It struck me that Christmas, at its heart, is really like a party, and that idea goes right back to the very first Christmas.

Think about the scene: the shepherds out in the fields, and suddenly the sky bursts open with angels celebrating, proclaiming, announcing the good news of Christ’s birth. It was heaven rejoicing, the greatest celebration the world had ever known. You could say that party has never stopped since. In a way, it’s the longest-running birthday party in history, celebrating the arrival of a very special child.

When I wrote Heaven Invites You to a Party, I wanted it to be a fun, joyful, and invitational song, something that captured that same spirit of celebration. It’s deliberately lively, with a strong sense of welcome running through it.

The song was originally written as part of The Gift; a collection of Christmas songs designed not just for church services, but for creative outreach events. Many groups have performed The Gift as a full presentation, and I love hearing that Heaven Invites You to a Party still gets used in all sorts of places, even in shopping centres and malls, as a musical invitation to discover the real meaning of Christmas.

Because that’s what the song is about: invitation. It’s the call that still goes out today, heaven reaching out to earth, saying, “Come on, you’re invited! This is good news for everyone.”