Breakfast with Santa is one of the most popular December events for families, and one of the most organized. Schools, churches, clubs, restaurants and neighborhood groups run them as fundraisers or community mornings, and plenty of parents host a smaller version at home with a friend in a red suit. Either way, the invitation has to handle tickets or headcounts, time slots for photos, food, and a few things only parents need to know, like whether to bring a wrapped gift for Santa to hand out.
This guide covers what to put on a breakfast with Santa invitation, wording for schools and community groups, home parties and restaurants, and video invitation designs you can share with one link. If you'd rather start from a finished design, browse our brunch invitations.
What to Put on a Breakfast With Santa Invitation
- Who is hosting and whether it is a fundraiser, a free community event or a private party.
- Date, start time and length. Most run 90 minutes to two hours on a Saturday morning.
- Where, with parking and the entrance to use. Church halls and school cafeterias often have a side door.
- The menu: pancakes, waffles, eggs, fruit, juice and coffee. Mention gluten-free or allergy-friendly options if you have them.
- Cost and tickets: price per child and per adult, family price, and whether children under a certain age eat free.
- Photos with Santa: whether you will take photos, whether families can use their own phones, and if there are time slots.
- Activities: crafts, letters to Santa, cookie decorating, storytime.
- Gifts: whether Santa hands out a small gift and whether parents should bring a labeled, wrapped present instead.
- RSVP or ticket deadline, so the kitchen knows how many to cook for.
Breakfast With Santa Invitation Wording
For a school or PTA
Breakfast with Santa
Lincoln Elementary PTA invites families to pancakes, crafts and a visit from Santa.
Saturday, December 5 · 8:30 to 10:30 am · School cafeteria
$8 per child, $10 per adult, kids under 3 free. All proceeds go to the library fund.
Bring your camera for photos with Santa. Please reply by November 30 with how many are coming.
For a church or community group
Pancakes with Santa at Grace Community Church
Saturday, December 12, 9 am to 11 am in the fellowship hall.
Breakfast, a coloring table, letters to the North Pole and photos with Santa.
Free for all families; donations to the food pantry welcome.
RSVP so we can make enough pancakes.
For a party at home
Guess who’s coming to breakfast?
Santa is making a special stop at the Nguyen house before he heads back to the North Pole.
Sunday, December 13 · 9:30 am · Pancakes, hot cocoa and a visit from the big guy.
Please bring one small wrapped gift (under $15) labeled with your child’s name for Santa to hand out.
RSVP by December 6.
PJs, pancakes and Santa!
Come in your pajamas for breakfast with Santa at Emma’s house.
Saturday, December 19, 9 to 11 am. Kids, parents and grandparents welcome.
Let us know how many are coming and any food allergies.
Planning a pajama party around it? Our Christmas pajama party invitations guide has more wording.
For a restaurant, café or club
Brunch with Santa at The Oak Room
Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13 · Seatings at 9 am and 11 am
Buffet brunch, a visit to every table and a photo spot by the tree.
$32 per adult, $18 per child (ages 3–12). Reservations required.
Short text versions
- “Breakfast with Santa Sat Dec 5, 8:30 am, school cafeteria! $8 kids, $10 adults. Reply with your number 🎅”
- “Santa’s coming to our place for pancakes, Sun 9:30! Bring a small wrapped gift with your kid’s name on it.”
- “PJ pancake breakfast with Santa, Sat 9 am. Who’s in?”
Fun lines for the top of the invitation
- “Santa needs fuel for the big night. Help him eat pancakes.”
- “Syrup, sprinkles and a very important visitor.”
- “Come hungry. Come nice, not naughty.”
- “Santa’s favorite meal? Breakfast with you.”
Photo Time Slots and Headcounts
The line for Santa is where a breakfast goes wrong. With more than about 15 families, offer photo time slots so people are not standing in line with sticky toddlers. On the invitation, write “Photo slots every 10 minutes from 9 to 10:30; we’ll send yours after you RSVP,” then message each family their slot. Ask for the number of children and adults in the RSVP so you can plan food and seats.
For a home party, a single photo spot by the tree is enough. Ask one parent to be the photographer so the host can keep cooking.
How to Word the Gift Note
If Santa hands out presents, parents need clear instructions. Use one of these lines:
- “Please bring one wrapped gift, under $15, with your child’s name on a large tag. Drop it at the front table when you arrive.”
- “Santa will have a small treat for every child; no need to bring anything.”
- “Instead of gifts, we’re collecting new toys for the children’s hospital. Bring one if you can.”
Activities While Kids Wait
- Letters to Santa: a table with paper, crayons and a red mailbox.
- Cookie or ornament decorating: one simple craft per child.
- Storytime: a volunteer reading a Christmas picture book in a corner.
- Reindeer food: oats and sprinkles in small bags for the kids to take home.
For a bigger family party, our kids Christmas party invitations guide has more activity ideas, and our Christmas brunch invitations guide covers a grown-up version of the morning.
Volunteers and the Santa Visit
A community breakfast needs more hands than people expect: pancake flippers, a ticket table, someone running the craft corner and an elf to keep the photo line moving. Send a separate volunteer invitation two weeks before the event with shifts and arrival times, and ask each volunteer to reply so you can see who is covering what. Book your Santa early, since December weekends go fast, and tell him the arrival time, the entrance to use and how long he will stay. For a home party, agree on a signal for Santa’s entrance, such as sleigh bells from the hallway, so the kids are all in one room when he walks in.
When to Send the Invitations
For a school, church or club event, announce it four to six weeks ahead, especially if tickets are limited. For a home party, two to three weeks is enough. Set the RSVP or ticket deadline a week before so you can buy food, and send a reminder two days ahead with the time, the parking information and the gift note.
Send It as a Video Invitation
With TwistInvite, you create the invitation in the app. Choose a design, replace the sample text with your event details and upload a photo of last year’s breakfast. You can import a holiday song or hold to record a short voice message, for example a “Ho ho ho, see you Saturday!” from your Santa.
Share one link in the school newsletter, the class group chat, by WhatsApp or by text. Families open it in their browser and answer Going, Can’t make it or Maybe, with no app and no account. You can ask for their email and how many people are coming, which gives the kitchen its number. Open the Christmas designs in TwistInvite, or see more on our holiday party invitations page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you write on a breakfast with Santa invitation?
Who is hosting, the date, start time and length, the place and parking, the menu, the price or that it is free, photo plans, activities, the gift note and the RSVP or ticket deadline.
How long is a breakfast with Santa event?
Usually 90 minutes to two hours on a weekend morning, with photos with Santa during the second half once families have eaten.
How much should breakfast with Santa tickets cost?
Community fundraisers often charge a few dollars per child and a little more per adult, with a family price and free entry for toddlers. Set prices to cover food and leave room for your cause.
Should parents bring a gift for Santa to give?
Only if your invitation asks for it. If Santa hands out presents, ask for one small, wrapped, labeled gift per child at a set price, or say that Santa will bring a small treat for everyone.
Can families RSVP without downloading an app?
Yes. Guests open the TwistInvite link in their browser and answer Going, Can’t make it or Maybe, without an account. Only the host uses the app to create the invitation.
Create it in the TwistInvite app
Download free on iPhone or Android, then share one link with your guests.