# Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Inclusive Gifts and Greetings for a Mixed Client List or Team Send clients or staff of different religions the same holiday gift with an inclusive card ("Happy holidays", "Season's greetings" or a New Year message); save "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" for the people you know celebrate. In Pew's 2017 survey, 52% said a business's holiday greeting doesn't matter to them. *We sell a $35 logo mug gift box, printed, packed and shipped to each person's address. This guide covers the other options too.* **Key facts** - **Most people don't mind either greeting.** In Pew Research Center's 2017 survey, "fully half of the U.S. public (52%) says that a business' choice of holiday greeting does not matter to them, while roughly a third (32%) prefers for stores and businesses to greet customers with 'merry Christmas' during the holidays" (1,503 adults, Nov 29 – Dec 4, 2017) ([Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/12/12/americans-say-religious-aspects-of-christmas-are-declining-in-public-life/)). - **For a business contact you're unsure about,** the Emily Post Institute says "go with something that has a broader sentiment" ([Emily Post](https://emilypost.com/advice/holiday-greeting-cards)). - **Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4,** and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12 ([Hebcal](https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/chanukah-2026)). Hanukkah gifts go out three weeks before Christmas ones. - **Kwanzaa runs December 26 to January 1** ([University of Notre Dame BFSA](https://bfsa.nd.edu/events/2025/12/26/kwanzaa/)), and "Gift giving is primarily for children" ([Cal Poly Pomona](https://www.cpp.edu/tree/brc/programs/kwanzaa.shtml)). - **For Lunar New Year, four is unlucky:** "the number four (四 sì /srr/) sounds similar to the word for death (死 sǐ)" ([China Highlights](https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/things-not-give-chinese-new-year.htm)). ## Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays: which is right for a mixed list? Both are fine for most people, which is why the default should be the one nobody can misread. Pew's 2017 survey found that "Nine-in-ten U.S. adults say they celebrate the holiday" of Christmas, and that 52% say a business's greeting doesn't matter to them. Among religious "nones", the share rises: "fully 72% say the holiday greeting businesses use doesn't much matter to them" ([Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/12/12/americans-say-religious-aspects-of-christmas-are-declining-in-public-life/)). So most of your list won't mind either way, and a few people will notice. An inclusive default costs nothing with the first group and keeps the second. The Emily Post Institute's holiday-card advice says the same. For someone "you're unsure and don't know the person well enough", with "a business contact" as its example, it says "go with something that has a broader sentiment", on a card "with no religious figures, messages or symbols on the card." It adds: "A greeting for the New Year avoids all of the holiday season's religious associations which can be a nice option for some" ([Emily Post](https://emilypost.com/advice/holiday-greeting-cards)). | What you know about the person | Greeting | Template section below | |---|---|---| | Nothing, or it's a mixed list | Happy holidays, Season's greetings | Inclusive defaults | | They celebrate Christmas | Merry Christmas | Merry Christmas | | They celebrate Hanukkah | Happy Hanukkah, timed for before December 4 | Happy Hanukkah | | Their household celebrates both | Both greetings, or Happy holidays | Both in one house | | They celebrate Kwanzaa | A Kwanzaa greeting on a card; with a gift, a New Year message | Happy New Year | | They don't celebrate a December holiday, or you'd rather not guess | Happy New Year | Happy New Year | | They celebrate Lunar New Year (February 6, 2027) | A separate greeting in February | Not this box (see below) | A name doesn't tell you anyone's holidays. When you don't know, stay inclusive. ## Is it OK to give a Christmas gift to someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas? A year-end thank-you works for everyone. What turns it into a Christmas gift is the wrapping, the symbols and the card, and you control all three. **Give everyone the same gift.** A manager asking r/managers for "Inclusive Christmas gifts" for "a team of 12 that are very diverse" got this answer from one commenter: "it really doesn't matter what gift you give as long as it is equal to all on your team." The same commenter also wrote about "making someone feel seen or heard" ([r/managers](https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/comments/1gtkgne/)). That's the card's job: on ours, every card greets its person by first name, and the message can name one thing the team did this year. **Leave alcohol out.** A personal assistant shopping for a team's Christmas gifts wrote that "several people on the team don't drink for religious reasons" ([r/managers](https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/comments/1hdrxnj/)). What makes a holiday gift neutral (our checklist): | Check | Why it matters | |---|---| | No religious symbols (ornaments, nativity scenes, menorahs) unless you know the person | A symbol assumes a holiday | | No alcohol | Some people don't drink, for faith, health or recovery | | Ingredients listed | People with allergies or dietary rules can check before they eat | | A winter theme, not a holiday theme | Cocoa and "stay warm" fit every December | | The same gift for everyone | Different gifts by faith means guessing each person's faith | | Timed for the earliest holiday on the list | A Hanukkah gift that arrives December 20 is a late gift | ## When to send: the 2026 holiday dates | Holiday | 2026 dates | Greeting | Order Personalized Gifts Delivered by | |---|---|---|---| | Hanukkah | Begins at sundown, Fri Dec 4; ends at nightfall, Sat Dec 12 | Happy Hanukkah | Mon Nov 23 | | Christmas | Fri Dec 25 | Merry Christmas or Happy holidays | Tue Dec 15 | | Kwanzaa | Sat Dec 26 – Fri Jan 1, 2027 | A Kwanzaa greeting on a card | With a gift: a New Year message, by Mon Dec 21 | | New Year | Fri Jan 1, 2027 | Happy New Year | Mon Dec 21 | | Lunar New Year | Sat Feb 6, 2027 | Its own greeting, in February | Not this box | The simplest plan for a mixed list: send everyone by Monday, November 23 with an inclusive default, so every gift is timed for the earliest holiday on the list. If that's too early for your budget or your calendar, split the list: the Hanukkah rows by Monday, November 23, the rest by Tuesday, December 15, and anyone you'd rather not guess about with a New Year message by Monday, December 21. Ships within 2 business days of a complete order (your design, your address list and payment). Ships by USPS Ground Advantage or UPS Ground, with tracking, and usually arrives 2–5 business days after it ships. Delivery dates are carrier estimates, not guarantees, and run slower in mid-December. ## One list, the right greeting for each person You don't have to pick one greeting for the whole list. With Personalized Gifts Delivered, each order carries one message, which can greet each person by first name from your [address list](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/client-address-spreadsheet-template), so split the list by greeting: one order says "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" to the people you know celebrate, and another sends an inclusive message to everyone else. One box is a complete order, and each order has its own sign-off. **How to use the templates:** [Name] is the person's first name; on a Personalized Gifts Delivered order it becomes each person's own first name. Replace anything else in [brackets] before you send: whatever you type there goes on every card in that order. ## Inclusive holiday card messages for clients No holiday named. Any of these works as the one message for a whole list. > Wishing you a warm, unhurried end to the year. Thank you for being one of the best parts of ours. > Season's greetings! Here's something warm for the coldest week of the year, with thanks for your trust. > However you celebrate this season, we hope it's restful. Thank you for a year of good work together. > Happy holidays! Pour something warm, put your phone down for ten minutes, and know you're appreciated. > Thank you for choosing us this year. May the last weeks of it be slow, warm and entirely yours. ## Inclusive holiday card messages for a team For staff, from the owner or a manager. Name one thing they did, where you can. > Thank you for everything you carried this year. Take the time off, and take it seriously. Happy holidays. > Whatever you celebrate, we hope the break brings rest and good company. Thank you for a great year on this team. > From the whole team: thank you, and happy holidays. See you in the new year, rested and ready. > This year worked because you did. Enjoy a warm cup and a slow morning on us. Happy holidays, [Name]. > Season's greetings, [Name]. Thank you for [one thing they did this year]. It made a real difference to all of us. More for staff: [employee holiday card messages](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages/employee-holiday-card-messages). ## Merry Christmas messages, for people you know celebrate > Merry Christmas and thank you. Here's to a peaceful week with the people you love. > Merry Christmas from all of us. May your house be loud in the best way and your phone blissfully silent. > Merry Christmas, [Name]! Thank you for a year we're proud of. The cocoa is for Christmas morning. ## Happy Hanukkah messages (timed for December 4) > Chag sameach! Wishing you and your family a joyful Hanukkah, with thanks for a wonderful year. > Happy Hanukkah from our team to yours. We hope the latkes are crisp and the evenings are long and bright. > Happy Hanukkah, [Name]! Save a truffle for the eighth night. It's been a pleasure working with you this year. Gifts and timing for Jewish clients: Hanukkah client gifts 2026. ## Both in one house: messages for interfaith families > Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah to all of you! However your house celebrates, we hope it's full this year. > Wishing your family a happy Hanukkah and a merry Christmas, with our thanks for a wonderful year. ## Happy New Year messages: no holiday to guess For anyone who doesn't celebrate a December holiday, anyone you'd rather not guess about, and every card that will land after December 25. > Here's to a new year that's kinder to your calendar. Thank you for being part of our last one. > Happy New Year from all of us. Last year had its surprises; you were one of the good ones. > A new year, a clean slate and the same gratitude. Thank you, and all the best for 2027. > Happy New Year, [Name]. No holiday to guess at, just a thank-you for the year we had and a toast to the next one. ## Winter messages with no holiday at all > It's cold out, and you've earned a warm cup. That's the whole message: thank you. > No holiday attached, just thanks for a great year. Stay warm out there. ## What not to write on a mixed list | Don't write | Why | Write this instead | |---|---|---| | "Merry Christmas" as the one message for everyone | It goes on every card in the order | An inclusive message for most of the list, and a separate "Merry Christmas" order for the people you know celebrate | | A Bible verse or blessing to someone whose faith you don't know | Emily Post: for people you're unsure about, a card "with no religious figures, messages or symbols" | A wish for rest and warmth | | "Happy holidays" to the client who told you they love Christmas | They told you; use it | "Merry Christmas, [Name]!" | | A Hanukkah message that lands after December 12 | The holiday is over | A New Year message | | A guess based on someone's name | A name doesn't tell you anyone's faith | The inclusive default | ## What to know before you order - **Our box is built for December.** Its seal says "Happy Holidays", and it holds 4 truffles in a black box with a white mug. For Lunar New Year, China Highlights advises against "gifts in sets or multiples of four" and says to "avoid presents that are largely black or largely white" ([China Highlights](https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/things-not-give-chinese-new-year.htm)). - **Kwanzaa gift giving "is primarily for children"** ([Cal Poly Pomona](https://www.cpp.edu/tree/brc/programs/kwanzaa.shtml)). For a household that celebrates Kwanzaa, a gift goes with a New Year message, ordered by Monday, December 21. - **Our box isn't kosher-certified.** - **The treats.** LINDOR truffles contain milk, soy and barley malt (gluten); read the labels. - **Gift limits.** Government agencies, many companies and some regulated trades cap what can be given or accepted; client gift limits by industry quotes the rules. Our box is $35, delivered. - **Where we ship.** We ship from New York to the lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now. P.O. boxes are fine; no Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, other US territories, APO/FPO or international. More holiday wording for clients: [business Christmas and holiday card messages](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages/holiday-messages-for-clients). Every occasion: [the card message library](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages). ## How a Personalized Gifts Delivered box fits a mixed list Our box carries no religious symbols and no alcohol. It holds one 11 oz white ceramic mug with your logo printed small, a 1.5 oz packet of Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa and 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles, packed inside the mug, under black tissue closed with a gold "Happy Holidays" seal sticker, all in a matte-black gift box with a magnetic lid. The only greeting printed in the box is that "Happy Holidays" seal; the card says whatever you write. That's [a logo mug gift box with Ghirardelli cocoa, Lindt truffles and a personal card](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/custom-logo-mug-gift-box), $35 per box, delivered. Your message is printed on a textured card, sealed in an envelope with a gold wax-seal sticker and laid on the box's lid, so the greeting is read before the box opens. Every card greets its person by first name from your address list, and you see every card before you pay, so a "Merry Christmas" order and a "Happy holidays" order each print exactly what you chose. ## Can you pack 25 holiday gifts for a mixed list yourself? Yes: you can buy note cards, print 25 greetings and pack 25 gifts yourself, and by our estimate 25 logo mug gift boxes take about 9 hours of hands-on work, plus a week or more waiting for supplies: - **The cards:** about 45 minutes to write or print 25, and a typo on printed cards means printing all 25 again. - **The packing:** about 3½ hours, at about 8 minutes a box (treats, foam, tissue, seal, card, carton, crinkle, tape). - **Everything around it:** about 4½ hours to find a mug printer, place about 8 supply orders, clean up the address list, buy 25 labels, drop off the cartons and follow 25 tracking numbers. The supplies and postage come to about $38 a box with USPS counter postage (about $34 with commercial postage), with $1,192.84 paid up front for the mugs, the supply packs and 25 postage labels, with leftovers, as of Oct 26, 2026 ([the itemized DIY cost](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare/diy-mug-gift-box-vs-ordering)). Per box, that comes out about even with our $35; the difference is the 9 hours and the cash up front. With Personalized Gifts Delivered, the greeting is the only part you write, once per order. Add your logo (or type your website and we'll find it), or a photo or a few words for a personal gift; check the preview of your mug and card; add your address list; and pay $35 per box. We print, pack and ship each box to its own address. ## Frequently asked questions ### Should I say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to clients? With clients, default to Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings or a New Year message, and keep Merry Christmas for the clients you know celebrate Christmas. In Pew Research Center's 2017 survey, 52% of US adults said a business's choice of holiday greeting does not matter to them, and 32% preferred "merry Christmas". ### Is it OK to give a Christmas gift to an employee who doesn't celebrate Christmas? Yes, as an end-of-year thank-you: a gift for an employee who doesn't celebrate Christmas works when the gift and the card don't assume a holiday. Give everyone the same gift, keep religious symbols and alcohol out of it, and write an inclusive card. ### What is a good inclusive holiday gift for a diverse team? A good inclusive holiday gift for a diverse team is the same gift for everyone, with a winter theme rather than a holiday one: something warm to drink, a treat with its ingredients listed, and a personal card. Leave out alcohol, religious symbols and anything shaped like one holiday. ### When should a Hanukkah gift arrive in 2026? Before sundown on Friday, December 4, when Hanukkah begins (Hebcal). That's three weeks before Christmas, so order Hanukkah gifts earlier than the rest of the list. ### What is a non-religious holiday card message for clients? One that thanks them for the year and wishes them well without naming a holiday, such as "However you celebrate this season, we hope it's restful. Thank you for a year of good work together." ### Is there a holiday gift box with no religious symbols that ships to each person? Personalized Gifts Delivered sells one: its $35 logo mug gift box carries no religious symbols and no alcohol, its only printed greeting is a gold "Happy Holidays" seal, and the card says what you write. Each box ships to its own address, with no minimum. ## Sources 1. Pew Research Center, [Americans Say Religious Aspects of Christmas Are Declining in Public Life](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/12/12/americans-say-religious-aspects-of-christmas-are-declining-in-public-life/) (telephone survey of 1,503 adults, Nov 29 – Dec 4, 2017), read Oct 29, 2026. 2. The Emily Post Institute, [Holiday Greeting Cards](https://emilypost.com/advice/holiday-greeting-cards), read Oct 29, 2026. 3. Hebcal, [Chanukah 2026](https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/chanukah-2026), read Oct 29, 2026. 4. Cal Poly Pomona, [Kwanzaa](https://www.cpp.edu/tree/brc/programs/kwanzaa.shtml); University of Notre Dame Black Faculty and Staff Association, [Kwanzaa (Dec 26 – Jan 1)](https://bfsa.nd.edu/events/2025/12/26/kwanzaa/), both read Oct 29, 2026. 5. China Highlights, [Things Not to Give for Chinese New Year](https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/things-not-give-chinese-new-year.htm), read Oct 29, 2026. 6. r/managers, ["Inclusive Christmas gifts"](https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/comments/1gtkgne/) (Nov 2024), read Oct 29, 2026. 7. r/managers, ["Christmas gift ideas for employees?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/comments/1hdrxnj/) (Dec 2024), read Oct 29, 2026.