‘Tis the Season for Invitations

I’m sure you’re planning some exciting events this holiday season. It’s so much fun to get together with friends and family to experience old holiday traditions and create memories you’ll recall next year. After you’ve set the date, selected a theme and chosen the location, check out PurpleTrail. You’ll find all you need to put the finishing touches on your planning, from invitations to thank you cards and everything in between.

And that’s not an exaggeration!

PurpleTrail is a new e-vite service where you’ll find stylish online invites, ecards, announcements, and so much more. It’s unlike any other e-vite website I’ve seen, and here’s why:

1. It’s completely ad-free. So your guests can view your invitation without that distraction.
2. You have choices. There are hundreds of pre-designed online invites, ecards and announcements which you can send as-is or customize with your own photos, videos, music and embellishments. You can also choose to make your own design from scratch. I made an invitation using a pre-set Holiday design. I found it easy to create and it was a very appealing design.
3. It’s easy to share your invites. Distribute your invite over social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. It’s also easy to import your guest list from your Yahoo!, Gmail, or Hotmail account, and PurpleTrail was the first service to make sending invites over SMS available.
4. You can keep track of it all. Keep track of RSVPs, establish an event-fund, track pot-luck dishes and so much more. I love this aspect of the site—everyone can know who is coming and who’s bringing what.
5. Stay connected to your guests. You can chat with guests in real time, add a map to the venue and even send thank you cards after the event. You can also share your party photos and videos with your guests and vice-versa.
6. You can even print. Design your greetings cards, invites and thank-you notes just the way you like them, and print it on the paper of your choice at home. There is a $3.95 fee for this service if you do not have a membership.
7. Purchase printed cards and invitations. Design and order post cards for .99 per card and folded cards for $1.95 per card.
8. Get some advice. The PurpleTrail party blog helps you come up with the invites wordings, party ideas, games, craft activities, decor and recipes for your event.

PurpleTrail offers membership options that range in price from free to $49.95 per year (click here for the details). I’d have to be planning a ton of parties to ever pay for the use of an e-vite site, but the great thing is that even with the free option, you have access to some beautiful designs and your email invitations are still completely ad-free.