CHRISTMAS

Christmas toast examples for family

A Christmas toast takes a minute or less. Thank whoever cooked, raise a glass to whoever is missing and tell one story from this year that only your family would get. Then let everyone eat.

Search for Christmas toasts and most of what comes up is one-liners and card verses. Some rhyme, and none of them know your family. A chatbot can write you a toast in seconds, but it won't be the one standing up with a glass when the table goes quiet. The toasts below are made up, so keep their shape and fill in your own people. First comes a template. Then come eight toasts: the host's, a short one, a funny one, one for Christmas Eve, one to absent friends, one for someone who died this year, one for friends and a grandparent's blessing. After those: when to give it, how long to talk, what to leave out and how to say it.

A Christmas toast template

Examples 1 and 4 below follow all five parts. Example 2 skips part 3. Examples 3, 7 and 8 come from guests, so they skip parts 2 and 3. Examples 5 and 6 spend most of their time on part 3. Fill in the blanks, then cut anything you wouldn't say with the kids listening.

Get everyone's attention and thank whoever hosted or cooked: "Before we eat, I'd like to say a few words. Thank you to ___ for ___."
Welcome the table. Mention anyone at their first Christmas with you, or anyone who traveled to get here: "Thank you all for being here, especially ___, who ___."
Remember who isn't at the table, if your family would want that. It could be someone working, someone far away or someone who died: "We miss ___ tonight."
Tell one story from this year or about a family tradition, and keep it specific: "This year, ___." Or: "Every Christmas, ___."
Raise your glass and say the toast last: "Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To ___."

Part 4 is the one people will remember. One true detail, like the ornament the dog chewed or the year the oven died on Christmas morning, does more than a list of everything that went right.

Eight Christmas toast examples

The names and stories are made up. Each one runs under 150 words, about a minute or less out loud.

1. From the host

Christmas dinner for eleven in the family's new house.

Okay, everyone, can I have one minute before we eat? Thank you to Dad, who has been in this kitchen since seven this morning. And thank you to Priya for the trifle, which she wouldn't let anyone near.

Thank you all for being here. Especially Tom and Hannah, who flew in from Denver last night and were still up at six when the kids found their stockings.

We miss Grandpa Joe, who's in Florida with his sister this year. He called this morning to make sure we're saving him some trifle. We aren't.

We moved into this house in March, and for most of the year this room was a pile of boxes. Tonight it holds eleven people and two tables, and that's the best thing that's happened in it.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To all of you.

2. Short and simple

Under 50 words, for a big table, restless kids or a toast you're asked for on the spot.

Thank you to Mom for dinner, and to all of you for coming home. This year Leo learned to walk and Sophie learned to drive. Somehow we all made it to December. Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To family.

3. Funny, for a family that teases

Every joke is on the person giving the toast, plus one on the cat. Nobody else at the table gets roasted.

Okay, everybody. I'll be quick, because I can see the potatoes from here. Thank you to Aunt Linda for hosting, and for giving me the most important job of the day. I brought the ice. You're welcome.

Thank you all for not mentioning last year's sweater. I'm told this one is worse.

I'm grateful for a family that still lets me run the Secret Santa, two years after I drew my own name and didn't say anything. And thank you to Pepper for leaving the tree alone this time. We all know it was you.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To a tree that's still standing.

4. For Christmas Eve

For a family whose big dinner is on Christmas Eve, or for anyone hosting the night before.

Before the kids go to bed, or at least try to, I want to say something. Thank you to Marco for the seven fishes, and to Nonna for teaching him all of them.

Thank you all for being here tonight. I know half of you are driving to your in-laws' in the morning, so tonight is our Christmas.

We miss Gina, who's in London and texted to let us know it's already Christmas there.

Nonna turned ninety in August, and she still won't let anyone else fry the calamari. Every year she says it's her last year at the stove, and every year she's back.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To Nonna.

5. To absent friends

For a table with empty chairs: someone deployed, someone on a hospital shift, someone who moved away. "To absent friends" covers everyone who isn't there, whatever the reason.

Before we eat, I'd like us to raise a glass to the people who aren't at this table.

To my brother Chris, who's on a ship somewhere in the Pacific. He called at six this morning so he could hear the kids open their presents.

To Ama, who's working a double at the hospital so someone with little kids could be home today.

To the Garcias, who moved to Phoenix in June. The street hasn't been the same.

And to everyone else we're thinking of tonight. Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To absent friends.

6. For a loved one who died this year

The first Christmas without someone. If the loss is recent, ask whoever was closest to them before dinner whether they'd like it said at the table or later over dessert. Say their name and one small story that will make the table smile.

Before we eat, I want to say something about Mom.

This is our first Christmas without her. Every year, Mom started buying presents in July, hid them all over the house and then forgot where. Last week, Jen was cleaning out the linen closet and found a sweater with a tag in Mom's handwriting: "For Jen, Christmas." We think it's from about five Christmases ago.

So, Jen, Merry Christmas from Mom. It's a few years late. For Mom, that was right on time.

She'd want us to eat while it's hot, so I'll stop there. I'm grateful for every Christmas we had with her, and that we're all together for this one.

Please raise your glasses. To Mom.

7. For friends

For friends who have their own Christmas dinner before everyone heads home to family.

Hi, everyone. Thank you to Dev and Marisol for hosting, and for carrying a seven-foot tree up four flights of stairs. I helped with the last flight.

The first year we did this, it was four of us in my old studio with a rotisserie chicken and a string of lights taped to the wall for a tree. This year there are twelve of us, there's a real turkey, and the tree is real too.

Tomorrow we all scatter to our families. Tonight, I'm grateful for this one.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Please raise your glasses. To doing this again next year.

8. A grandparent's blessing

From the oldest person at the table. The last line comes from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843). Bob Cratchit toasts, "A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!" Then Tiny Tim adds, "God bless us every one!"

I'll keep this short, because the little ones have been staring at the presents since lunch. Thank you to Ruth and David for having us, and to Ella, who made the place cards and put me next to the gravy.

Our first Christmas, your grandmother and I had a rented room, a tree the size of a lamp and one ornament. It was a glass bird her mother gave us. That bird is on David's tree tonight, near the top.

Now it takes three tables to seat us, and one of them is for the great-grandkids. I've had a lot of Christmases, and you are the best part of every one of them.

So I'll borrow a line from Tiny Tim. Please raise your glasses. Merry Christmas, and God bless us every one.

When to give a Christmas toast

Give it once everyone is sitting down with something in their glass, before the food goes around. Water and sparkling cider count, so the kids and anyone not drinking can join in. If someone in your family says grace, ask them before dinner whether the toast should come before or after. If the presents come after the meal, keep the toast short. The kids won't be listening anyway.

Whoever is hosting usually gives it. If you'd like to say a few words at someone else's table, ask the host first.

How long should a Christmas toast be?

A minute or less, about 150 words. If several people want to speak, keep each toast short or save one for dessert. Say yours out loud with a timer running. If it runs long, cut the welcome before you touch the story.

What to leave out

Politics, and whatever started last year's argument.
Jokes that would embarrass anyone at the table. If you'd be hurt to hear it about yourself, cut it.
Gifts: who spent what, who forgot and who's returning theirs.
Questions about when someone is getting engaged, married or pregnant.
News that belongs to someone else. Let them tell it.
A long prayer, if not everyone at the table shares your faith. Keep the blessing to a line.
Someone who stayed away on purpose. A toast won't fix it.

If this Christmas is hard

If this year brought a loss, a divorce or a lot of hospital visits, everyone at the table already knows. You don't have to explain it. Say it in a sentence, thank the people who helped and then turn to something good.

It's been a hard year. We closed the shop in April, and for a while we didn't know what came next. A lot of you sent job leads and casseroles, and a few of you sent both. Thank you. Tonight we're all here, and that's what I wanted for Christmas.

How to give it

At a big table, stand up so the far end can see you. Wait for quiet before your first word.
Start before the dishes go around. Once the potatoes are moving, you've lost the table.
Learn your first line and your toast word for word. For the middle, keep the five parts in your head and let the words come. How to memorize a speech has a method.
Look at each person as you thank them.
Let your voice come down on the toast, so it sounds like the end and everyone knows when to drink. If your sentences tend to rise at the end, see how to stop upspeak.
Asked with no warning? Thank the host, name one thing from this year and raise your glass. Impromptu speaking has more on talking off the cuff.
If your voice catches, stop and breathe out slowly. The table will wait. How to give a eulogy has five steps for getting through it.

Rehearse your Christmas toast with an AI coach in Charisma Lab

Charisma Lab is a speaking coach on your iPhone. In Speak, tap the center and tell the coach you're practicing a Christmas toast for your family. Say it out loud one chunk at a time, like the thank-yous, the story or the toast. A pause of about two seconds ends a take, so end each chunk where you'd stop and look around the table. You hear the take played back, then the coach tells you what to fix and sends you back in.

To hear the whole toast first, open Voice Cam on the home screen and record it, with the camera or audio only. Each recording runs up to a minute, which fits a Christmas toast. As you talk, it shows your volume, pitch and pauses, plus an estimate of your pace in words per minute. Leave a pause you can see before "Please raise your glasses," so everyone has time to pick one up. Setup is free and includes a short live session with the coach. After that, the app needs Pro, which is $14.99 a month in the US. See pricing.

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FAQ

What do you say in a Christmas toast?

Thank whoever hosted and cooked, and welcome everyone. Raise a glass to anyone who's missing. Then tell one story from this year and finish with "Merry Christmas" and the toast. The template above has a line for each part.

What is a good short Christmas toast?

Thank the cook, say one specific thing about this year and raise your glass. Example 2 does it in 41 words.

What is a funny Christmas toast for family?

One where you're the joke, like your sweater or the Secret Santa you ruined. Example 3 keeps every joke on the speaker and the cat.

How do you start a Christmas toast?

Stand up, wait for quiet and say, "Before we eat, I'd like to say a few words." Then thank the host. For more ways in, see how to start a speech.

Who gives the toast at Christmas dinner?

Usually the host, but anyone can. If it isn't your table, ask the host before dinner.

How do you toast absent friends at Christmas?

Name each person and say where they are tonight, in a sentence or two. Then raise your glass "to absent friends." Example 5 does it for a brother at sea, someone on a hospital shift and neighbors who moved away.

How do you remember a loved one who died in a Christmas toast?

Say their name, tell one small story that will make the table smile and raise a glass to them. If the loss is recent, ask the person closest to them first. Example 6 does it.

What is a traditional Christmas blessing toast?

You can borrow from A Christmas Carol: Bob Cratchit's "A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!" or Tiny Tim's "God bless us every one!" Example 8 ends on Tiny Tim's line.

How do you end a Christmas toast?

Ask everyone to raise a glass, say the toast and drink. Then sit down so the food can go around. How to end a speech has more on toasts.

More practice guides

Updated November 3, 2026.