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 as his attention span can be 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. (Of course, don't forget to use SMS as an alternative form of invitation!)

Get a list of email addresses for all your guests and send a custom-made email invitation, or as I 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. However, remember that not all emails can get to the parents so you make sure that you will follow up with a phone-call.

There are also card-making software from Hallmark or other manufacturers that you can use 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.Y

Your local stationary store may also stock 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. 

The local dollar or discount store may also have discount invitation cars too. 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.