The First Step To A Memorable Party by Cindy Mayes
Nothing is as exciting to a child as a birthday invitation. The thrill of receiving something in the mail or being handed a special package at school is made even more exciting when the invitation is something special.
Make sure you mail or hand deliver invitations well in advance to give parents time to plan and kids time to get excited. With younger children, try to deliver invitations away from school or kindergarten to avoid unintentionally hurting any feelings.
Buying ready made
There are some beautifully designed children’s birthday invitations on the market, and many can be personalised to include the name of your child and the details of the party. Here are some of our favourites:
Invite Me: www.inviteme.com.au
Over 40 classy and cute designs, personalised with your details. Come with magnet on the back for proud display on the fridge!
Delivery: Allow 7-14 days. Cost: $3.75 per invite (average cost).
Vista Print: www.vistaprint.com.au
Choose from over 200 designs which can all be personalised – matching sets are available.
Delivery: priority nine days, standard 14 days or slow 21 days. Cost: Set of 10 invites from $15.
Party Invitations: www.partyinvitations.com.au
Offers a range of christening, babies and children’s birthday designs.
Delivery: Print your own: no delay. Printed invites: Allow seven days
Cost: Print your own: $22 for template. Printed invites: around $3 each.
Paper Eskimo: www.papereskimo.com
Beautiful designs cut into shapes with a magnet on the back or a complete party pack including invites, planning manual, hats and party bags.
Delivery: Depends on supplier. List of suppliers on website.
Cost: Pack of 12 invites and envelopes around $20. Complete party pack around $80.
Cards Plus DVD: www.cardsplusdvd.com.au
Exciting invitation or an affordable children’s birthday present, you can now buy a combined birthday card and DVD of an animated classic. Currently there are twenty titles in the range including The Little Cars, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and The Wizard of Oz.
Delivery: Depends on supplier. Cost: $4.95 each.
My Big Event: www.mybigevent.com.au
Select from a range of DIY, custom made or pre-printed invites and party ware.
Delivery: Allow three days, free delivery. Cost: Varies.
Make your own!
Are you looking for unique birthday party invitations, and just can’t find one that feels right? With half the fun of the party being in the preparation, homemade birthday invitations are always popular and cost a lot less. Here are a few simple ideas to get the creative juices flowing!
Create a dot-to-dot or puzzle or a mini board game which you can photocopy. Alternatively, stick the invitation to cardboard and then cut it up like a jigsaw puzzle.
Collect four or five different sized envelopes for each guest. Write the invitation on a tiny slip of paper and place inside the smallest envelope. Write clues like “You’re getting warmer…” or “You’re nearly there” on each of the bigger envelopes and create a mini version of ‘pass the parcel’!
Surprise guests with a long wiggly invitation made from paper 75cm long. Fold concertina style at 7.5cm intervals and decorate with drawings of a snake, caterpillar or train. Tie with a ribbon so they can unwrap it.
‘Eat me’ invitations are guaranteed to be popular. Include invitation details on a slip of paper tied around a lollipop or tiny bag of popcorn.
Use balloons for your invitations. Blow up the balloon, write party details on it then deflate – include instructions on the envelope saying “Blow me up!” Alternatively, insert a tiny slip of paper inside a balloon with instructions “Blow me up then pop me!”
If you have a paper bark tree in your garden, cut out squares of the fallen bark and make treasure map invitations. If not, dip white paper into diluted tea to give an aged effect (you can also slightly burn the edges of the paper if you’re really keen – but perhaps don’t delegate this part to the kids!)
To save time, buy blank invitation cards with matching envelopes. These come in a range of colours, and you can even get pre-cut cardboard shapes like butterflies or rockets which make great invitations.
Search the web for free templates or ideas. Look for images to enhance the invitation – this could be your child’s drawing, clip art, a rubber stamp or a photograph. Use unique wording to really make your invitation special – try writing a poem or including a funny quote.
Head down to your local scrapbooking shop and let your child choose the paper, pens and stickers of their dreams and then spend an afternoon creating! It really doesn’t matter what the finished product looks like as long as your child has had fun doing it!
Don’t forget…
Make sure you have enough ink in your cartridges – the last thing you want is to run out. Before you start printing the project, run one copy as a prototype so you can check for errors, and make sure everything is as you want it. Make sure you include who the invitation is for, whose birthday it is, date, time,address, what to wear, RSVP date and phone number/email address.
Go high-tech
How does this sound: create a birthday invitation (chosen from hundreds of designs) complete with photos, music and video, and send it out via email or on your blog – for free! High tech parents and kids should visit www.smilebox.com. If you want to print out the invitations, you’ll have to buy the design or subscribe to Club Smilebox but you can trial it for free. You can also create amazing slideshows and scrapbook pages on the site.
Party on for charity
If the idea of parties makes you sigh, perhaps a unique new website which aims to teach your kids the value of giving might be just what you are looking for. Website founder and mum-of-three, Ann Nolan, was inspired by the fact that children were often more excited about party food and playing with friends rather than the gifts they received, and she saw this as a great opportunity to instil some community values in her children in a fun and interactive way.
Generous Party, www.generousparty.com, makes party planning a cinch for busy parents by offering a selection of free e-invites, free thank you e-cards and even manages RSVPs on your behalf.
Guests donate online to a children’s charity rather than bringing a wrapped gift to your child’s party. The donation is then split 50/50 between the nominated not-for-profit and the hosting parent for the purchase of a special gift for the child on behalf of all their guests (less a 15% administration fee).Generous Party currently supports: Room to Read, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, ActionAid Australia, St Laurence Community Services and Live and Learn Environmental Education.
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