A funny birthday ecard for him works when it's about him specifically, and the most specific thing you've got is his face. On Tangy Limes, his real face, cut out of a photo, goes on a dancer in a short birthday music video and sings an original song, mouth moving to every word. Pick the card that matches the guy and the joke mostly writes itself.
Here's how to match them.
He played air guitar at your wedding. Shred Your Birthday. An arena stage with pyro, a stretch limo sunroof, and a heavy metal video starring a giant inflatable cake. It fits two, so you can be his bassist. Nobody asked you to be. You're doing it anyway.
He bought cowboy boots and has worn them twice. Boot Scootin' Birthday. A western saloon, a rodeo at golden hour, a barn dance and a desert campfire. This is as close to a rodeo as he should get, and the horses agree.
He has opinions about beer. Birthday Polka starts in a Bavarian beer hall, climbs to an alpine meadow, and then, with zero explanation, finishes in a 70s bowling alley. If he has ever said "well, technically it's a lager," this is his card.
He just turned 40 and keeps mentioning his back. You're Old Now. Bingo hall, porch rocking chair, golf cart, sock-hop dance floor. One face, and it's his. The headline says YOU'RE OLD, which saves you from having to say it at dinner.
He thinks he's the main character. Birthday Superstar takes exactly one face and gives it a red carpet and a stadium stage. He'll call it embarrassing and then show it to his mother.
His dog is his whole personality. Pawty Animals fits two people and two pets. Dogs and cats in your photos get found and put on dancing animals, so the dog finally gets invited to the party instead of begging under the table.
Picking the photo
The photo matters more than the card. Pick one where he's facing the camera, ideally smiling with some teeth, since his mouth is going to open and close with the song and a chin hidden behind a phone ruins the effect. Don't use the flattering one. Use the one from the camping trip where he hadn't slept. If his head looks too big on the dancer, you can shrink it, though some guys have earned the big head.
Nothing about his face gets changed. It's a real cutout, not an AI version of him, so every bit of that camping-trip look makes it into the video.
What to write on it
The big headline on every card can be rewritten, and that's where the specific joke goes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEGEND works if you say it sarcastically in your head. STOP TELLING PEOPLE YOU'RE 29 works on anyone who does that. THE GRILL MISSES YOU is for the guy who disappears at every cookout to stand near the meat. 40 AND STILL CAN'T PARALLEL PARK is self-explanatory and probably true.
Sending it
Watch it free first, and if you laughed, download it for $1.99. One payment, no account, nothing auto-renewing in March. Text it to him at midnight, or put it on the TV at the party and time how long he lasts before leaving the room. For the guys' group chat, make a share link so it plays right there. They'll act like they only watched it once. They didn't.