At Cardstore, we love designing invitations that are both fun and on-trend. But, if the invitation doesn’t meet your needs, all of the design details won’t mean much! Use these tips to create invitations that work for you… and feel free to add some of your own tips!
1. Choose Your Theme
The whole tone of your event is set by the invitation you choose to represent your theme. If you’re having a dinner party, you might want to go for something a little more elegant, while a kickback BBQ would require a different invitation entirely. The trick is thinking about the vibe you want your party to have before selecting your invitation. If you’re having trouble settling on a theme, try browsing our invitations and use one as inspiration for your event? We do the same thing every week with our inspiration boards! Or, if you’re still having trouble deciding on a theme, here’s a few ideas that are particularly seasonally appropriate:
- Casual Tailgate: With football season in full swing, now’s the perfect time to gather your friends for a fun tailgate party. (Check out our pick for a tailgate invite)
- Sunday Football: Maybe the weather outdoors isn’t idea for a tailgate. Hold a similar get-together indoors, with snacks galore! (Try this one!)
- Dinner Party With a Twist: Theme your dinner party around a type of food you’ve never made before (if you’re up for a challenge), a country, or even a certain sort of food–now that fall is here, I have to admit a pumpkin-themed dinner party sounds especially enticing. (We’ve picked our perfect pumpkin invite!)
- Autumn Harvest Party: Have a get-together on location just in time for fun fall harvests. Gather friends and family for a visit to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch and celebrate the season with fresh produce. (Here’s a fun fall-theme invitation to try.)
- Halloween Party: There’s so many different directions you can go with Halloween–everything from its spooky spirit to the costumes generates an array of enticing party ideas. Turn your home into a haunted house, and invite friends and family over to see. Have a party for all ages with group pumpkin-carving. Opt for a more adult vibe with a costumed cocktail party. Invite friends over for a fun night of scary movies. Go for a more formal vibe with a carnivalesque Halloween masquerade. Or mix and match a variety of themes to create a Halloween party all your own! (This haunted halloween invitation is one of our favorites!)
2. Provide Party Info
You wouldn’t think that filling in the party information would be too difficult a task. And yet, if you forget any of these pieces of information, you’re going to be having some serious trouble on your hands–whether it be guests showing up at the wrong time or people getting lost on the way to your party!
- When is the party? Include the day of week, plus the full date (e.g. Sunday, October 9th)
- What time is the party? Be sure to include both start time and end time (if there is one…)
- Where is the party? Provide the full location address (not just “Jim & Sue’s house”). Include directions, with landmark references if possible.
- RSVP! If you don’t tell people to RSVP, how can you plan properly? Always tell people to whom they will RSVP, and how to do so (phone number and/or email address). Also, give them a RSVP-by date, so you give yourself time to prepare!
3. Don’t forget fun details!
Everyone’s favorite part of party invitations are the little details. Mine, in particular, is specifying what kind of attire guest should wear. There’s nothing more fun than adding a little twist to your attire requests for holiday events: festive formal for a winter holiday party, spooky casual for a costumed Halloween party. Add your own special touch by adding your voice or event theme into the extra details. If you’re having a Halloween party, feel free to add in particularly scary or cheesy language. If there’s anytime that cheesy puns are allowed, it’s themed parties! Here is also the place to add any extra notes you might have.
- Dress attire (casual, costumes, cocktail, etc.)
- Special instructions (no gifts, BYOB, parking, etc.)
4. Be sure to proofread!
There’s nothing I hate more than spending time creating an invitation perfect for my event, only to discover I’ve left out information or included a few unfortunate typos. Ask a trusted friend to look over your invitation before you send it out, just in case. A fresh perspective is sure to weed out any errors and typos you may have originally overlooked.
As long as you cover each of the items above, your guests will have everything they need to arrive on time, dressed appropriately and ready for fun!
Since we’re rapidly approaching one of fall’s favorite holidays, here are some of our favorite Halloween invitations:
