
  • "Happy first Christmas at number 9. Lots of lights in that front window, please."
  • "Merry Christmas to the newest address on our list."

New home wishes, in a line

  • "Wishing you a home full of good days."
  • "Here's to new keys, new views and the first cup of tea in the kitchen."
  • "May every room in the new place fill up with the people you love."
  • "All the best in your new home. May it be as happy as you are today."
  • "Wishing you warmth, laughter and plenty of slow Sunday mornings in the new place."
  • "Good luck with the move, and every happiness once the boxes are gone."

How to sign off

A blank folded card, a plain envelope and a fountain pen on an oak table.
End it the way you started it, and name them both.

Match the ending to the start. A warm message that finishes with "Regards" reads oddly, and a joke needs a kiss or a name to land. If they're a couple, name both. Writing the number or street in the last line costs you nothing and makes it theirs.

What to leave out

This is our view, not a rule: skip the price of the house, the mortgage rate and anything about what they should do with the kitchen. We looked for a published etiquette on new home cards and found none, so treat all of this as habit. Housewarming etiquette covers the evening itself, and how much to spend covers the present.

A print of the house, with the card

A card says congratulations, then goes in a drawer. A print of the house is one way to give something that stays up. We make one from a photo of their home, either as the photograph or as an AI-made illustration, and print it to order. We can't add words to it, so the card is where your message goes. If a card on its own feels right, it is. If you'd like to see what we make, the shop has the range, and new home gifts and first home gifts help with choosing.

The card belongs to the housewarming.

Written by Craig Fearn, Our House Print. Last updated .

A few practical answers

What do you write in a card for a new home?
Congratulations, one detail about the house or the move, and your name. For example: "Congratulations on the new house. I can't wait to see it with the boxes gone." Sorted by recipient, there are more examples above.
What's a good message for a new house?
One that sounds like you. Warm: "Wishing you many happy years in the new place." Dry: "Congratulations. Nobody can tell you to keep the walls white now." Short: "Still home. Different postcode."
What is the etiquette for new home cards?
We found no published rule. Our view is to keep it short, match the tone to how well you know them, sign with a full name if they might not place you, and leave out what the house cost.
What's a simple housewarming wish?
"Happy new home. May it be a good one." A wish and a name is enough.
How do you congratulate someone on a new home?
Start with the news, then name something particular: the garden they wanted, the long search, the street. "You did it, and after all those viewings. Congratulations."
What are some short congratulations wishes?
"Happy new home." "You did it." "Welcome to your own front door." "Many congratulations on the move."
What do you say to someone who has moved into a new home?
For a friend: congratulations and an offer to visit. For a neighbour: a welcome, your door number, and no pressure to reply. Both are in the examples above.
What should I write in a first Christmas card for a new home?
Merry Christmas, plus a nod to the house. For example: "Merry Christmas from our house to your new one." More are in the Christmas section above.

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