Guide · Wording
Birthday party invitation wording you can copy
The short answer. A birthday party invitation needs whose birthday it is, which birthday if it's a milestone, when and where, a date to reply by, and anything guests should know: a dress code, a surprise, or no gifts. For a birthday weekend with a dinner and a party, give each event its own line and invite each guest only to the ones meant for them.
What should a birthday invitation say?
- Whose birthday, and which one. "Yemi's 60th" says it all.
- Who is hosting. For a parent's milestone this is often the children, and saying so is part of the honour.
- When and where. Day, date, start time and the venue. Give a finish time if it's an evening at a restaurant.
- When to reply by. Two to three weeks before, so you can confirm numbers with the venue.
- Anything they should know. Dress code or colours, whether it's a surprise, gifts or no gifts, and whether partners and children are invited.
30th and 40th birthday wording
Thirty, flirty and ready to party. Come and celebrate Kemi's 30th!
Please join us for drinks, dinner and dancing to celebrate Daniel's 30th birthday.
Forty and fabulous. Join us for an evening of food, music and friends to celebrate Ama's 40th.
Help me say goodbye to my thirties in style. You're invited to my 40th.
Join us for a relaxed dinner with close friends to mark Priya's 40th. No speeches, we promise.
50th, 60th and 70th birthday wording
For the bigger milestones the tone often becomes more formal, and the hosts are often the person's children. Gratitude and blessing are part of many of these celebrations.
Please join us to celebrate fifty wonderful years of Funke. An evening of good food, good music and the people she loves.
Half a century and still the life of the party. Come and celebrate Tunde's 50th!
The children of Mr Olusegun Adeyemi request the pleasure of your company at the celebration of their father's 60th birthday.
With hearts full of gratitude to God, we invite you to celebrate the 70th birthday of our mother, Mrs Grace Mensah.
Seventy years young. Join the family to celebrate Grandad Harbans with lunch, music and lots of stories.
Eighty years of love, laughter and wisdom. Please join us to celebrate Mum's 80th birthday.
Surprise party wording
Make the surprise impossible to miss. Put it in the first line, say it again near the end, and give an arrival time that is earlier than the moment the birthday person walks in.
Shh, it's a surprise! Join us to celebrate Kemi's 40th. Please arrive by 7pm sharp, she arrives at 7.30pm.
We're throwing Dad a surprise 60th! Please don't mention it to him. Arrive by 6.30pm so you're hidden in time.
Keep it quiet: Tobi has no idea. Come and help us surprise him for his 30th. Please reply to Funmi, not to Tobi!
How do you word an invitation for a birthday weekend?
A milestone often runs to more than one gathering: a thanksgiving service, a close dinner, a big party, a brunch the morning after. List each one on its own line, with its own time and place, and only send each guest the events they are invited to.
Join us to celebrate Yemi's 60th: a thanksgiving service on Sunday 9 May at 10am, followed by lunch at the hall.
You're invited to a weekend of celebrating Ama's 40th: dinner on Friday at 8pm, and the party on Saturday from 7pm.
Please join us for the party on Saturday from 7pm, and for a slow brunch on Sunday morning if you can face it.
We would love you to join us for a small family dinner on Friday evening to celebrate Mum's 70th.
Send the dinner invitation only to the dinner guests. A guest who sees an event they weren't asked to has questions you would rather not answer at the party.
Dress code and gift lines
Dress code: all white. Come ready to dance.
Our colours are royal blue and gold. Aso ebi details are on the invitation.
Your company is the only present needed. Please, no gifts.
Instead of gifts, Mum would love a donation to the hospice that cared for Dad. Details are on the invitation.
Bring your favourite memory or photo of Grandad to share on the night.
Adults only, so book the babysitter and enjoy a night off.
The RSVP line
Please let us know if you can come by 20 April.
Kindly reply by 20 April.
Let us know by Friday so we can tell the restaurant how many seats to save.
The WhatsApp message to send with it
Keep the message short and from you, with the guest's own link. The invitation carries the details.
Hi Kemi! You're invited to the birthday celebration for Yemi. Tap to see the invitation and let us know if you can come: ourguestlist.co.uk/i/your-link
Good evening Auntie Bola. We are celebrating Daddy's 60th and it would mean so much to have you with us. Your invitation is here: ourguestlist.co.uk/i/your-link
Hi Tom! It's a surprise, so not a word to Kemi. Everything you need is here, including what time to arrive: ourguestlist.co.uk/i/your-link
Kemionline
TODAY
Hi Kemi! You're invited to the birthday celebration for Yemi. Tap to see the invitation and let us know if you can come: ourguestlist.co.uk/i/kemi
How to do it with Our Guest List
Our Guest List gives every guest their own link, so the dinner guests see the dinner, the party guests see the party, and you get a headcount for each.
- Type whose birthday it is. Open the Celebration step and type it, for example Yemi, and change the line above it in the Invitation step's The writing, for example Celebrating 60 years of.
- Add each event. Under Your running order, add the dinner, the party and anything else, each with its own date, time and venue. The free plan includes 50 guests and two events; a package, from £65 as a one-off payment, covers more guests and every event.
- Choose who goes to what. Add your guests and press Choose their events on each one. Their invitation shows only those events.
- Set a reply date. Fill in Reply by under your running order, so you know who answered in time for the venue.
- Send from your own phone. Press Start sending and each guest's message opens in WhatsApp, or iMessage, ready to send, and guests with an email address can be sent theirs by email. Nothing sends by itself: each invitation reaches only the guest you send it to, and nobody sees who else is invited.
If you share a website for the weekend, you can put a password on it. Guests arriving from their own invitation are never asked for it.
Start free, or see milestone birthday invitations.
Questions people ask
- How far in advance should you send milestone birthday invitations?
- Four to six weeks before the party, and six to eight weeks for a birthday weekend or a celebration guests will travel to. Send a save the date earlier if family are coming from abroad.
- Who should host a 60th or 70th birthday party?
- Often the person's children, and the invitation can say so, for example "The children of Mrs Grace Mensah invite you". A spouse, close friends or the birthday person themselves can host too. Name whoever guests should reply to.
- How do you keep a surprise party a surprise?
- Say it is a surprise at the top of the invitation, send it only to the people you trust, give an arrival time before the birthday person arrives, and name someone other than them to reply to. Avoid group chats the birthday person is in.
- Is it OK to say no gifts on a birthday invitation?
- Yes. Say it once, kindly, near the end: "Your company is the only present needed." If you'd like a charity donation instead, name the charity and keep the wording gentle.
Last updated 29 October 2026