For a 21st birthday

Twenty-one years gives you plenty for the speech.

Family and friends each record a story about them, from the aunts at home to the college gang. Whoever's giving the speech can pick from the lot, and the birthday person keeps every voice in a book.

Start collecting, free See it working

Gathering is free. You won't need a card.

Hear it
Their voice plays from the page.
Read it
Every message is written out on its page.
Hold it
We deliver the printed book to your door.

The world gets better when people hear the good things we say about them.

We are enabling over 1 million people to say it. Share the stories, love and gratitude. Your voice is what makes the world's greatest gift.

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Watch it

Here's how Saoirse's 21st birthday book was made.

9:41
An older woman and two young women at a table covered in old photos
How it works

Bring everyone's stories together with one link!

Start the book

Tell us who it's for

Put in their name, then send the link to the family and to one friend from college to pass on.

Share one link

Everyone adds their story

Friends and family can capture a memory by voice, video, writing or photos, wherever they are in the world. It's easy on any phone and nobody needs an account!

We put it together

Hear it, read it, hold it

We write out every voice note and gather it all into a podcast you can play and a beautiful book you can hold.

The three questions for a 21st

  1. What's a story about them that should be in the speech?
  2. What do you remember about them growing up?
  3. What would you like to say to them for their 21st?
Who's in a 21st book

The aunts remember the bits the birthday person has forgotten!

An Irish 21st means a party, a cake, a speech from Mam or Dad and sometimes a key.

1

Working on the speech

You can play each message as it arrives and download every one free. Read through them a week before and mark the two you'll tell.

2

College and work friends

Their friends' stories come from the years the family only heard about.

3

On the night

Put the podcast link on after the speech, and give them the book at the end of the night.

What people say

What people say in a 21st birthday book

Tell the story you'd tell if you got the mic at the party.

"Saoirse, it's Mam. You came three weeks early in the middle of a snowstorm, and your dad got the car stuck at the end of the road. Happy twenty-first, pet."
SSorchaher mam
"Saoirse, it's Cillian. Thanks for driving me to every Junior Cert exam when Mam was working. Have a great night."
CCillianher brother
"Saoirse, it's Ailbhe. I still think about the summer in Boston when the air con broke and we slept on the roof. Can't wait for Saturday!"
AAilbheher friend from the J1 in Boston
"Saoirse, it's Grandad. I hear you're getting a key this year. Your mother got a key to the same back door when she was twenty-one. Happy birthday."
DDiarmuidher grandad
When to start

Close it three weeks before the party

The printed book takes about three weeks to arrive. If the party's sooner, the podcast link and the book online are ready the day you order.

In their words
A Christmas gift
We gave a book of stories about Mam to her for Christmas and she said it was the best gift she had received. There were some stories she had never heard! She felt really surrounded by love.
K
Kathleen's family
gave her the book at Christmas
What it costs

Gathering the voices is free. You only pay when the book is ready.

The gathering
Free
Send one link and collect the voices.
  • Every voice and every photo
  • Download every recording
  • Start as many books as you like
Start free
The voices
$45
Voice editing, and a personal podcast link.
  • Each recording tidied as it comes in
  • The original kept exactly as it was made
  • One link that plays every voice straight through
Choose the voices
The book
$99
Everything in the voices, plus the finished book to read online.
  • The finished book laid out to read online
  • Every message playable from its page
  • Every message written out beside its voice
Choose the book
The keepsake
$115
The book, printed and posted to you.
  • One printed hardcover copy
  • Posted to you
  • Everything in the book option
Choose the keepsake

Want to write your own questions? Start a blank book

Questions people ask

What do you say in a 21st birthday speech?

Thank everyone for coming, tell one or two stories about the birthday person, and finish with what you hope for them in the next few years.

What is a good 21st gift from parents?

A watch or a piece of jewellery, with a book of messages from family and friends to go with it.

How do I collect messages for a 21st without them finding out?

Keep the link out of any group the birthday person is in. They see nothing until you hand it over.

Can friends on a J1 or living abroad record?

Yes. The link works from anywhere in the world, at whatever time suits them.

Can everyone chip in?

Yes, if you turn chip-in on. Everyone who records can put money towards the book and saves their card. Their cards are charged when you go to pay, and it comes off what you pay. If you don’t finish paying, their money goes back within a week.

More books like this

An 18th birthday A 30th birthday A graduation A surprise party Group card with voices Big birthdays

Whose 21st is it?

Start the book now and invite people whenever you're ready.

Start collecting, free
Start collecting, free