Personalised Cake Toppers
How to Do a Scratch Off Holiday Reveal: The Complete Guide for Ireland
Which card to choose, how many to order, when to hand it over, and when to do something else entirely
By Natali, Printarelle · Handmade in Mallow, Co. Cork · Updated August 2026
Short answer
A scratch off holiday reveal is a personalised card with the destination printed underneath an opaque foil panel. You tell us the place, the dates and the message, we print and foil it by hand in Mallow, Co. Cork, and it arrives sealed. Cards from €8, dispatched in 1 to 2 working days.
In this guide
At a glance
Formats Scratch panel card or foil boarding pass
Designs live 21 across the travel range
Personalise Destination, dates, names, message
Price From €8 per card
Dispatch 1 to 2 working days from Mallow
Order by One week before the reveal
A scratch off holiday reveal turns the announcement into the gift. Instead of saying where you are going, you hand over a card and let them uncover it themselves, which stretches a two second sentence into about thirty seconds of genuine suspense. It is the format Irish families reach for most often when the trip is a birthday, an anniversary or a Christmas surprise.
One thing we learned the hard way in the studio: the scratch panel has to be smaller than people expect. Our first samples had a panel roughly the width of a beer mat, and testers scratched through the destination in one careless swipe. The panels we use now sit at about 30mm across, big enough to feel deliberate and small enough that the reveal happens in one clean go.
How Does a Scratch Off Holiday Reveal Card Work?
The destination, the dates and your message are printed onto the card first. An opaque foil panel is then applied over the part you want hidden, usually the place name. The card arrives sealed, they scratch the panel back with a coin or a fingernail, and the destination appears. The card itself stays as the keepsake from that moment.
You do not assemble anything. Everything is entered in the personalisation fields when you order and the card is finished before it leaves the studio. What you can include:
What goes on the card
- The destination, or a clue phrase if you want a second layer of mystery
- Travel dates, or just the month if the booking is not final
- The recipient's name, spelled exactly as you type it
- A personal message from you
- Extra detail such as the hotel or the number of nights, if you want it in there
Is a Scratch Reveal Right for Your Trip?
Choose a scratch reveal when
- The destination is a complete surprise and they have no idea a trip is coming
- You will be in the room to watch, or on a video call
- There is an audience, a birthday table or a Christmas morning
- You want something they can keep afterwards, not a screenshot
Choose something else when
- They already know where they are going, where a foil boarding pass keepsake celebrates it better than it hides it
- You will not be there for the reveal, since half the value of a scratch panel is the face on the other side of it
- The gift is an event rather than a trip, where a general scratch reveal card fits the wording better
- You need it tomorrow. These are hand finished, so a rush order is the one thing we genuinely cannot promise
How Many Holiday Reveal Cards Should I Order?
The rule we give people on the phone: one card per person who should get their own moment. A couple travelling together can share one card, but two children will absolutely not share, and you will hear about it. Order one spare if the destination spelling is unusual, because a spare is cheaper than a reprint and a missed date.
| Who is being surprised | Cards to order | Design to choose | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| One person | 1 | Scratch to Reveal Destination → | €8 |
| A couple, one shared moment | 1 | Holiday Scratch Card → | €8 |
| A couple, one each | 2 | Paris Boarding Pass → | €16 |
| Family of four | 4 | Legoland Foil Reveal → | €32 |
Prices are indicative and follow the current listings. Check the product page for today's price.
How to Stage the Reveal
Gold foil boarding pass. The scratch panel sits over the city name.
Red holographic. It photographs badly and looks brilliant in the hand.
The cruise version. Silver glitter, star foil, no aeroplane in sight.
Park trips get their own designs, because kids scratch harder.
Scratch Panel, Foil Ticket or Just Telling Them?
| Scratch panel card | Foil boarding pass | Telling them outright | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | From €8 | From €8 | Free |
| Hides the destination | Yes, under foil | No, it is printed openly | No |
| Length of the moment | About 30 seconds | A few seconds | Two seconds |
| Keepsake afterwards | Yes, scratched and kept | Yes, and it stays pristine | Nothing to keep |
| Needs you in the room | Strongly yes | Not really | No |
| Choose this if | The destination is genuinely secret and you will see them open it | They already know about the trip and you want a keepsake that survives the reveal unmarked | Honestly, if the trip is next week and the logistics matter more than the theatre, just tell them |
If you are still deciding on the format itself, the complete guide to custom scratch cards in Ireland covers every use we make them for, not just travel.
Every Holiday Reveal Design
From the studio
The orders that come back to us most often are 70th and 80th birthdays. Not the sun holidays, the family trips, where four or five people are all standing around one kitchen table waiting for one person to scratch.
Know the destination? Pick the card
Every design is printed and foiled by hand in Mallow, Co. Cork, then posted flat so it arrives exactly as it left us.
Shop holiday reveal cards →Questions We Get Asked
Will the surprise show through before they scratch it?
No. The foil panel is opaque and applied over the printed destination, so nothing reads through it under normal light or handling. We also post every card in a rigid envelope so it cannot be creased or partially rubbed in transit. It arrives sealed and unscratched.
What if I have not booked the holiday yet?
That is fine, and it is common. Give us the destination and leave the dates out, or use a month instead of a date. Many customers write a line such as "dates to follow" in the message field. The reveal moment works on the destination alone, so the booking can catch up afterwards.
How long does it take to arrive in Ireland?
We print and hand finish in Mallow, Co. Cork within 1 to 2 working days, then An Post takes 1 to 3 working days across Ireland. Ordering on a Monday or Tuesday gives you the most comfortable margin. For a fixed date, allow a full week end to end.
What happens if I get the spelling of a name or place wrong?
Message us the same day and we will almost always catch it before printing. Once the foil is applied the card cannot be corrected, so we cannot undo a mistake after dispatch. Check the destination spelling and the recipient's name carefully in the personalisation fields before you order.
Where are Printarelle holiday reveal cards made?
Every one is printed, foiled and hand finished in our studio in Mallow, Co. Cork. Nothing is batch produced or drop shipped. If you order two cards for the same trip they are made together in the same run, so the foil and colour match exactly.
Destination not in the list, or a date that worries you? Tell us the place, the number of cards and the day you need it in hand, and we will tell you honestly whether we can make it.
Ask us →Keep reading
Natali, founder of Printarelle
I design, print and hand finish every order from our studio in Mallow, Co. Cork. The panel sizes, the foil behaviour and the timings in this guide come from making holiday reveal cards for Irish families since 2023, and from a fair few samples that did not survive testing.
Give the moment as well as the trip
Personalised holiday reveal cards from €8, handmade in Cork and posted across Ireland.
Shop reveal cards →✦ ✦ ✦
Handmade with love in Mallow, Co. Cork · printarelle.com
