The Perfect Message to Send to Your Friend Turning 40 (2024)

Birthdays always feel like big milestones, but there's something about the transition from your 30s to 40 that feels especially major. The big 4-0 can make you feel both older and wiser. It can elicit lots of excitement, but also a bit of sadness. Either way, it's super important to show the person you love turning 40 — whether that be your mom, dad, brother, sister, friend or coworker — that you're thinking of them. Baking their favorite cake and picking out the perfect birthday card are good places to start. For those who need a little inspiration on what to write in the birthday card and really want to pen a heartfelt message, we've compiled the best 40th birthday wishes to share.

Whether their personality will appreciate something deep and meaningful or short and funny, there are over 50 well wishes and thoughts to share when someone in your life celebrates their 40th birthday. There are lots of things to be stressed about in life, but a birthday shouldn't be one of them. Looking for a great gift for that special someone? Check out our favorite gift guides, from gifts for women to the most popular gifts of 2024, to find the perfect present for them.

Funny Birthday Wishes

• Happy birthday! The best thing about turning 40 is that you’ve done all the stupid, cringe-worthy stuff before the Internet was around to document it.
• Don’t lose hope just yet because you’re not officially middle-aged. Happy 40th!
• Remember now that you’re 40, you’re just 20 but with double the experience and double the wrinkles.
• You’re more fun than two 20-year-olds — and a heck of a lot smarter! I hope this next year is as wonderful as you are.
• Congrats on hitting classic status! You're not old, you're vintage and vintage things are super valuable.
• Welcome to 40, an age when you’re still young at heart, but other body parts are starting to falter.
• The older you get, the older I feel. So please stop getting older. Anyway, happy birthday!
• Forty, foxy, and only 20 years away from the senior citizen discounts! Happy birthday!
• Over the hill? Nah, you're just getting to the good part of the hike. The view's better and it's less crowded. Happy 40th!
• I hate to use the F-word, but … you’re forty! Happy birthday!
• At least you’re not as old as you will be next year.
• Age-appropriate behavior is highly overrated, and at 40, you've earned the right to be as inappropriate as you wish. Happy 40th birthday!
• Here's to FORTY: Flirty, Optimistic, Risky, Teasing and Youthful!

Sentimental Birthday Wishes

• My life got better ever since I got to know you. I wish you an abundance of happiness and health on your 40th. Happy birthday!
• Remember you’re not getting older, you’re just getting better!
• I can’t believe you’re 40! Sending you happy birthday wishes for this new chapter in your life.
• You’ve achieved so much in 40 years, now the best is yet to come.
• Four decades of awesomeness is no joke! So here’s to forty more years of happiness, prosperity, and health!
• Wishing the best birthday celebration for the most wonderful person I know. I hope today and every day in the year ahead is as special as you are.
• In the story of your life, 40 is the chapter where it all starts to make perfect sense. Happy birthday!
• Wishing you all the love and happiness in the world on your 40th birthday!

Birthday Wishes for Your Husband or Wife

• Older than yesterday but younger than tomorrow. Congratulations, better half, on your 40th!
• Happy birthday to the only person I want to grow old together with — and now, we're finally one step closer.
• You have been the best 30-year-old I knew, and you’ll be the best 40-year-old I will ever know. Welcome to your forties, darling. Happy birthday.
• The love and warmth I get from you are more than the world’s wealth. Forty looks fourteen on you. Happy birthday!
• You have always been a good-looking guy. Now you are an even better-looking older guy. Here’s to 40 more years of melting my heart with your charm!
• A young, loving, and caring man/woman is what I see in you every day. Happy 40th my love!
• Happy 40th, darling. Don’t forget to take out the garbage.
• Happy birthday! You’re now officially my favorite 40-year-old alive!

Birthday Wishes for Your Mom or Dad

• Sending the biggest birthday wishes your way Mom/Dad! We’ll be keeping an eye out for the signs of a midlife crisis. Happy birthday!
• Are you 40 or is that just the number of times you ask for help with your phone each day? Happiest of birthdays to you!
• You are incredible, and I’m so lucky to have you in my life. Happy 40th birthday, you deserve a wonderful day.
• Maturing doesn’t have to be boring, and you certainly aren’t. Thanks for filling my life with 40 years of fun. Happy birthday Mom/Dad
• Happy birthday Mom/Dad! I promise you don't look a day over 20!
• Health, success, and prosperity – all my best wishes on your 40th Mom/Dad!
• As you turn 40, know you’re valued and loved by us all. We wish you the best 40^th birthday and a fabulous start to a new decade.

Birthday Wishes for Your Son or Daughter

• My dear son/daughter, you are a remarkable child. Your forties will be just as amazing as you are.
• Let’s celebrate another decade of you making us proud of the man/ woman you’ve become. Happy 40^th birthday, my amazing son/daughter.
• Happy birthday! Maybe now that you’re 40 you’ll understand that we weren’t grumpy parents — we were just getting old.
• They say life begins at 40, but I think you’ve been living it up since you were born. Can’t wait to see how 40 and fabulous looks on you.
• Happy 40th birthday! No matter how old you get, you’ll always be our little boy/girl.
• No matter how old you get, you will always be my baby. Happy birthday to my darling son/daughter!

Birthday Wishes for Your Brother or Sister

• Maturing doesn’t have to be boring, and you certainly aren’t. Thanks for filling my life with 40 years of fun.
• We’ve celebrated so many of life’s milestones together. From graduating preschool to getting married and having kids, we’ve been right by each other’s sides. I’m so happy to celebrate another big moment with you. Wishing you the most wonderful day for your 40th birthday.
• As you enter this new decade, just know you are aged to perfection. Happy 40th!
• No matter how hard we fight, you will always be the best brother/sister in the world for me. Enjoy your forties. Happy birthday.
• Maturing doesn’t have to be boring, and you certainly aren’t. Thanks for filling my life with 40 years of fun.
• Good riddance. The 30s are over. 40 is where the real fun begins! Happy birthday!
• Happy 40 birthday! Don’t worry about getting older. You’re still gonna do dumb stuff — just slower.

Birthday Wishes for a Friend

• Well, would you look at that — you’ve managed to hit another milestone birthday. Happy 40th buddy!
• Dear friend, 40 years of life sure is something to celebrate! Thinking of you on this milestone birthday.
  
• Congrats on the big 4-0! Wishing you the best years ahead and a wonderful celebration.
• Cheers to 40 years! I hope your special day is filled with fine wine, a sweet birthday cake, and top-notch friends.
• The candles on your cake remind me of the encouraging light you shine on all those around you. Happy birthday!
• Sending love to my favorite person on your special day. Here’s to another great year!

Birthday Quotes

• "Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind." ― Jackie Joyner-Kersee
• "Let us never know what old age is. Let us know the happiness time brings, not count the years." — Ausonius
• "Life begins at 40."— Walter Pitkin
• "The first forty years of life give us the text: the next thirty supply the commentary on it" — Arthur Schopenhauer
• "The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." — Madeleine L'Engle
• "You don't get older, you get better." — Shirley Bassey
• "To me, old age is always ten years older than I am." — Bernard Baruch
• "The way I see it, you should live every day like it's your birthday." — Paris Hilton
• "Youth has no age." — Pablo Picasso
• "Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter." — Satchel Paige
• "At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment." — Benjamin Franklin
• "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." — Lucille Ball
• "Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words." — Plautus
• "Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift." — Aretha Franklin
• "We turn not older with years but newer every day." — Emily Dickinson