Birthday invitation maker

The editor opens with a birthday template loaded, and the gallery has more to switch between. Every element is editable.

Kids' parties look best with bright colors, a big age number and playful stickers: balloons, stars, hearts and labels, all recolorable. Try a confetti, dots or stars pattern behind the text, and set the child's name as curved text over the top of a round photo.

Adult birthdays and milestones (30th, 40th, 50th and beyond) usually call for a calmer palette, an elegant script font for the name and a gradient that reads as gold or rose. A black-and-white or vintage filter on an old photo makes a fun then and now invitation.

Drop in a JPG, PNG or HEIC photo straight from your iPhone and place it in a circle, heart, star or arch frame, or give it a polaroid border.

Write the day of the week next to the date; it prevents mix-ups. For a drop-off kids' party, include an end time so parents know when to come back. For a surprise party, say it clearly, and give an arrival time that is earlier than the guest of honor's.

For kids

• Join us for a dino-mite party! Leo is turning 5.
• Ava is 7 and the party's in the pool. Come splash with us!
• Grab your cape: it's Max's superhero birthday.

For adults

• Forty and fabulous. Celebrate with Rachel.
• Cheers to 30 years! Drinks and dinner for Daniel.
• Fifty years young: a backyard barbecue for Tom.

Surprise parties

• Shh... it's a surprise! Help us celebrate Linda's 60th.
• Please arrive by 6:30 PM sharp. The guest of honor arrives at 7.

Keep the main line short and let the details do the rest.

You can switch between sizes without redoing anything; the layout adapts automatically. Print sizes include a 3 mm (about 1/8 in) bleed, with the trim line and safe zone shown in the editor. Download the PDF for a print shop or for home printing on card stock, then trim along the crop marks. For a digital invite, download a JPG in the story size and send it to your group chat.

• No end time. Parents of young guests need to know when pickup is.
• A date without the day of the week, or a day that does not match the date. Check it against a calendar.
• No RSVP contact or deadline. Give one name, one number and one date.
• An incomplete address. Add the apartment number, gate code, or park at the back if guests will need it.
• Text too small for a phone. If you send the invite by text, zoom out in the editor to roughly phone size and check that the date and address are still easy to read.
• Text over the busiest part of a photo. Move it, or add a highlight background or shadow behind it.
• A typo in the birthday person's name. Read it twice, especially with fancy script fonts, where some letters look alike.

• Send kids' party invitations two to three weeks ahead, and adult or milestone invitations three to four weeks ahead.
• Set the RSVP date about a week before the party, so you can plan food and favors.
• Make matching thank-you cards from the same design: change the text, keep the colors.
• Reuse the design as a sign. Switch the size to Letter or 18 × 24 in for a welcome poster at the door.

Your photos and party details never leave your device; everything is created in the browser. For other events, start from the invitation maker.