In-laws, a colleague, the neighbour: writing a postcard to someone you don't know that well
Published on 19 October 2026 · 3 min read
Writing to your mum, you can do in your sleep. Your best friend too: the jokes write themselves. But the card for your in-laws, the one for the colleague covering for you while you're away, or for the neighbour who waters your plants? That's where the pen hesitates. Too chummy and it rings false; too polite and it reads like a letter from the bank. And yet these are often the people a card touches the most, precisely because they weren't expecting one. Here's how to go about it.
First names or Mr and Mrs? Do as you do out loud
The simplest rule: write the way you speak to this person when you're face to face. If your in-laws are "Martine and Jean-Pierre" at Sunday lunch, they're Martine and Jean-Pierre on the card, and nobody will find it too forward. If you're still not sure, a warm "Dear Martine, dear Jean-Pierre" at the top is the safe choice: friendly, never cold. For a colleague, the tone of the office carries over without any trouble. What to avoid is the mix: starting stiff and ending with a wink. It shows, and it reads.
Tell one thing, and choose it for them
With someone close, you can throw everything in. With someone you know a little, one story is enough, as long as it has something to do with them. Your in-laws love gardening? Tell them about the hundred-year-old olive trees on the village square. Your colleague is mad about cooking? The Saturday market and the goat's cheese you could smell three stalls away is for her. The neighbour has a cat? The hotel cat asleep on the sunloungers will do nicely. The link doesn't need to be deep; it just shows you thought of them, not only of yourself.
Short, and no explanations
No need to say why you're writing. "I thought you might like a card" weakens it instead of carrying it. Four or five lines is plenty: one about the place, one for the story you chose, one addressed to the person, and the signature. If you have room left over, leave it. A card with some air in it reads better than one filled to the edges by someone looking for things to say.
One line for them, not a set phrase
The line that speaks directly to the person is the one that counts. Replace "Hope you're well" with something only they could receive. "Thank you again for the plants, I'm bringing you back some lavender." "Good luck with Thursday's meeting, I'm thinking of you from a café terrace, sorry." "I hope the grandchildren are letting you sleep." One precise attention is worth ten polite formulas, and it doesn't take up any more room.
The photo: pretty rather than personal
With a friend, a pulled face in a selfie goes down fine. With someone you know less well, pick a photo they'll enjoy standing on the sideboard: the landscape, the little street, the evening light on the harbour. If you're in it, small and from behind, it's lovely; in close-up, it's intimate, and not necessarily what they expect from you. And for in-laws, a photo of their daughter or son laughing in front of the sea is, by a very long way, the best one you can send.
Sign for both of you, and aim for the right date
If you're writing on behalf of the couple or the family, sign for everyone: "Camille and Thomas", "The three of us". Your signature alone, on a card to your in-laws, surprises more than it touches. And think about timing: a holiday card is nicer to receive while you're still away than once you're home. Write it in the first few days, not the night before you leave: between printing, our next dispatch and the postal journey, allow one to two weeks. With UnCoucou, you choose your photo, write your message from your phone, enter an address in France or Monaco, and we print your card on thick premium paper and hand it to La Poste at our next dispatch, from €2.49 per card, postage included. Your mum expects her card. Your in-laws will still be talking about theirs at Christmas.