Create a Christmas scratch card

Make it personal

1. Start with the matching design, or use your own photo.
2. Write the surprise. You can add a date, place and calendar event.
3. Create your link and send it by WhatsApp, another app or email. Save your separate private link to read replies, check openings or edit the card.

Create the card in advance and set a time lock for Christmas morning. Choose an expiry date after the celebration; the time lock does not extend it. Keep gift details out of the public preview.

Ideas for your message

• Merry Christmas! There is one more present behind the tree.
• Your Christmas gift: a weekend away together.
• Christmas dinner at ours. Bring yourself and your favourite jumper.

Your photo and message are encrypted in your browser. The decryption key stays in the link fragment. Only share the recipient link with people who should see the card. The link preview is public: keep spoilers out of its image and wording.

Choose an expiry of 7, 30, 90 or 365 days. Once opened, a card expires after at most another 14 days, or earlier if its original expiry arrives first. An opening is a page visit, not proof that someone finished scratching.

Plan your Christmas reveal

For a gift voucher, write exactly what you are giving: a meal together, a weekend away or a code you already own. For a treasure hunt, use the message for the first clue and keep the public link preview free of spoilers.

If you prepare the card weeks ahead, choose a lifetime that reaches beyond Christmas before setting its opening date and time. The time lock does not extend the expiry. Once first opened, the card remains available for at most another 14 days, without extending the original expiry.

Send the recipient link when you are ready. Keep the separate private link to edit the plan or read a thank-you message or photo reply after the gift is revealed.