Here's our one greeting card idea that works for every occasion: find one thing that's only true of the person and say it in as few words as possible. HAPPY BIRTHDAY is a start. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE ONLY MAN WHO STILL PRINTS BOARDING PASSES is a card. Below are ideas by occasion, each with a line to steal and the Tangy Limes video card it fits, since an online greeting with their actual face on it gives the line something to stand on.
First, find the one true thing
Write down something nobody else could claim. The way he loads the dishwasher like it's a hostage negotiation. The ex she still brings up at brunch. The sourdough starter that has outlived two houseplants and a lease. That's your joke, or your sweet line, and on a good day it's both.
Then cut it down. A card headline only has room for a few words, which is a feature. It makes you pick.
Ideas by occasion
Birthday, for the group chat. Birthday Block Party fits four faces on a rooftop with a DJ booth, a street party with balloons tied to a fire hydrant, a karaoke room and a bonfire. Everyone who forgot to chip in for the gift can at least be in the card. Line: WE'RE ALL OLD NOW TOO.
Anniversary. Still Dancing goes from a ballroom with a live jazz band to a boardwalk with an ice cream stand to a rooftop terrace with candles. You two have never danced like this. That's what the faces are for. Line: STILL NOT SICK OF YOU.
Breakup. So Over You is one face on a karaoke stage, then at a spa, in a mall drowning in shopping bags, and on a mountain top at sunrise, which is the correct order of events after a breakup. Line: UPGRADE COMPLETE.
New home. Home Sweet Home fits three, from a lawn stacked with moving boxes to an empty living room to a kitchen with balloons tied to the cabinets. Line: WHO GETS THE BIG ROOM.
New job. You Got the Job! is a bright office with confetti in the air, a city sidewalk, a coffee shop and a rooftop bar. The rooftop bar is a hint about who's paying now. Line: DRINKS ARE ON YOU.
Get well. Get Well Soon goes from a messy bed with too many pillows to a blanket fort, a doctor's office and a sunny park full of balloons. Line: STOP BEING SICK, IT'S WEIRD.
When nothing fits
There's a search box at the top of the Tangy Limes home page. Type what you want the way you'd say it to a friend, like something for my sister's 30th, she loves karaoke, and it pulls up the closest cards.
If the joke needs to be in the song itself, the card can get its own song. You say what it's about, read the words, fix anything that's wrong, and their face sings the result.
Making it
Use a photo where they're facing the camera with their mouth showing, because the mouth opens and closes to the words. It's a cutout of the real photo, so the expression you pick is the one that sings. Type your line into the headline, watch the free preview, and if it lands, it's $1.99 to keep.
A card doesn't need a poem. It needs one true thing and a face.