Holiday party invitations
The most crowded month in the calendar, which makes the invitation genuinely competitive.
$65
Your details set by hand, usually back the same day. $145 to rebuild it in your own colours.
A December invitation is competing for a date against every other invitation your guests receive that month. That is a real problem and it is why holiday invitations should go out earlier than any other kind. The first weekend in December is spoken for by the second week of November.
Design-wise, the challenge is escaping the defaults. Red and green with snowflakes is what everybody has, and it is what a template gives you. The holiday parties that look best use a single deep colour, forest, oxblood, midnight blue, with warm metallic type, and skip the seasonal iconography entirely. It still reads as December without looking like wrapping paper.
Multi-faith and multi-tradition guest lists are normal now, and it is worth thinking about whether the party is a Christmas party or a holiday party, because the invitation should be honest about which. Guests notice.
What changes for this one
One deep colour and warm metallic type outperforms red-and-green every time. Dress code matters in December more than any other month, because guests genuinely do not know whether to dress up.
When to send
Four to six weeks and earlier than any other occasion. Send by the first week of November for an early-December party or the date will already be taken.
Colours that work
Forest, oxblood, midnight or charcoal, with brass or warm gold type. Deep rather than bright.
Questions people ask about holiday party invitations
How early do December invitations need to go out?
By the first week of November for anything in early December. It feels absurdly early and it is the single biggest factor in your attendance, because your guests' calendars fill in a matter of days once the season starts.
Christmas party or holiday party?
Decide deliberately and let the invitation say it plainly. If it is a Christmas party, call it one. If the guest list is mixed and you would rather it be inclusive, "holiday" is not a compromise, it is just accurate. What reads badly is a card covered in Christmas imagery that calls itself a holiday party.
Do you design New Year's Eve invitations too?
Yes, and they get a different treatment. New Year invitations can carry more shine and more contrast than a Christmas party, and the end time matters as much as the start time.
6,600
US searches a month for holiday party invitations, measured rather than guessed. Nearly every page here targets a term almost nobody is defending properly.
- christmas party invitation — 6,600/mo
- holiday party invitation — 1,900/mo
- new years party invitation — 1,600/mo
How to have this made
Digital and paperless invitations
Designed to be texted, emailed or posted. Not an Evite template.
From $225
Custom invitation design
Designed from nothing for one event. No template underneath.
From $285
Day-of event paper
Menus, place cards, table numbers, programs and signage.
From $95
Start with a First Look
$45 for one finished concept designed for your event, back in three days. It comes off whatever you book, and if you do not love it you keep the file and owe nothing.