Party time is coming up and you need to shout it out as it’s only a legit party when you have guests over, so never EVER overlook the importance of the seemingly humble party invitation!
The most common way is to send invitation cards to inform the guests about the upcoming party. However, here are some interesting suggestions for creative invitations for your child’s birthday party!
make your own card
There’s nothing better than something especially personalized, so why not make your own party invitation card? It would also be a fun bonding process instead of using generic store-bought birthday invitation cards, which lack that special touch! More importantly, this also creates a perfect avenue for an important family bond!
There are basically two ways to go about this fun process: use your computer with fun, easy-to-use design software or the more traditional method involving your usual scissors, markers, colored paper, and glue.
Once you’ve decided which approach to choose, hook your child in to start the creative process! Ask them vital questions that make them feel important because they are doing what adults do: making important decisions! Also, this is for their important birthday party that happens once a year and they are the star!
Some questions to ask your child during this creative family bonding process might include:
– Do you have a special theme in mind for the party?
It could be translated into the card design, for example, a fairy princess theme for girls or an action superhero for boys.
– What is the main color theme you want for your birthday card invitations?
If they want to incorporate their favorite color, say orange, you can add complementary colors to your card, like pops of yellow and white, to liven things up.
Once you’ve designed the cover, you’re almost halfway there! If you’ve opted to go the more traditional way of putting it together with clippings, drawings, or origami pasted on the front, be sure to scan a high-resolution copy to print later for the actual cards; You don’t have to replicate this for each and every invitation card!
Send an eCard by email
Since you already have a digital copy of the specially designed artwork above on your computer, you can choose to send the birthday invitations as an eCard via email. This could be as an attachment or embedded in the body of the email, along with the necessary information about the part.
Make sure you have everyone’s email addresses. Also, please note that not everyone may have an email account (lower elementary school children or younger), so please arrange to print a hard copy and give it to those who do not have access to one, or alternatively, send the electronic invitation card to the email account belonging to the parents of the invited child.
If you intend to use eCards as the novelty way to send out invitations (we are living in the new millennium, after all!), there is fun and easy-to-use 2D and 3D animation software you could use to spruce up your child’s party invitation. It may take a bit of time, but you can be sure that everyone will be delighted once they see your labor of love!
Send a picture text message or MMS
It’s amazing how many kids have mobile phones these days, with the number growing as more parents see the need to stay connected with their restless children. A simple idea for a modern casual party invitation is to take a picture of the birthday boy with all the smiles, or use a generic birthday party icon that comes as a template or as a downloadable MMS. Send this image along with the party details and sit back and wait for your RSVP via your own mobile phone.
While this is convenient for you, the only disadvantage is that not all children have a mobile phone, so you may need to find their parents’ numbers to send the corresponding information.
Important party details to include
Now that you have the finalized design for the ultimate birthday party invitation (whether it’s a fancy 3D animation to send via email, a super cool 2D design that uses the computer to print on cards, a flashy MMS, or something crafted in the more traditional way), don’t forget to include the party essentials!
While the front of the card screams the message, i.e. YOU ARE ESPECIALLY INVITED TO (NAME OF BIRTHDAY CHILD)’S BIRTHDAY PARTY!, the details inside the party invitation should include the following:
– Name of the guest (is it just the child or can the parents come too?)
– Name of your child, his birthday party (age, for example, 8)
– The day/time and place of the birthday party
– Indication of any particular theme/dress code
– RSVP with your contact details
So an invitation card for your son’s classmate, Chriss, would look like this:
“Dear Chriss
You are specially invited to Elizabeth’s 8th birthday party on Saturday 16 October at 2pm at 15 Raffles Park Avenue.
Please RSVP before October 9 to Mrs. Vivian Chua (Elizabeth’s mother) at 91998181.
Thank you and we hope to see you at Elizabeth’s birthday party!”
Whats Next?
So you’ve duly sent out the invitations to all of your guests, with at least a week before the RSVP date… now what? Give your guests some time to respond, and keep your RSVP list close to you so you can update it when you get a response. Place a call one day before the stated deadline to invitees who have not yet responded.
Get in touch again on the same RSVP date to end attendance and explain that you need to collect the confirmed number so that you can continue with catering and party planning. Be courteous when talking to other parents and communicate that their kind cooperation is essential to allowing all children to have fun.
Remember, putting together birthday party invitations should be an enjoyable family bonding process for you and your child. Let your creativity flow and listen to any suggestions you have, however wacky! Make them feel special and let them take charge as it is for their very special day.