--- title: "Happy 40th Birthday Wishes and Video Ideas | birthday.video" description: "Happy 40th birthday wishes, video ideas and message ideas, then a card with their name as a GIF or a video with family clips and a tune. Free, nothing uploaded." url: https://birthday.video/happy-40th-birthday --- Free · made on your device # Happy 40th birthday: wishes, video ideas and GIFs Kind “over the hill” jokes, messages that land, and a 40 with their name on it, sent as a GIF or a video with clips from the family. Free · no sign-up · no watermark Happy 40th birthday Sarah 40 Forty and fabulous Love, all of us ## Ready-made GIFs to send Download one as it is, or press **Add their name** to open it in the editor and make it theirs. * ![Animated birthday GIF, “Happy 40th birthday”: emerald and gold art deco: fanned rays, a double gold frame and a bold 40 with a fabulous flourish.](https://birthday.video/gifs/happy-40th-birthday/forty-deco-gif.webp) Happy 40th birthday [Download GIF](https://birthday.video/gifs/happy-40th-birthday/forty-deco-gif.gif) * ![Animated birthday GIF, “Forty in lights”: “Forty!” in huge cream capitals on a ruby marquee of twinkling bulbs, with a gold script hello.](https://birthday.video/gifs/happy-40th-birthday/name-in-lights-gif.webp) Forty in lights [Download GIF](https://birthday.video/gifs/happy-40th-birthday/name-in-lights-gif.gif) * ![Animated birthday GIF, “Forty candles”: a cake fizzing with sparks and a stamped warning that the fire brigade is on standby. Perfect for cheeky ages.](https://birthday.video/gifs/happy-40th-birthday/too-many-candles-gif.webp) Forty candles [Download GIF](https://birthday.video/gifs/happy-40th-birthday/too-many-candles-gif.gif) A good happy 40th birthday message teases a little and means a lot. Borrow a line from the wishes below, put it on a milestone card with their name and a big 40, and send it as a looping **GIF**, or make a short video with photos and clips from the family. This page opens the editor with **Age** set to 40 in the Story 9:16 shape. Below the wishes you will find 40th birthday video ideas, a structure for messages from the family, and what to do about music. Everything is made in your browser, so photos and clips stay on your device. Free, with no watermark and no account. Start from one of these ## Happy 40th birthday wishes A mix of cheeky and heartfelt. Paste one into **Message**; the short ones suit a GIF. * Happy 40th birthday. The first forty were just the warm-up. * Forty, and still the one everyone calls when something goes wrong. * Life begins at forty. Yours already looked pretty good. * Happy 40th. The reading glasses are a fashion statement now. * Forty years of you, and we wouldn’t change a day. * Officially vintage. Happy 40th birthday. * You don’t look forty. You look like someone who knows where the snacks are. * Here’s to forty, and to all the stories we’re not putting in this video. * Happy 40th to the best parent, partner and friend in one person. * Older, wiser, and still not great at loading the dishwasher. * Forty candles and not one wish wasted. Happy birthday. * The kids say you are very old. We say you are just getting started. * Cheers to forty years and the best decade yet. ## How to make a 40th birthday video 1. ### Open a 40th template Press **Make a 40th birthday video** above. **Age** is set to 40; switch look in **Templates** if you like. 2. ### Write the card Type their name in **Name** and a wish in **Message**, cheeky or warm. 3. ### Add the photos and messages Press **Add photos and clips**: early photos first, then the family now, then the video messages. 4. ### Add music and export Press **Add music** for a Happy Birthday arrangement or a song of your own, then **Export video**. For a quick card, press **Export video** and choose **GIF**. ## 40th birthday video ideas: “over the hill”, done kindly Forty is the birthday of reading-glasses jokes and black balloons. A little of that is fun, but a video lasts longer than a party, so keep the teasing affectionate. * **Then and now.** A photo from their twenties beside a recent one, with a cheeky line in between. * **Things they say now.** A card listing their newest catchphrases (“Is it cold in here, or is it me?”). * **The children as reporters.** Ask the kids what they think forty means. Their answers are usually the best part of the video. * **Turn it round.** End with what the last decade has brought: the family, the move, the job, the friendships. ## 40th birthday video message ideas At forty the people in the video span generations: parents, siblings, school friends, colleagues. One person puts the video together; ask everyone else to film a short clip on their phone and send it to you. There is no shared upload link. ### What to ask each person to say * Their name and how they know the birthday person. * One memory, in a sentence or two. * One wish for the next ten years. * Fifteen seconds at most, so the messages don’t take over. The [what to say in a birthday video message](https://birthday.video/what-to-say-in-a-birthday-video-message) guide has more prompts to send round. ## Music for a 40th Under **Add music** you can choose one of the site’s own Happy Birthday arrangements, which are free to use, including in public posts. Or pick a song from the year they turned 18 and add the file from your device; people tend to love the music of their late teens most. Social networks may mute well-known tracks in public posts, but a video sent privately is unaffected. ## Happy 40th birthday: questions ### What do you write for a 40th birthday? Their name, the number and one line that sounds like you: a gentle joke about age, or a thank-you for the last decade. The wishes above are a place to start. ### What are good 40th birthday video ideas? Then-and-now photos, the kids’ views on turning forty, short messages from friends and family, and a final card about the decade ahead. Three to five minutes is plenty. ### Can I make a happy 40th birthday GIF? Yes. Type their name, press **Export video** and choose **GIF**. It loops by itself and has no sound, so it works in any chat. ### How do I get messages from people who live far away? Ask each person to film a short clip and send it to you by message or email. Save the clips to your device and add them with **Add photos and clips**. ### Is it free? Yes. No watermark, no account and nothing to pay. Your photos and clips are never uploaded. ## Other birthdays and ideas * [ Birthday video maker Start from an animated template, add their name, photos and a song. ](https://birthday.video/) * [ Happy 30th birthday wishes and videos A kind roast or a tribute, as a GIF or a video of their twenties. ](https://birthday.video/happy-30th-birthday) * [ Happy 50th birthday wishes and videos Wishes for a 50th, a gold 50 GIF, and five decades of photos. ](https://birthday.video/happy-50th-birthday) * [ Funny happy birthday GIFs and videos Meme captions, a fake age and their worst photo, as a GIF or a video. ](https://birthday.video/funny-happy-birthday) * [ Birthday video ideas Twenty-four ideas, quick and ambitious, each with where to start. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-ideas) * [ Happy birthday husband wishes and video Romantic and teasing wishes, and a video of your photos together. ](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-husband) * [ Happy birthday wife wishes and video Wishes for your wife and a video of your years together. ](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-wife) * [ Birthday video templates Every template in the editor, by occasion, with the formats it suits. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-templates)