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How to Make the Ultimate Party Invitations

How to Make the Ultimate Party Invitations
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Making your own party invitations is one of the most enjoyable aspects of party planning. It’s as though the festive atmosphere associated with a party makes its way onto the computer screen and into your psyche; it’s fun to brainstorm creative ways to invite people to a party. Of course, you want your party invitations to stand out and feature unique designs that command attention, encourage RSVPs, and ultimately get guests to attend your party. The following tips will help you create the ultimate party invitation cards, so you can plan and host a successful party.

Our party invitation guide includes:

Ready to create your own beautiful party invitations? You don’t need a graphic designer – all you need is this party invitation guide!

1 Party invitation theme ideas

Start by choosing a theme for your party invitations. Consider the type of party you’re hosting; for example:

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Birthday party
Holiday party
  • 1 Christmas
  • 2 Hanukkah
  • 3 Kwanzaa
  • 4 Halloween
  • 5 Thanksgiving
  • 6 Easter
  • 7 St. Patrick’s Day
  • 8 Valentine’s Day
  • 9 New Year’s Eve
Business or office party
Anniversary party
Retirement party
Cocktail party
Baby shower
Engagement party
Bachelor or Bachelorette party
Bridal shower
Wedding reception
Surprise party
Dinner party
Graduation party
Fundraising party
House warming party
Backyard barbecue party

The type of party you’re hosting can inform your theme; however, it doesn’t necessarily dictate your invitation design. For example, if you’re printing birthday party invitations for a child’s birthday party, your theme might incorporate birthday party wording and feature the child’s favorite cartoon character. The idea is you can blend themes to make perfect, unique invitations for your party: a Christmas party invitation that features a funny Santa illustration, a cocktail party invitation that features a Hawaiian scene, or a dinner party invitation that features pictures of the hosts.

2 Party invitation wording ideas

Once you’ve committed to a theme, you need to write the text for your party invitations. At minimum, your party invitation text should list the five W’s:

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Which means you need to answer:
Who
is hosting the party, and who is invited? Can invitees bring a guest?
What
is the party? A birthday party? Retirement party? Surprise party?
When
will the party be held? Include both date and time, and an ending time, if applicable
Where
will the party be held?
Why
is the party being held? What are you celebrating?
Parts of an Invite
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You should also include additional helpful details in your party invitation wording, such as:
  • Special instructions to guests (bring a lawn chair, BYOB, etc.)
  • Directions to your party
  • Dress code, if you have one; or a suggested dress style (Hawaiian shirts, for example)
  • Whether they can bring a guest (plus one)
  • Whether gifts are discouraged
  • If there is a fee for the party (often the case with fundraising/charity parties)
  • Whether food will be served, along with a menu
  • Whether a bar will be available, and if it is a full bar, limited bar, cash bar, on the house, etc.
  • RSPV instructions and deadline

The type of party you’re hosting will influence your wording style. A business party invitation, for example, might feature elegant wording; while cocktail party invitation wording might be fun or even funny. No matter your party invitation wording style, try to keep your invitation text to 14 lines or less.

For more party invitation wording ideas and examples, check out these resources:
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3 Party invitation design style and fonts

Your party invitation theme and the tone of your wording will influence your design style and font selection. For example, formal party invitations should feature soft colors, plenty of white space, and a formal, script font. Casual party invitations should feature bright colors and a bold, exuberant font. There are as many invitation design styles as there are themes. If your invitations will feature a cartoon character for a child’s birthday party, your other graphic elements and colors might mimic those prevalent in the cartoon. If your invitations will feature a photo of the hosts of a dinner party, the background might be a silhouette of a plate and silverware.

You also need to make decisions about your party invitation presentation. Do you want to print party invitations as flat or folded cards? Folded, greeting card style invitation cards are perfect for formal engagements such as weddings and anniversaries. For more casual parties, you might consider printing postcard-style flat invitations; one benefit is that postcard invitations are cheap to print and mail. Of course, either type of invitation – folded or flat – can be used for any type of party.

Will your invitations be delivered in envelopes or sent postcard-style? Do you need to print matching envelopes, address labels, and envelope sealers? If so, you’ll want a cohesive design for each piece.

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Consider how your theme, invitation wording, and design style work together to set the tone, or mood, of your party. Your goal is for these elements to work together seamlessly for a cohesive party invitation design.

Party invitations might feature one or two fonts, particularly if your headline is in one font and your body text in another. Large, bold, and stylized fonts are great for headlines. Invitation body fonts should be simple and easy to read.

Some party invitation font ideas include:
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Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list; there are hundreds of fonts that work great for invitations. Your job is to pick a font that matches your design, theme, wording, and tone (or simply use the recommended fonts in our free online invitation maker)

4 How to make your own party invitations online

The best part about making your own party invitations is you don’t need to be a graphic designer to do it. In fact, you don’t need to have any design acumen or special design software. All you need are PsPrint’s free party invitation templates and online design tool to make invitations online for free.

Here’s how it works:
1. Choose your favorite free invitation template in the design gallery

Each template was designed by a professional designer, yet is completely customizable. You can even pick a color scheme that matches your party’s theme. It’s the best way to get free invitations online (of course, you’ll need to pay for printing).

You can filter by invitation themes such as:

You can also filter by size (for example, 4x6 invitation card templates), shape, color, and design styles, including contemporary, elegant, humorous, minimalist, quirky, and traditional invitation templates.

Whether you need free birthday party invitation templates or elegant invitation templates for a wedding, you can find – and customize – an amazing and unique design with PsPrint’s free invitation templates.

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2. Customize your invitation wording, photos, fonts, and more

Open you selected invitation template in the free online design tool, then follow the prompts to point-and-click your way to a custom party invitation design. Use the design tool to easily:

  • Upload your own photos and/or logo
  • Add your own custom text
  • Change fonts
  • Add shapes and colors
  • Adjust the layout

When you’re done designing your own invitations, you can download a free PDF to preview what your finished printed invitations will look like.

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3. Choose your invitation printing options

Party invitation card printing is as important as design for communicating the tone and mood of your event, particularly when it comes to paper stock. Some paper stocks are perfect for formal party invitations, others are best-suited for casual, exciting party invitations. In every case, a premium invitation paper stock will enhance your design. For example:

Best formal party invitation paper stocks
  • 15-point velvet with soft touch coating: A thick cover stock with a fine, super-smooth finish for a luxurious and sophisticated feel
  • 15-point velvet cover: Features a velvety finish and semi-matte look for a high-end, classic appearance
  • 13-point matte cover: A matte-finished invitation paper that presents a subtle, sophisticated aesthetic
  • 13-point 100% recycled matte cover: An eco-friendly option comprised of 100% post-consumer material that offers a sophisticated matte finish

Best casual party invitation paper stocks
  • 16-point C2S gloss cover: An ultra-thick invitation paper that features a glossy sheen on both sides for bright colors that stand out
  • 14-point C2S gloss cover: A high-quality glossy paper that’s great for invitation cards that require high resolution and sharp images
  • 14-point C1S gloss cover: This beautiful paper stock is glossy on one side, uncoated on the other, so you can include handwritten messages in your invitations

Of course, you should take these guidelines as suggestions; if you have a killer idea for a creative invitation that uses a glossy cover stock to promote an elegant party, go with it!

In addition to your invitation card paper stock, you get to choose the following invitation printing options:
  • Size
  • Quantity
  • Production time (you can expedite it, if needed)
  • Shipping speed

For the ultimate formal presentation, print matching envelopes, address labels, and envelope seals to go with your invitations. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to make your own invitation cards. All you need is this guide and PsPrint’s free invitation templates and online invitation maker. Create your own custom invitations now!