20 Different Ways to Wish ‘Merry Christmas’ & ‘Happy New Year’ – Alternative English Phrases!

Hi! It's been so long! How are you doing?

I’m doing great, thanks! I just called to wish you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Chrisss…

I don’t want to repeat what just wished me. Uhmm… What is another way to say ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’? Quick! Think think think...

Do you sometimes feel stuck trying to come up with a better way to give someone good wishes on special occasions, such as Christmas?

Or perhaps you, like many language learners, find it especially difficult to remember which Christmas and New Year’s wishes to use in different situations.

Well, if that’s the case, you’re in for a treat with today’s lesson!

We’ll look at 16 fantastic ways to wish someone a happy Christmas and New Year,

as well as 4 interesting alternatives for sharing good wishes to someone specifically for the New Year,

so you never have to repeat the same boring phrases again.

Plus, to help ensure that you always have access to these phrases, we’ve put something very special together for you, to help you even further in your learning!

But you’ll have to watch until the end to find out what it is and how you can find it.

Before we get started, if you’re new here and frustrated with boring methods of learning English

that just don’t seem to work, you’ve come to the right place!

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Both ‘Happy Christmas’ and ‘Merry Christmas’ are traditional ways of giving someone wishes.

They mean the exact same thing and are equally acceptable.

However, “merry” has become outdated in general conversation and these days it is rare to hear it used besides when referring to Christmas.

So when we wish someone well, it is much more common to use the word “happy”. Ex: Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary

The main difference is that wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” is more common in American English,

while “Happy Christmas” is more popular in British English.

Merry Xmas is the abbreviated or shortened form of “Merry Christmas”

and it’s probably the most common way to wish someone via text or social media.

This is a very casual and simple way of sending wishes, so depending on who you’re sending it to, it could seem as though you are not putting in much effort.

For example, it might be a bad idea to use this when texting your grandmother or someone to whom you would like to express genuine emotion.

This one is a bit long, but it’s a beautiful way to wish your loved ones and tell them just how much they mean to you.

The word magical here means that during the Christmas season, we generally feel that anything is possible.

When we describe something as bright, we usually mean that it is cheerful and beautiful.

So, you’re saying that the person adds joy and beauty to your life and you’d like them to have a happy Christmas. I really like this one!

This is a fun greeting and because it rhymes, it has a nice ring to it, which means that it sounds good.

Although it originally comes from a classic 1960s Christmas song, it’s still used today.

Holly is a plant with red berries that remains green and strong even in the harshest winter conditions.

Some people believe it brings good luck and protection. And the word Jolly means to be happy.

This greeting could be a cheerful way to wish your friends and family a healthy and happy Christmas!

If you like our list so far and find it useful, you’ll definitely love our RealLife English App!

Which you can use to listen and talk to English speakers from all over the world at the touch of a button!

The best part is that all this is absolutely free!

So download it now in the Google Play or the Apple AppStore,

or simply click up here or the link I've left down in the description below.

This one is usually meant as a joke in Christmas cards, but what it means is that, in an effort to be happy,

people generally tend to spend a lot of money on gifts and other luxuries.

So when you say this to someone or write it on a card, you’re wishing them lots of happiness and hoping that they won’t need to spend much money.

Also, it’s probably best to only use it with close friends and family, as some people might find it offensive.

This greeting is simple and easy to memorise.

Instead of saying, “I am wishing you a memorable December. Have a fabulous Christmas”, we shorten it to sound less formal.

“Fab” is an informal way of saying fabulous. As in, “You look fabulous today!”

It’s a more casual way of wishing someone happiness and good memories during the Christmas holidays.

Just a tip, but you might want to avoid using this in formal situations or with older generations who might not understand the meaning of fab.

This sounds a little fancy, but it’s a lovely way to sign a Christmas card or gift as you are wishing the person and their loved ones on behalf of your own family.

So it’s similar to saying, “From my loved ones and I to you and your loved ones… Merry Christmas.”

Here we use the word “Warmest” to mean “with love or affection”. You could use also this greeting on other special occasions, such as birthdays.

So you might only want to use this greeting “Warmest wishes” when we have a good relationship with someone,

such as a family member or friend.

Now let’s move on to the next group, which are greetings you can use as both Christmas and New Year.

This is perfect for wishing anyone, so you can use it in most situations, whether at work or with your loved ones.

Example: Happy holidays! Make it the best year ever!

Here, the word holidays comes from an Old English word meaning “holy days” and originally referred only to special religious days.

Now, this is an inclusive, non-religious way to wish people well throughout the “holiday season”,

which in many Western countries means the period from late November to early January.

In the US, for example, it includes national holidays such as Thanksgiving and religious holidays such as Hanukkah.

This is just like the previous greeting but with a humorous twist.

Firstly, “Ho ho ho” is commonly used when referring to the way Santa Clause laughs.

On the other hand, “Ho ho ho-liday” sounds like someone struggling to say the word holiday.

It’s always better when the other person knows you’re joking.

Are there any other occasions or situations where you struggle to think of alternative phrases?

Please do share them with us down in the comments and we might just create a lesson on it soon.

May is generally thought to be quite a formal word. However, this greeting is quite common for written and verbal Christmas wishes.

In English, it is usual to tell someone that you hope their wishes come true on special days such as Christmas or birthdays,

“I hope all your birthday wishes come true.”

This means that you hope that they receive the things in life that they really want.

This is another nice way to wish someone during the holiday season.

Although you can use this verbally, it’s more common to use it when you are writing.

This is because Season’s Greetings sounds quite formal.

For example: Season’s Greetings from everyone at Head Office!

Just so you know, in this case, the word “season” does not have any connection to the weather at all.

But instead, it refers to the period of weeks before and after Christmas.

Here, we use the word “greetings” to mean that we wish the other person well.

This is another fun play on words, which means that it’s a phrase that has more than one meaning.

So it’s meant to sound similar to “Season’s Greetings” when in fact “eatings” refers to food.

This is because, during the holiday season, many people eat delicious foods which they rarely eat at other times of the year.

It might be a good laugh to send this to a foodie, which means someone who is interested in and enjoys eating different foods.

Although this is a bit old-fashioned, which means it is quite an old phrase,

it is still totally acceptable and commonly used, as a written and spoken Christmas greeting.

Similar to “Season’s Greetings”, you can use “Compliments of the Season” regardless of someone’s religious beliefs or traditions.

We use the word “compliments” in this situation to mean good wishes. So you’re actually wishing the other person a good holiday period.

This is yet another common alternative that you could use to refer to the holiday period.

So festive here is related to the word festival or celebration.

We use it to describe events that are cheerful and exciting, such as Christmas and New Year’s parties.

You can use this to give wishes to anyone of any age.

Over recent years, “Merry Everything and Happy Always” has become an alternative greeting because it does not specify any religion or holiday.

However, be careful when using this as it may come across as sarcastic or insincere to those who do celebrate Christmas for religious reasons.

And finally, let’s look at some greetings that are specific to New Year’s.

This is probably the clearest most straightforward way of wishing anyone well for the next year.

For Example: Happy 2022, everyone!

This phrase is a bit old fashioned, mainly because these days the word “prosperous”, which means rich and successful, sounds quite formal.

However, it's still a very common way to wish someone well for the new year

and you could definitely use it when writing texts or Christmas cards.

I quite like this one because it’s a very positive statement.

You can use it to encourage someone to feel more hopeful about the year ahead.

“Adventures” in this case means exciting opportunities.

And when we say that something is just around the corner, we mean that it is coming very soon.

So with this greeting, we are letting someone know that the new year could bring exciting opportunities very soon.

And, we’ll end our list with this amusing greeting:

You can use one when you want to pretend that you didn’t realize that the year is almost over.

It’s quite funny because, I’m not sure if you all feel the same way, but whenever the year ends,

people generally seem surprised at how quickly the time has passed.

I hope you enjoyed watching this lesson as much as I did teaching it. Most importantly, I hope you learned something you didn’t know before.

And to reward you for watching until the end,

I can reveal that we have created a free downloadable PDF worksheet

that you can access by clicking on the link in the description box down below.

This way you can extend your learning even further!

Also, If you’d like to learn more useful vocabulary for this time of the year,

and also cultural differences between the U.S and the U.K,

check out this lesson that Ethan and I made next!