RD.COM Knowledge Etiquette
ByCharlotte Hilton Andersen
Updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Heartfelt or funny, sweet or inspirational: Celebrate all life's big and little moments with these short toasts
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The right words for every type of toast
Raising your glass for a toast is a sweet and simple way to bring together a group, offering a little bit of congratulations or a funny quip—that is, as long as you know what to say once your glass is in the air! If you’ve ever blanked when speaking in front of a group of people, you know that giving toasts can be easier said than done.
“Most people default to ‘cheers,’ but that’s a missed opportunity,” says etiquette expert Julian Leaver, founder of The Dapper Diplomat. “There’s so much more you can say when giving toasts, and taking the time to find just the right words can make the toast feel even more special and meaningful.”
From giving awedding toast to the happy couple on their big day to offering a happy birthday message to a friend in a bar, there are a wide variety of situations where you might need to give a toast. In addition to celebrating an event, toasts can be used to show respect, express gratitude, offer encouragement, promote bonding or acknowledge a big life change. And as you might have guessed, there are someetiquette rulesthat you should follow.
What makes a good toast?
A good toast can be funny, sentimental, heartfelt or inspiring, but ultimately the purpose is to promote a feeling of community and camaraderie, says Leaver. Here are some things he recommends when giving a toast:
- Raise your glass to indicate a toast is being given
- Mention the occasion
- Congratulate or thank the person or group
- Add a personal thought
- Keep it short and sweet
Below, you’ll find a list of short toasts, funnyquotesandIrish blessings to help you find the right words in any situation, from engagements andretirement parties to fun nights out with friends. Whether you want to go sentimental, sweet, straightforward or silly, you’ll find the perfect option on this list. And hey, we’ll drink to that!
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Best funny toasts
1. May you always have milk in the fridge, cookies in the jar and mugs to dip them in.
2. Here’s to being naughty and saving Santa a trip.
3. May you always be the person your dog thinks you are!
4. Let us toast to bread, because without bread, there would be no toast.
5. Here’s to all of you who know me well but love me anyway.
6. “Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends.” —Tom Waits
7. Here’s to the nights we don’t remember and the friends we do.
8. May your life be as long and productive as a jumbo roll of two-ply toilet paper.
9. May your troubles be as few and far between as my grandmother’s teeth.
10. Here’s to staying positive and testing negative!
11. To the good old days, when we were young enough to know everything!
12. May your children be blessed with rich parents!
13. Cheers to all our friends who are able to still lift their glasses from the table.
14. We’re only here for a short time, so let’s make it a good time!
15. Cheers to the guy who says, “My turn to buy.” Lift ’em high, and drain ’em dry.
16. Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.
17. Hear, hear! May we never regret this!
18. Here’s to being single, drinking doubles and seeing triple.
19. Let’s save our toasts for the holidays—all 365 of them!
20. I drank to your health in company, I drank to your health alone. In fact, I drank to your health so many times, I nearly ruined my own.
These funny quotes are also great for toasts, cards and so much more.
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Best birthday toasts
21. May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live!
22. Wishing you the best on this trip around the sun!
23. May you live to be a hundred years old, plus one year to repent.
24. As you celebrate another year of life, may you be surrounded by beauty and love.
25. Here’s to my sparkly friend. May you continue to shine as brightly as a diamond!
26. May the next year be just like your birthday today: filled with love, laughter, cake and friends.
27. Cheers to my forever bestie.
28. Happy birthday! Here’s to another year of being fabulous!
29. Here’s to another year of drunk texts, midnight talks and loads more cake.
30. Wishing you all the best this year, and for many more.
31. This year, my wish for you is for good fortune to precede you, love to walk with you and good friends to follow you.
32. To the world, you may be one person, but to this one person, you are the world. Happy birthday!
33. Happy birthday to one of those rare people who is always there with a helping hand, a kind word and a warm smile. May those be returned to you tenfold on your special day.
34. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” —Steve Jobs
35. May you live all the days of your life!
36. Here’s to my sister [or other relative] by blood but my friend by choice.
37. Today I drink to you, my friend.
38. May you be extra happy this year … and may your enemies know it.
39. Cheers to another year—the older you get, the better you get. It’s almost unfair.
40. Cheers to my wife on her birthday. I have known many, liked a few and loved but one: Here’s to you.
41. Here’s to my husband: the man who halves my sorrows and doubles my joys.
42. When you blow out your candles, may you get all your wishes granted—except one, so you always have something to strive for.
Birthdays, of course, may also call for a little something extra. One of thesebirthday gifts or a bouquet from our favorite online flower delivery services should do the trick!
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Best wedding toasts and engagement toasts
43. Cheers to a beautiful journey together. No road is long when you have good company!
44. May “for better or worse” be far better than worse.
45. Live long and prosper!
46. May the best days of your past be the worst days of your future.
47. May your hearts always be as full of love as our glasses today.
48. Cheers to a long and happy life together!
49. May your home always be too small to hold all your loved ones.
50. Here’s to true love.
51. Let’s raise a glass to happily ever after.
52. No one comes to weddings for the speeches—let’s sit down and drink up!
53. May your joy be as deep as the ocean, and your misfortunes as light as the sea foam.
54. To the happy couple. May you live as long as you like … and have all you like as long as you live.
55. Let’s toast to new love and new life!
56. May your wedding days be one, and your anniversaries be many.
57. Here’s to the past, for all that you’ve learned together; to the present, for all that you share now; and to the future, for all that you’ve got to look forward to.
58. May the lamp of your love always burn brightly, like a beacon through the storms of life.
59. As Romeo and Juliet begin their new life, let’s toast them as husband and wife. Here’s to love, laughter and happily ever after.
60. Cheers to the secret of a long-lasting marriage: short memories.
61. Here’s to loving with your whole heart for your whole life.
62. Don’t marry the person you can live with—marry the person you can’t live without. Congratulations on finding your person!
You can also include love messages and uplifting quotes when toasting the happy couple. Then, be prepared for future celebrations with these anniversary messages.
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Best retirement toasts
63. Here’s to trading paydays for play days and heydays!
64. May you have the chance to test if money really can’t make you happy.
65. Today we raise a glass to celebrate the incredible person you are and to wish you all the happiness and success in the world as you start this new chapter.
66. Here’s to never having a day off from retirement!
67. “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” —George Bernard Shaw
68. Congratulations to a true friend, a wise mentor and a beloved co-worker. May your future be filled with joy.
69. Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!
70. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” —Mark Twain
71. You’ve always had an appetite for life—here’s to staying hungry.
72. May you look back without regrets and forward with anticipation.
73. Here’s to the first day of the rest of your life!
74. Cheers to hearing you say, “Hey, honey, I’m home … for good!”
75. How do you know it’s time to retire? It’s when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it!
76. Here’s to getting two six-month vacations every year!
77. May you retire from your job but never retire from your passion.
78. We only get two lives—the first life and then the second life when we realize we only have one life.
79. Congratulations on reaching the next bend on the road of your life’s journey.
80. Here’s to you! We’re so excited to see what you do next.
81. Cheers to a long, happy retirement—you’ve earned it!
82. Here’s to health, happiness and unlimited margaritas in retirement.
These gratitude quotes can also show the retiree how much you care.
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Best Irish blessings
83. May you never forget what is worth remembering or remember what is best forgotten.
84. Pain makes you stronger. Tears make you braver. Heartbreak makes you wiser. Here’s to the shot to make you forget them all!
85. May misfortune follow you the rest of your life but never catch up.
86. May the works of our nights never fear the light of our days.
87. Here’s to a long life and a happy one. A quick death and an easy one. A good girl and an honest one. A cold pint and another one.
88. May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out.
89. May you be in heaven an hour before the Devil knows you’re gone.
90. May you always live in interesting times.
91. May you never steal, lie or cheat, but if you must, then steal sorrows, lie with one you love and cheat death.
92. May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields. And, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
93. May you have love that never ends, lots of money and lots of friends. Health be yours, whatever you do, and may God send many blessings to you!
94. Always remember to forget the things that made you sad. But never forget to remember the things that made you glad.
95. May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come in through your door.
96. If happiness is a dessert so sweet, may life give you more than you can ever eat.
97. As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.
98. Cheer to the health of your enemies’ enemies!
99. May you be blessed enough to have a small boat but smart enough to never dance in it.
100. May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most.
While we’re on the subject, find out what the Irish word sláinte means—and how to use it in a toast.
Source:
- Julian Leaver, wedding etiquette expert, certified protocol officer and founder ofThe Dapper Diplomat
Originally Published: March 14, 2023
Author
Charlotte Hilton Andersen
Charlotte is an award-winning journalist, covering etiquette, relationships, psychology, health and lifestyle. She's written more than 50 etiquette stories for Reader's Digest, spearheading the site’s popular Polite Habits and Best Messages franchises. Her skill at capturing the essence of her subjects shapes her human-interest and “as told t...
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