What to Write in a Valentine’s Card (An Easy Formula to Nail It Every Time)

If you’re not sure what to write or say in the Valentine’s Day card before you, then don’t worry – we’re here to help.

This task is perhaps one of the most daunting out of all Valentine’s Day obligations… after all, regardless of what you buy as a gift, what really makes it or breaks it is the thoughtful card (and more importantly, the message inside).

That’s why we decided to help you out today with a tried and tested formula/method for writing the perfect Valentine’s Day card message every single time. Enjoy!

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First: Copy + Paste Valentine’s Day Messages for You to Steal

If you honestly have no idea what to say in your Valentine’s Day card, then let us offer a little shortcut for you.

We’ve created several lists full of copy/paste messages that you can feel free to tweak and customize to your liking, suitable for all kinds of different moods and recipients.

Here are our top Valentine’s Day quote & message guides:

• Valentine’s Day Quotes for Friends
• 100+ Valentine’s Day Puns and Jokes
• 100+ Super Cute I Love You Puns
• 50+ Adorable Animal Valentine Puns
• 50+ Adorable Food Valentine Puns
• 100+ Valentine’s Day Messages & Wishes
• The Best Valentine’s Day Quotes and Messages for Your Wife
• The Best Valentine’s Day Quotes and Messages for Your Husband

REMEMBER: For optimal effectiveness, these messages need to be personalized and tweaked, ideally following our ‘what to say in a Valentine’s Day card’ formula.

Our Perfect Valentine’s Day Message Formula 

When it comes to absolutely nailing your Valentine’s Day card message, we like to follow a simple formula: 

Cute Opener + Personal Content + Future-Oriented Sign-off

Let us explain. 

For a cute opener, what you want to do is set the tone of your card with a nice, personal intro. This is the time to bust out any embarrassing nicknames you have for your significant other, or potentially introduce an inside joke, etc. The goal is to start with something that will make your SO smile right off the bat.

Here are some examples:

• To my dearest [insert funny or embarrassing nickname e.g. schmookiputz]…
• Dear weirdo who [insert how you met e.g. chatted me up on a train, swiped right first, etc.]…
• To the best [insert thing they’re super good at, e.g. kisser, CoD player, shower singer, etc.] on Earth…
• To the most [insert positive adjective, e.g. gorgeous, wonderful, etc.] human in the world…

You would then probably go for something like “Happy Valentine’s Day!” or if you’re feeling funny, you could use a different name for it like…

• Happy day before 50% off chocolate day!
• Happy romantic pressure and extravagant spending day!
• Happy lovey dovey stay off Instagram day!

Then you launch into the “meat” of your message. What you write of course depends on how much space you have, but you can never go wrong with a slightly longer love letter-esque message. 

Some ideas for this middle part might be:

• Express your gratitude for having them in your life
• Tell them the things you love about them
• Talk about your fave memories together 
• Talk about how much your life has changed with them in it

At the end of the day, the thing that will make this Valentine’s Day card 100% perfect is if it’s personal. A vague generic message or worse, a copy/paste poem, just won’t cut it.

Last but not least, let’s end the Valentine’s Day card message with a “future oriented sign-off”. What we mean by this is some kind of final line that implies how excited you are for the future of your relationship. Here are some ideas:

• I can’t wait to make even more memories with you
• I can’t wait to see the world with you
• Here’s to many more cheesy Valentine’s Days in the future 
• Cheers to many more years of making each other laugh until we pee
• Can’t wait to collect more inside jokes with you 
• Can’t wait to continue [insert funny thing you two do often, e.g. binging 3am McDonalds, breaking more dishwashers, pissing off our neighbours] with you 

Then finish it all off with an I Love You or another Happy Valentine’s Day, and sign it off with a big beautiful signature.

Boom – that’s it – the PERFECT thing to write in a Valentine’s Day card. 

Now, if you’re stuck on ideas on what to include for your “personal content” in the middle, we’ll share some extra ideas below. 

Romantic Ideas for What to Say in a Valentine’s Day Card

If you’re not sure what to say in your Valentine’s Card, going full romantic/sentimental is usually a good idea if your partner is into that sort of thing. But what can you include in your card? Here are some sweet ideas.

Talk about a cherished memory of your relationship that you hold dear

If you’re stuck on what to say in a Valentine’s card, throwing things back to a happy memory is always a nice touch.

Here’s how you can incorporate this into your Valentine’s Day message:

“I am so grateful to have you in my life. One of the memories that I replay over and over again is [insert memory] because that’s when I realized how lucky I was to have you.”

For this, you can of course talk about big trips or prominent dates that stick out in your memory, but honestly, picking an obscure memory that seemed mundane at the time can be even more romantic.

List off all the things you love about them

This one is quite self-explanatory, and one of the most reliable things you can write in a Valentine’s Card.

Here’s how you can incorporate this into your Valentine’s Day message:

“I count myself lucky everyday that you chose me. You, someone who is so [insert list of things you love], chose me… and I really can’t be more thankful that I get to love you.”

For this, to really rake in those brownie points, you should ensure you include a mix of broad positive attributes (e.g. beautiful, kind, sweet, etc.) but also really specific small things that they would never think you’ve noticed, much less things you’d actually love (e.g. cute when you see dogs on the street, overexcited about coupons, etc.)

List off the things you’re grateful for that they’ve done for you 

If your Valentine is one that has profoundly changed your life for the better (we hope they are!!), then another great thing to write in a Valentine’s Day card is exactly that – the ways they’ve changed your life in positive ways.

Here’s how you can incorporate this into your Valentine’s Day message:

“I feel so lucky to have you in my life. Because of you, I now [insert ways your life has changed for the better]”.

For this, focus on positive changes that they have brought to your day to day life, e.g. you now have a reason to smile every morning, look forward to waking up, feel happy all the time for no reason, etc.

Funny Ideas for What to Say in a Valentine’s Day card 

Is your relationship more of a jokey one? If you’re not sure what to write in a Valentine’s Day card without sounding overly cheesy, then there are ways to ensure your card is sweet and sentimental, yet comical at the same time. Here are some ideas:

List off things that you love them in spite of

Every person has their quirks, and true love is when you accept them in spite of those quirks. If you and your valentine have a fun relationship where you like to joke about each other’s quirks, this might be a fun thing to write in your Valentine’s Day card.

Here’s how you can incorporate this into your Valentine’s Day message:

“I am so grateful that you’re my Valentine, even though [insert funny quirk, e.g. you have ice cold feet, you have no idea how to load a dishwasher, etc.] I guess this is what it means when they say you love someone, you really do love ALL of them.”

For this, be sure to read carefully! Never target actual insecurities – instead, choose things that you frequently joke about and aren’t actually sources of tension in your relationship. The key is to pick things that have been brought up before – this V-Day card message isn’t your time to call them out or air your dirty laundry!

List off funny things they’ve done or said 

If your valentine is someone that makes you laugh daily because of silly things they say or do, then this is a great addition to any Valentine’s Day card.

Here’s how you can incorporate this into your Valentine’s Day message:

“I feel so lucky to have a Valentine in my life that bring such constant entertainment. From the [insert funny thing] to the [insert funny thing], everyday with you is an unexpected adventure.”

For this, make sure you are referencing memories that you both find funny, and something that you both remember/frequently laugh about. 

Joke about all your worst qualities 

Want to write a jokey and funny Valentine’s Day message without risking making your valentine mad? Yup, we get you. One easy to keep things light and fun WITHOUT potentially insulting your card recipient is by making fun of yourself. Yup, let’s get into some self deprecation!

Here’s how you can incorporate this into your Valentine’s Day message:

“It’s truly a miracle that you still want to my Valentine, even despite my [insert flaws] and that time I [insert dumb thing you did]. I’m not sure how I’ve managed to score someone as perfect as you, but clearly I’m doing something right.”

For this, you want to keep things light – don’t make fun of any ‘heavy flaws’ that might be a source of strain in your relationship… as a rule of thumb, finances and fidelity are topics to be avoided…. for obvious reasons!

We hope this article helped you figure out what to write in your Valentine’s Day card!

We know that this is a daunting endeavour, but with all these tips and prompts in hand, we know you’ll do just fine. Happy Valentine’s Day!