Digital Christmas invitations: how to choose one, and send it

What is a digital Christmas invitation?

It’s a Christmas invitation that arrives as a link instead of in the post. Your guest taps it in a text, a WhatsApp message or an email, the invitation opens on their phone, and they reply there: coming or not, how many, and anything you’ve asked, such as dietary requirements or whether they’re in the Secret Santa. You see every answer in one place.

It isn’t the same as a Christmas e-card. An e-card is a greeting: it says Merry Christmas and asks for nothing back. An invitation carries the details of a party (the date, the start and finish times, the place, what to wear and what to bring) and asks for a reply by a date, so you know how many are coming before you order the food.

Most guests already expect it. A link is how people now share plans, from the work party to Christmas lunch, and it reaches family overseas the moment it’s sent. For anyone who doesn’t use a smartphone, there’s a note on that below.

What kinds of digital Christmas invitation are there?

Four, and they do very different amounts of the work for you. The question isn’t which looks nicest in a preview; it’s what happens after you press send.

A shared picture is quick, and fine for six friends and a bottle of something. Past about a dozen guests, or once you need numbers for a venue or a caterer, you want the replies collected for you, or you’ll spend December scrolling back through the chat.

What should you look for in a digital Christmas invitation?

These are the things that decide whether it saves you work or makes more of it:

• Replies collected for you: each guest answers on the invitation, and you see who’s coming, who isn’t and who hasn’t answered, without a spreadsheet.
• A link for each guest: you know who has opened it and who has replied, a reminder goes only to those who haven’t, and a forwarded link still replies under the name of the guest you sent it to.
• Changes after sending: the restaurant moves you to 7:30pm and everyone sees the new time on the same link, with nothing to resend and nobody working from an old screenshot.
• Nothing to download: guests should open it in their phone’s browser, with no app and no account to make.
• Secret Santa or Kris Kringle: built in, guests join when they reply and each sees only their own match, so there’s no separate draw to organise.
• The questions your party needs: dietary requirements, children, a plus one, or what to bring.
• A map and “Add to your calendar”, so nobody gets lost or double-books the night.
• Room for everyone: check the guest limit before you choose, especially for an office party.
• A preview before you pay: open it on your own phone, and send a preview to a friend for a second opinion.
• The price, all in: what you’ll pay for your whole list, not just the first few guests.

Are digital Christmas invitations free?

Many services have free templates, and for a small, casual party they’re often enough. Free usually comes with something attached: ads on the invitation, the service’s name or watermark across it, a cap on how many guests can reply, fewer designs, or no replies at all, so you’re back to counting messages.

Paid services charge in one of three ways, and for a big party the difference adds up:

For a dinner for ten, any of them will do. For an office of 150, a per-guest price can cost several times a single one, so work out the total for your real list before you start making it.

Is it OK to send a Christmas invitation digitally?

Yes, for almost every Christmas party: the office, friends, the neighbours, and most family gatherings. A digital invitation reaches everyone at once, can be changed when plans move, and is far easier for guests to reply to than a card on the fridge.

Two kinds of guest need a little more. Older relatives who don’t use a smartphone deserve a phone call, or a printed copy of the invitation in the post with a family member replying for them. And for a very formal occasion, such as a black-tie company dinner with outside guests, send it by email from the company, with a personal line, rather than in a chat.

How do you send a digital Christmas invitation?

1. Choose the invitation that suits your party and your list (above).
2. Add the details: the party’s name, who’s hosting, the date, start and finish times, the place, the dress code, the food and drinks, any Secret Santa limit, whether children are welcome, and the reply-by date.
3. Preview it on your own phone, then send a preview to one honest friend.
4. Send each guest their own link, by the way they actually talk: WhatsApp for most people and anyone overseas, a text for older relatives, email for colleagues.
5. Check who hasn’t opened it after 3 to 5 days, and follow up in person.
6. Send one reminder about a week before the reply-by date, only to those who haven’t replied.

There’s more on each channel, what to write and how to keep guests’ numbers private in How to send digital invitations.

When should you send digital Christmas invitations?

4 to 6 weeks before the party, and 6 to 8 weeks for a work party or any Friday or Saturday in the first three weeks of December, when calendars fill first. A digital invitation arrives the moment it’s sent, so you don’t need to allow for the post, but people still need the notice.

This year Christmas Day is a Friday. For a party on Friday 11 or Saturday 12 December, send the invitations by mid November. In the US, Thanksgiving is Thursday 26 November, so many hosts send Christmas and holiday party invitations before it; in Australia, work and family parties crowd into late November and the first half of December, before the summer break. Wording for every kind of party is in Christmas party invitation wording.

What do you write with a digital Christmas invitation link?

A line or two of your own, in your own voice: who it’s from, what it’s for, the reply-by date, then the link last. A link on its own looks like spam; a line from you gets opened.

What works best for a work Christmas party?

A work party needs the invitation to do the most: a long list, a venue that wants final numbers, dietary requirements, partners, and a Secret Santa that some people would rather skip. Choose one where:

• Everyone gets their own link and replies there, so you have a true count rather than a thread of thumbs-up emojis.
• The guest limit fits your whole workplace, partners included.
• Dietary requirements are asked with the reply, ready for the caterer.
• Secret Santa is optional, and joined with a tick, so nobody has to say no out loud.
• The name can be yours: “End of Year Party” or “Holiday Party” includes colleagues who don’t celebrate Christmas.

The budget, the venue, the run sheet and the etiquette are in Planning a work Christmas party, and the draw and its rules in How to organise Secret Santa.

Digital Christmas invitations with Wonderful Invites

We make Wonderful Invites, the kind that opens like an envelope. Each guest gets their own link: they tap the seal, the envelope opens, your music begins, the bows and candy canes tumble down, and your invitation arrives, with your party’s own name at the top, a countdown, a map and “Add to your calendar”. No app or account for your guests.

And yes, Secret Santa is built in. Guests tick “Count me in” when they reply, you set the spending limit, and once at least three have joined you draw the names: each person sees only their own match, and you never see who has whom. If someone drops out, we quietly fix the draw. You see who has opened it and every reply, you can remind just the guests who haven’t answered, and if dinner moves to 7:30pm, change it once and everyone sees the latest version on the same link.

It’s free to make and to preview, with a link to send a friend for a second opinion. When it’s ready, you pay once: in Australia, A$68 for up to 299 guests, or A$98 with VIP for up to 1,000; in the US, US$39 or US$67; in the UK, £32 or £52. Send it by WhatsApp, a text from your own phone, an email we send for you, or any chat.

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