A milestone birthday envelope with a photo from every decade.
Forty, fifty, sixty. Mark it properly. Write the letter, add the photos, and a film if there’s one to send, so they can hear you say it. Pay once and send the link. They open it on their screen, like the real thing.
Big birthday envelope: what goes inside
A letter
What they were like at twenty, and what they’re like now. The better bits of both.
Dear Dev, Fifty. You still dance like nobody told you.
A postcard
A photo from every decade, a postcard each, in order.
1996. The car you loved more than us.
A film
The friends from school, the colleagues, the kids: a minute each, the stories they’d tell in the pub.
4:15 · Fifty years, told by the people who were there
How it works
Fill the envelope with a letter, postcards and a film — any mix, up to ten pieces, and one price for the whole envelope by what's inside. Pay once, by card. Send the link now, or keep it sealed until the day: no app to install, it opens on any phone, and it's kept for good.
Big birthday envelope questions
How do I collect everyone’s messages?
One person makes the envelope. Ask everyone for a short clip and join them into one film (most phones have an editor built in), and fold their written lines into the letter.
Can it open at the party?
Set it to open when the cake comes out and send the link beforehand. Everyone with the link sees the same countdown.
How much does it cost?
$1.29 for letters and postcards, $5 with a film. One price for the whole envelope, up to ten pieces, paid once by card through Stripe. No subscription.
Do they need an app?
No. One link, opened in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer. They tap the seal and the envelope opens.
When should I send it?
Whenever you like. Send the link straight away, or send it now and set the day and time it opens — until then they’ll see the sealed envelope and a countdown.
Can I change it after I’ve paid?
Until they open it, yes. Sign in with the email you paid with and change what’s inside; the link stays the same. You can’t add anything that costs more than you paid, and once they’ve opened it, it stays as it is.
How long does it last?
For good. They can open it as many times as they like. A film is kept for a year after it’s first opened, and they can save their own copy.
More like this
- Birthday — Better than a card in the post, and it can hold a film.
- Kid’s birthday — A birthday envelope they can open again and again.
- 18th or 21st — The big one. Loud envelope, honest letter.
- Graduation — They did it. Tell them what you saw along the way.
- Passed the test — Exams, the driving test, the bar. Congratulations that land on the day.
Say it properly.
Five minutes to write. One payment. One link they’ll open more than once.