Digital Invitation: When to Send It for Halloween

It's the 23rd, the pumpkin on the step has already met a slug, and you've agreed to a Halloween party at your house on the 31st, 5pm to 7pm. Now you're working out when to send Halloween invitations for a 31st afternoon party, and you'd rather not type the same message eleven times. You don't have to: a digital invitation from the catalogue can be built and sent tonight. Pick a design, add your own words and photos, test it free, then publish the link.

The short answer is 20 October. Eleven days before the doorbell gives parents room to move a Saturday around, and gives you a week and a half of replies. Below is the version I'd use: what goes in the invitation, what the costume line should say, and how to get a straight answer on the 7pm pickup.

When to send Halloween invitations for a 31st afternoon party

Work backwards from the doorbell, not forwards from today. A 5pm start on the 31st lands in the middle of a Saturday, and Saturday afternoons fill up with swimming lessons and other children's birthdays. Send the link on 20 October and you have eleven days to collect yeses, count cups and buy juice for the number of children who actually replied, not the number you guessed.

• Send date: 20 October, eleven days before the 31st.
• Times written in full: 5pm start, 7pm pickup, never 'in the afternoon'.
• A message you can paste: 'Halloween tea at ours, 31 October, 5pm to 7pm, come dressed up. Link here.'
• Reply deadline on the invitation: 29 October, two days before the party.

Costume code and the 7pm pickup: two lines that end the questions

Nearly every message you'd get back is about one of two things: what to wear and when to collect. Put both on the invitation itself, in plain words. 'Come dressed up - funny-spooky, no fake blood, no masks that scare the little ones' tells a parent more than a paragraph of description, and it tells them whether they need to sew anything before Saturday.

Then name the hour. 'In the afternoon' means five different things to five parents, and the one with two children and a single car will read 7pm twice and be glad of it. Write the pickup where people look first: 'Pickup at 7pm, front door, first floor on the left.' If you want to know about allergies or who is collecting whom, say so in the invitation text and ask people to reply with it, or write your own question in the RSVP form. That's how digital invitations keep answers in one list instead of in six chat threads.

Send the link on 20 October, name the pickup hour, and the invitation answers the questions you'd otherwise answer twelve times.

Three sends, no chasing

First send on 20 October, to everyone, with the 5pm start and the 7pm pickup readable without scrolling. Second on 26 October, only to the people who haven't replied: same link, one line, no apology. Third on 29 October, when you close the list and count cups, juice and chairs. And if pickup moves to 7.30pm on the 28th, edit the invitation and the link stays the same. No re-sending, no re-printing, nobody arriving at the wrong hour.

How to create a digital invitation for a Halloween tea

Start with a design from the collection and test it free, so you see the cover before you pay anything. Then fill in the fields one at a time - label, name, date, time, place - with a character counter and a live preview, so 'pickup at 7pm' doesn't get cut in half on a phone screen. Add up to six of your own photos: the carved pumpkin on the step, the table with candles. Choose the cover, add music if you want it, and write the RSVP questions you actually care about. Publish with one button and the confirmations arrive in a list inside the invitation. One payment of 29,99 EUR, no subscription, and no app for your guests to install.

Your list is short, the pumpkin is already past its best, and the 31st is coming anyway. Set the send date for 20 October, keep the costume line to one sentence, put 7pm on the invitation and let the link do the rest. When you're ready, choose the design and publish it today.