Birthday Party Invitations

The Birthday Party Invitations

Invitations can be as simple and inexpensive OR as elaborate as your creativity and budget will allow. A handwritten invitation with crayon drawings by your child is a great idea if your child is old enough to contribute. But, keep in mind that a young child will not want to sit at a table and color 10
invitations. His attention span is too short.  However, you CAN have him color one template and then make color copies for the invitations. You probably don’t want to depend on a young child to hand out invitations to friends, and the situation may become awkward, if the child hands out invitations in school, and other classmates are not invited.  In this case, you may want to place a call to each of the parents and invite the child by phone.  If the parent can’t commit at that moment, ask them to RSVP by phone and, if the child can come, ask the parent to write the date on their calendar so they don’t forget. You can get a list of email addresses for all your guests and send a custom-made email invitation, or as we mentioned above, you can take advantage of any one of a number of free e-card sites to design and develop your invitations and send them for free. 

You can buy card-making software from Hallmark or other manufacturers for your computer. This software offers lots of choices of card templates and they are easy to print on a color printer at home. You can create your own ‘themed’ invitations on your computer as well, using a work processing or presentation software. Take a look in your local stationary store for specially designed templates by Avery and other label manufacturers.  These templates allow you to design and print invitations from your computer. You can save money on invitation postage by purchasing plain post cards and post card stamps (these are less expensive) and printing your invitation on a post card.  If you are clever, you can find post cards that match the theme of the party and send THESE as invitations.  You can BUY invitations at your local dollar or discount store, or you can look online for the ‘birthday-in-a-box’ options that often provide everything from invitations to plates and cups, wrapping paper and tablecloths, all to match a certain theme.  Don’t forget to include a map to your home or to the location where you are holding the party.  It is best to get your invitations out to guests a month in advance of the party just to avoid conflict with other dates.  Ask for an RSVP a week to ten days before the party, so you will know how much food you need to buy.  If your party will be off-site, you will need to give the final count to a caterer or service provider (most of these companies require a week’s notice for the final count).