Short Birthday Wishes

Most birthday messages are written into a space smaller than the sentiment: a card with six other signatures on it, a message thread, the corner left over after somebody drew a cake. Short is not the compromise version of a birthday wish. For most of the cards actually being written today, it is the correct one.

Everything here is under 25 words and finished at that length rather than trimmed down to it. A truncated long message reads as truncated; these are built to end where they end.

Brevity also solves a problem that has nothing to do with space. If you are fond of somebody without being close to them — a cousin you see twice a year, a friend of a friend, a neighbour — a short warm line is the honest register, and reaching for more manufactures an intimacy that both of you would notice.

Where to go longer: a parent, a partner, a best friend, a milestone birthday. When you have both the relationship and the room, the heartfelt and long sets are written for exactly that.