Help with Dutch

[hedgerose]

Hi all! I'm trying to write a last-minute Christmas card to one of my colleagues, who is from the Netherlands. I don't need the whole thing to be in Dutch-- just the greeting, closing, and Merry Christmas (for which I've found vrolijk Kerstfeest-- is that correct?). I've found a few different ways of doing it, but I've found that you guys are

Comments

[di_glossia]

Vrolijk kerstfeest does indeed mean Merry Christmas. I'm not sure what you're looking for for the card, though, since these things depend on your personality. You could say:

Zalig kerstfeest en een gelukkig nieuwjaar! (Blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!)

Ik wens/Wij wensen u een zalig kerstfeest! (I/we wish you a Merry Christmas!)

Vrolijk kerstfeest en een gelukkig en gezond 2012! (Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012!)

Prettige kerstdagen en een gelukkig nieuwjaar! (roughly: Have a nice Christmas holiday and a happy New Year!)

Prettige kerst en een goed 2012! (roughly: Have a happy Christmas and a good 2012!)

[di_glossia]

Also, you could put de beste wensen (best wishes) as a closing. If you don't like any of the ones I gave you, this site has a bunch of longer and more creative ones.

[hedgerose]

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed.

[spunos]

Native Dutch speaker reporting in! In addition to what di_glossia wrote above:

Greeting: Beste [her name],
(This is a pretty neutral and standard way to start a letter, somewhat casual perhaps. If you want to be very formal you could write "Geachte [her name]".)

Semi-formal closing: Met vriendelijke groet, [your name] (friendly greetings)

More casual: Veel liefs, [your name] (lots of love)

[hedgerose]

Thank you so much!

[jannuh]

As a native Dutch speaker, I always go for something like "Fijne feestdagen!" ("Happy holidays", but in a neutral way)

Other than that, what everyone mentions above is perfect :)

[hedgerose]

Thank you very much!