Greenvelope keeps the guest list on every invitation private by default, so guests do not see who else is invited unless you deliberately show them. Whether guests see Greenvelope's built-in sharing option, and whether a public link allows registration, are separate choices. This guide walks through the four decisions that shape what a holiday party invitation reveals and how it circulates.
Four Decisions, Not One Privacy Switch
Hosts often treat guest-list privacy as one on-or-off decision. On Greenvelope it is four decisions: three settings plus the choice of how invitations are delivered. None of them is a security system, and the table notes what each one does not establish.
| Decision | What it affects | What it does not establish |
|---|
| Guest list visibility (Show Guest List) | Whether a guest list section appears on the details panel guests see | Who can open the invitation; hiding the list is a display choice, not access control |
| Personalized delivery (individual sends) | Which named guests receive their own invitation link by email or text, with per-guest status for those sends | Verified identity; a guest can still pass their link along manually |
| Public registration link (Share URL) | A URL anyone can use to view the invitation and register | A record of everyone who received the link, or of who has not responded |
| Card sharing and forwarding (Advanced Options) | Whether guests see a built-in option to share or forward their card | Control over screenshots or manual forwarding, which these settings do not prevent |
How to Check Whether Guests Can See the Guest List
The guest-list display setting lives in the event details:
- Click the Details step, then open the Information section.
- Find the Enable Event Details section. This toggle controls whether guests see a details panel at all. It can stay on while the guest list stays hidden: enabling the panel and displaying the guest list are separate actions.
- Review the Show Guest List setting. Leave the box unchecked to keep the guest list hidden. Select it only if you want guests to see the list. Unchecked is the default.
Greenvelope documents the setting in its Hide / Show Guest List help article. For an office party or a client event, the review takes seconds and is worth doing before every send. Guests never need an account to view the invitation either way; how that works is covered in our guide to online invitations without guest accounts.
Named Guest List or Open Registration?
How the invitation reaches people matters as much as what it displays. When the guest list is a specific set of names, such as employees and their plus ones or an invited client roster, send each guest their own invitation by email or text message. Each delivery goes to a contact you chose, each reply is recorded under that guest's name, and you can review each guest's status in the dashboard. That is practical control over distribution, not identity verification: a personalized link is associated with the invited guest or household, but a guest can still forward it like any other message.
A community holiday open house is the opposite case: a public registration link lets you post one URL in a newsletter, a group chat, or a flyer, and anyone who opens it can view the invitation and register by entering identifying details, such as a name. The trade-off is built in: sharing a public registration link does not, by itself, identify everyone who received it or show which of those people has not responded. Choose based on whether you need to know who is missing. The mechanics of sending by each route are in our guide to how to send holiday party invitations online.
The Public Link and Card Sharing Are Different Settings
These two options get confused because both put the invitation in front of people you did not address directly, but they do different jobs. The public registration link is created and shared by you, the host, from the Send step under Share URL. Card sharing and forwarding is a separate option under Details, in the Information section's Advanced Options, and it controls whether guests see a built-in share option at the bottom of the details panel and of the invitation email, as described in Greenvelope's card sharing and forwarding help article.
Leaving card sharing off does not make the invitation unforwardable. Anyone can screenshot a card or forward an email by hand, and none of the settings in this guide prevents that. What the setting controls is whether Greenvelope offers sharing as a feature: usually off for an invitation-only event, on when you would be glad to see the invitation travel.
How to Stop New Registrations Through a Public Link
If a public link traveled further than planned, go to the Send step, open Share URL, and turn off the Enable Sharing toggle. Greenvelope's public sharing help article confirms this disables the link and prevents further registrations. After turning it off, review your guest list so you know exactly who registered while the link was live.
Three Example Setups
These examples are illustrative, not customer stories.
- An employee holiday party. An HR lead invites 120 staff with individual invitations, leaves Show Guest List unchecked, keeps card sharing off, and creates no public link. Replies arrive under each employee's name. For the reply side, see how to collect RSVPs for an office holiday party online.
- An invitation-only client reception. A firm hosts 40 named clients: individual email delivery, guest list hidden, card sharing off, no public link. If a client asks to bring a colleague, the host adds that person to the list and sends a fresh invitation.
- A community holiday open house. A neighborhood association opens the party to everyone nearby. The host posts a public registration link in the newsletter, also enables the built-in card-sharing option, and still leaves Show Guest List unchecked, since public registration does not require displaying the guest list. The registration list shows only the people who chose to register.
Pre-Send Privacy Checklist
- Open Details, then Information, and confirm the Show Guest List checkbox matches your intent.
- Check Advanced Options in the same section and set the card sharing toggle deliberately.
- Open Share URL under Send and check whether a public registration link is already enabled; turn off Enable Sharing if you do not want one.
- If you are using a public link, decide where you intend to post it.
- Send yourself a test invitation and open it as a guest to check the details panel and the sharing options, a step covered in Greenvelope's Send a Test Card guide. If you are using a public link, open that link separately and check what it shows.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Can guests see who else is invited to a holiday party?
On Greenvelope, not by default: the guest list stays private unless the host checks the Show Guest List box under Details, in the Information section, which adds a guest list section to the details panel guests can view. Hosts planning office parties or client events can leave the box unchecked, so the guest list is not displayed in the invitation's details panel.
Does hiding the guest list prevent guests from forwarding the invitation?
No. Hiding the list controls what the details panel displays, while the built-in share and forward option is configured separately under Advanced Options. Even with both switched off, none of these settings prevents a guest from screenshotting the card or forwarding an email by hand, so an invitation-only event still relies on guests honoring the invitation.
What happens when a public registration link is disabled?
Turning off the Enable Sharing option under Send, in the Share URL area, disables the public link and stops new registrations through that public link. After disabling it, review your guest list to see who registered while the link was live.
Once the settings match the party, the invitation is ready to go out. Browse holiday party invitations to find a design that fits your event.