Celebrating the End of an Era: What to Write in a Graduation Card

Graduation is an important moment in every student’s life, closing the chapter on one part of life and beginning the next. It is a celebration of years of hard work and achievement which is important to commemorate so the graduates can look back fondly on their memories for years to come. But when it comes to cards many of us feel lost as to what to write in a graduation card.

Sending your loved one a graduation card is a great way to signify their success and your pride in their achievements so we’ve compiled some handy tips and suggestions on what to write in a graduation card to make their day that much more special.

Themes of Graduation Cards

Graduation cards all follow certain themes that convey the right sense of celebration for the graduate on their special day.

One of the biggest themes you can tap into is pride. Expressing how proud you are of the graduate is sure to brighten up the proceedings and make the day an even happier one for them.

You can also gear your message towards the idea of memory, giving the graduate a warm memory to look back on in fondness and pride when they think of their graduation. This helps to keep the magic of the day alive, making it one they’ll never forget.

Of course, when looking back, you must also look forward. Making your cards about the future of the graduate conveys a sense of hope and excitement for what’s in store for them after graduation, encouraging them to think positively about the next stages of their life.

Basic Celebratory Greetings for Graduation Cards

The first basic step to start with when crafting the perfect message for your graduate is to have a good idea of the base foundational greeting message.

This is typically similar to the pre-written text found in standard cards geared towards congratulatory messages that are universal for any graduating student.

Basic celebratory messages convey the principle theme of pride and happiness for the graduate you’re congratulating and provide some easy go-to options for those of you who prefer a simpler option to the more extravagant options on the market.

Thoughtful and Meaningful Graduation Cards

These messages are often laden with emotion that delves deeper into the feelings of pride you have towards your graduate for their accomplishments. These can often take the simple greetings above and make them more profound and complex.

These messages come from the heart and serve to lift the graduate up, making them feel loved and important on their special day and making the proceedings all the more meaningful.

Casual Messages Vs. Formal Messages

The message in your graduation card can have different styles as well depending on the type of relationship you have with the graduate. If you’re a friend or even a cousin, the message may tend to be more casual and fun at heart. Parents and grandparents will likely lean towards a more formal, sophisticated kind of greeting.

More casual messages will make use of informal language that sparks a sense of excitement and lightness:

Formal messages on the other hand will use fancier vocabulary that exudes a sense of professionalism, taking a much more subdued route but still being powerful and heartfelt regardless:

Personal, Unique and Funny Graduation Cards

The messages in personal and unique cards can be hard to pin down as they are so specific to the experiences of the congratulator and the graduate, acting as a dual celebration of the relationship between the two and of the graduation itself.

Writing something uniquely relevant to the recipient makes the graduation card all that more special and treasured. Weave in an in-joke that would only make sense to the graduate and give them a chuckle on their special day. Write a short poem if you are creatively inclined or make the cringiest, cheesiest graduation pun you can think of.

You could quote their favourite movie or maybe even twist a quote to suit the graduation theme. You could write something that is so obviously a reflection of your personality that the card could only have come from you because no one else would have congratulated the graduate in the same way.

The most important thing is to be as natural and authentic as possible. The graduate doesn’t want to receive a card that reads like it was written by a stranger and a robot. The more personal and intimate the card feels, the more they’ll appreciate it because they’ll know it came from the heart. Whether that’s an emotional message expressing pride or a tongue-in-cheek graduation-themed joke, if it reads like you then it will mean so much more and make their graduation that bit more special.

Looking for Graduation Gifts ideas now that you know what to write in a graduation card? Check out our full range of Graduation gifts now!