Wording guide · Christmas
Christmas party invitation wording you can copy
The design gets people excited; the wording gets them through the door. Here are invitation wordings for every kind of Christmas do, from a black tie dinner to a jumper party in the front room, with the details people forget (the reply date, plus-ones, the dress code) already in place.
Copy one, change the names and the date, and paste it onto one of our printable Christmas invitations. It takes minutes in your browser, and you can download a PDF to print or an image to send on WhatsApp straight away.
What every Christmas party invitation needs
Whatever the party, guests need the same few things, in roughly this order. Leave one out and you’ll be answering the same question in the group chat all December.
- Who’s hosting: “Sam and Priya”, “the Harrogate office” or “Class 3’s parents”, so nobody wonders whose party it is.
- What it is: Christmas drinks, a jumper party, a festive dinner. The type of party tells guests what to expect before they read another word.
- When: the day, date and start time, and a finish time if it matters (a babysitter, the last train, a venue that shuts at 11). Write the day out, “Saturday 12 December”, so nobody turns up on the wrong Saturday.
- Where: the full address with the postcode for sat navs, plus parking or the nearest station if it isn’t obvious.
- The dress code, if there is one: black tie, Christmas jumpers, “festive sparkle” or “come as you are”. If it’s fancy dress, say so loudly.
- How and when to reply: “RSVP to Jo by Friday 27 November” works far better than “RSVP” on its own, because it gives people a name and a deadline.
- Anything that saves a question: plus-ones or not, children welcome or adults only, food provided or bring a bottle, and a nudge to mention dietary needs when they reply.
Christmas drinks and black tie party wording
A drinks party invitation can be short: let the design do the talking. A formal party borrows the style of a wedding invitation, with the hosts’ names first, “request the pleasure of your company”, and “carriages at” for the finishing time.
Join us for Christmas cocktails
Saturday 12 December 2026, 7.30pm until late
Flat 4, 18 Clarendon Road, Leeds
Festive sparkle encouraged
RSVP to Hannah by Friday 4 December
Mr and Mrs Oliver Hartley
request the pleasure of your company
at their Christmas party
on Saturday 19 December 2026 at seven o’clock
The Old Rectory, Church Lane, Ludlow
Black tie · Carriages at midnight
RSVP by Monday 30 November
Christmas jumper and house party wording
A house party invitation should sound like you. Say what to wear and what to bring, and keep everything else light.
Dig out the jumper!
You’re invited to our Christmas jumper party
Friday 18 December 2026 from 8pm
27 Moor Lane, Ilkley
Prize for the most ridiculous knit · Bring a bottle
Let Ben know you’re coming by Sunday 6 December
It’s beginning to look a lot like a party
Mince pies, mulled wine and far too many crisps
Saturday 19 December 2026, 7pm onwards
Jess and Tom’s, 9 Beech Grove, Bristol
Plus-ones very welcome · RSVP by Wednesday 9 December
Office and work Christmas party wording
A work invitation has more to answer: who’s paying, whether partners are invited and when it finishes. Say it on the invitation and nobody has to ask. Put the reply date where it can’t be missed, because the venue and the caterers will want numbers and dietary needs well before the night.
For clients, lead with thanks for the year. It’s a thank-you as much as a party.
You’re invited to the Fernley & Co Christmas party
Thursday 10 December 2026, 6.30pm until midnight
The Glasshouse, 12 Quay Street, Manchester
Three-course dinner, drinks and a DJ, all on us
Partners welcome · Dress: Christmas smart
Reply to Alex by Friday 20 November with any dietary needs
With thanks for a wonderful year
Harper Lane Architects invite you to Christmas drinks
Wednesday 9 December 2026, 5.30 to 8pm
Our studio, 3 Mill Yard, Sheffield
Kindly reply by Monday 30 November
Christmas dinner and Friendsmas wording
If guests are bringing food, say exactly what you need and ask them to tell you what they’re bringing when they reply, or you’ll end up with four trifles. Hosting the whole meal? Our matching menus and place cards make the table look planned.
Friendsmas is on!
Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, and all of you
Sunday 13 December 2026 at 2pm
14 Albert Street, Cambridge
We’ll do the turkey. You bring a side, a pud or a bottle.
Tell Maya what you’re bringing by Friday 4 December
Christmas Day at Nan and Grandad’s
Friday 25 December 2026, from 12 noon
Dinner at 2pm sharp (Grandad’s orders)
Bring your appetite and your best paper hat
Let Nan know about any dietary needs by Friday 11 December
Children’s Christmas party wording
Write a children’s invitation for the grown-ups who read it: the child’s name big, then the practical bits, including the pick-up time and anything to wear or bring. A hint that Santa might visit does the rest.
Ho ho ho!
Isla is having a Christmas party
Saturday 5 December 2026, 2 to 4pm
St Mark’s Church Hall, Grove Road, Harrogate
Christmas jumpers on: Santa might just pop in!
Pick-up at 4pm · Please tell Claire about any allergies
RSVP to Claire by Friday 27 November: 07700 900456
Calling all elves!
Class 2’s Christmas pyjama party
Friday 18 December 2026, 1.30 to 3pm in the school hall
Come in your PJs and bring a plate of party food to share
Please return the slip by Friday 11 December
Open house and Boxing Day wording
A drop-in party needs a window of time, not a start time, and a line that tells people they can come and go. For Boxing Day, sell the leftovers and the walk.
Mince pies and mulled wine
Our door’s open for the neighbours this Christmas
Sunday 20 December 2026, 3 to 6pm
Number 22, Hawthorn Close
Drop in whenever suits, stay as long as you like
Children and dogs very welcome
Leftovers and a long walk
Boxing Day lunch at ours
Saturday 26 December 2026, from 12.30pm
The Barn, Lower Farm, Little Haldon
Wellies for the walk, a game for afterwards
Let us know by Friday 18 December
Short and funny lines for the top
A good first line sets the tone before anyone reads the date. Use one as the headline, then the details underneath. Running a Secret Santa? Put the rules on the invitation, so nobody turns up with a £50 present or nothing at all.
- “Tinsel on, laptops off.” (A work night out.)
- “Eat, drink and be merry. Mostly drink.”
- “Our elves have been busy: you’re invited.”
- “Jingle all the way… to ours.”
- “Mulled wine is on. Christmas jumpers are compulsory.”
- “Dress code: festive. Interpret freely.”
- “Secret Santa: £10 limit, wrapped and labelled, under the tree by 8pm.”
- “Secret Santa names are drawn on Monday. No swaps, no peeking.”
When to send them, and chasing replies
Send Christmas party invitations three to four weeks ahead. December weekends fill up fast, so for a Saturday in mid-December, aim for mid-November. A save the date now gets you into diaries before the office party lands on the same night.
Work and school parties need the longest notice: send them in early November, and set the reply date a week before the venue needs numbers, so there’s time to chase.
Chasing is normal. A friendly message a few days after the reply date (“Just checking we’ve got you down for the 12th!”) does the job. If you sent the invitation on WhatsApp, reply in the same chat so the details are right there.
Print it, or send it on WhatsApp
Every Papercrumb invitation downloads both ways. For the post, the book bag or the office pigeonholes, print the PDF at 100% on card, or print the A4 sheet with crop marks, two invitations to a page, and trim. For the group chat, download the image and share it straight to WhatsApp, Messages or email from your phone.
Most hosts do both: a printed card for the grandparents and the fridge, the image for everyone else. Either way you pay once: your first design is free, then 99p each. Or take Unlimited at £5 a month and make the invitation, the menu and the place cards in one matching set.
Your first design is on us
Pick a design, paste in your wording and download it ready to print or send. Your first design is free, then 99p each, or every design for £5 a month with Unlimited.
Questions
- How far in advance should you send Christmas party invitations?
- Three to four weeks ahead is usual. For a Saturday in mid-December, send them by mid-November, and send work or school party invitations in early November, because venues and caterers want final numbers well before the night.
- What do you write on a work Christmas party invitation?
- The company or team that’s hosting, the date with start and finish times, the venue’s full address, what’s included (dinner, drinks, a DJ), whether partners are invited, the dress code, and who to reply to by when, with any dietary needs.
- How do you politely ask guests to bring something?
- “Bring a bottle” is fine for a house party. For a dinner, be specific and friendly, such as “We’ll do the turkey; please bring a side, a pudding or a bottle”, and ask guests to say what they’re bringing when they reply.
- Should a Christmas invitation say whether plus-ones and children are invited?
- Yes. Write “plus-ones welcome” or name everyone invited, and say “children welcome” or “adults only” plainly. It saves an awkward conversation later.
- Can I send a Christmas party invitation on WhatsApp?
- Yes. Download your Papercrumb design as an image and share it to WhatsApp, Messages or email from your phone, and print the PDF for anyone who’d like a card. Your first design is free, then 99p each, or every design for £5 a month with Unlimited.
Last checked 2 November 2026.