You can't be there to light the candles, but you can decide exactly what happens when their birthday starts. Seal a gift so it opens at their midnight, put a photo of the two of you inside, and let them blow out the candles on their own phone. Then call.
Everything happens on their phone: the countdown, the moment it opens, your photo and your words. You only decide when.
Free to create, send and open · no signup · no app · no watermark · the link keeps working · photos and voice messages kept 30 days · Updated
Try the demo: tap or swipe the candles, or choose ‘Blow for real’ to use the microphone.
Write your own birthday surprise →Candles at midnight
They blow out the candles the minute their birthday starts.
A lantern with their name
They light it and watch it rise into the sky.
A music box
They wind it, the lid opens and a melody plays.
Only they can open it
Add a question about the two of you under Other options; it comes first.
Pick the reveal and write your birthday message; add a photo of the two of you.
Under Other options, seal it until midnight in their time zone, or add a question only they would know.
Send the link early. It shows a countdown, then opens on the minute you chose.
Two or three days before: make the gift, add the photo, and seal it until their midnight (convert it to your own time when you set it). Send the link that evening. They'll see the occasion and a countdown, which is half the fun.
On the night: stay up, or set an alarm. When the countdown ends the gift opens on their phone. Call right after, while they're still holding it. If you want the whole week to feel like a countdown, use the calendar option for one short line a day.
A photo they haven't seen in a while, a line about a specific day together, and a plan: the date you'll next be in the same room. Keep the message short enough to read on a lock screen; the photo does the rest.
Record a short voice message in the maker: hearing you say happy birthday at midnight lands harder than any text. Add the song that is yours, if you have one. Nothing physical is delivered, so if you're also sending a present, let this be the reveal and tell them the real one is on its way.
Make the gift a few days early, seal it until their midnight so it opens the moment their birthday starts, and send the link ahead of time so the countdown builds. Put a photo only the two of you would recognise inside, then call or video-chat right after it opens.
Yes, with one step on your side: the unlock time uses your own clock, so convert their midnight to your time before you set it. Until then the link shows the occasion and a countdown; after that it opens the gift.
Yes. Record a voice message of up to 60 seconds right in the maker, and paste a link to your song from Spotify, YouTube or Apple Music; they get a play button under your card. Video isn't supported. Voice messages, like photos, are kept for 30 days.
Yes. Turn on the countdown calendar under Other options and write 7 to 31 short lines, one per day. Each door unlocks on its own date and the last one opens on the birthday.
Free to make, send and open, with no signup and no app. They open the link in any phone browser, straight from WhatsApp, iMessage, Instagram or any chat.
The gift and its link stay until the sender deletes it; photos and voice messages are deleted 30 days after creation, and the gift then opens without them. Opening or replaying it never uses it up. If the gift has a photo, the recipient can save the photo from the opened card.
Same photo and words, a different thing for them to open.
Free, no signup. Add a photo and your words, and send the link.
Plan the surpriseOpen a Gift is a free website for sending a virtual gift by link: a message, an optional photo and voice message inside an interactive reveal (15 reveals, 14 card designs) that the recipient opens in their browser. It is free to create, send and open. There is no signup and no app for either side, and no watermark on the gift. Gifts are private: only people with the link can open one. The link keeps working until the sender deletes the gift; photos and voice messages are stored for 30 days, then deleted. It opens in any phone or desktop browser, straight from WhatsApp, iMessage, email or any chat.