Presents that have nothing to unwrap

More and more presents are not objects: tickets bought online, a booking, a subscription, money sent to an account, something that will be delivered next week. There is nothing to hand over on the day. A scratch card gives the present a moment anyway — the person scratches, and what they have been given appears.

Making the card

1. Start from “Gift” (gold foil window, party design, confetti) or “Tickets” (silver foil, stars, fireworks).
2. Write what the present is as the hidden message — up to 60 characters. Be specific: “Two tickets to Coldplay, 18 January” is better than “a surprise”.
3. Use the small line under it for the detail they will need: the date, the seat block, the booking name.
4. Add your name so they know who it is from.

What to put in the note

The longer note opens after the scratching and holds up to 600 characters. It is where the practical part goes: the booking reference, when to be ready, what to bring, the voucher code, whether the thing can be exchanged. Bear in mind that anyone the link is forwarded to can read it — do not put a card number or a password there.

Making them wait

Give the card a lock date and it can be sent early — with the rest of the birthday messages, or weeks before Christmas — and still open only on the day. Until then it shows a countdown. For a present that is hard to guess, the “Three spots” scratch area adds a little more suspense: three matching symbols first, then the message.

Clues before the answer

Add cards to the link and they are scratched in order. Three clue cards and then the answer turns a booking confirmation into a game:

• “It is loud.”
• “It is in Mumbai.”
• “You have wanted this since college.”
• “We're going to see Coldplay!”

From several people

When a group has paid for something together, put the group's name on the card and list everyone in the note. Each person can also be sent the link afterwards: once it has been scratched, it can be saved as a picture or a short video and shared in the group.