There is so much you can do with invites.  You can wrap them in boxes and deliver them, create them to resemble your theme, the possibilities are endless.

The thing to remember is that your invitations are the way people will find out about the party, so you want to set the mood of the party with your invite choice.  Do you want to have a more formal party?  Your invitation should reflect that (and say something on it as well).  Is it a luau?  Use a cut out of a Palm tree to write or print the info on.

Make sure you include any important info about the party.  You can never go wrong addressing the who, what, where, when and why (In fact, if you are missing any of these things you probably should hire someone to plan your party for you- and yes, I am available, but it’s not cheap .

A lot of books will tell you to mail or hand deliver your invites anywhere between 3-6 weeks before the party.  In general 3 weeks is a good amount of time, but if you are wanting a large turnout, closer to 6 weeks is better.  When Greg and I threw our Christmas party last year, we sent out a save the date at the end of September (you can never be too early if you want people at your Christmas party).  In my opinion, the earlier you tell people, the better the chance of them making it (especially people with kids!)

Keep in mind you should ALWAYS have some form of RSVP.  Either an e-mail, web page, telephone number, whatever.  Some people will tell you in person and that is fine, but if you want to save money, you need to know how many people to expect.  If they don’t RSVP at all, plan on them not being there.  Of the people that RSVP yes, you can expect 10% of them to not show up (stuff happens, you can’t get mad about it, just roll with it).  If they RSVP no, believe them.

Making a guest list is always a dilema for me.  I am a naturally outgoing person and enjoy having people over.  I like to invite anyone and everyone to parties, but believe me, that can be an expensive habit.  So what do you do?  Well, if you have your reason and you have your budget, that should be helpful in making your guest list.

Make a preliminary list.  Include any family and friends that you want at the party (also include those that you may not exactly want but may be *gulp obligated to invite i.e.crazy Uncle Ned who could eat you out of house and home)  How many people are on the list?  Is that a reasonable amount for the budget you have set up or do you need to re-evaluate?   If you think you can reasonably handle guests, then you are ready to send out invites.  If there are too many, you have to make adjustments.  Decide what is most important to you (and the person the party is being thrown for) and make your cuts based on that.

After you’ve made your list, you can send out your invites!

There are probably about 4 different ways we have for categorizing parties we throw and who we invite.

1. The intimate gathering.  This is like a sit down dinner with family and/or close friends.
2. The semi-intimate get-together.  This is inviting friends and close friends/family over to hang out, eat and play games.
3. The get-to-know people party.  This is where we invite aquaintances, friends, and close friends/family to hang out.
4. The epic party.  This is when we invite anyone and everyone.  If we know your name, you are probably invited (unless you weird us out, then don’t hold your breath).

It is really all about personal preference.  Some people just do not like to have a type 3 or 4 party (plus they can get pricey!).  Let your budget and your reason guide you.  You’ll get there!