A lemondrop-yellow baby shower invitation peeked out of my mailbox the other day—my real mailbox, not my email inbox. I was surprised at how happy that card made me feel as I stuck it to my bulletin board and noted the date in my calendar. The fresh design and handwritten envelope amplified my excitement for the party—far more so than the standard e-mail invites. Now, why should big-deal events like weddings and showers have all the invitation fun?
E-mail invites are certainly the easiest and best for big parties—the sort of shindigs where you’re happy to have your co-worker’s-brother’s-friend show up. But for smaller parties, I’m newly infatuated with paper invitations sent via snail mail. When you’re stepping up to the plate as a hostess, real invitations signal that you’re seriously psyched to get your friends together. The invites set the tone, they show you’re planning ahead, and they’re far more original than those yawn-worthy graphics of balloons and martini glasses.
On the other hand, who’s got the time to painstakingly assemble fancy cards? And having a few friends over to my studio apartment doesn’t exactly call for engraved numbers from Mrs. John L. Strong. I’d rather splurge on food and drinks for the party than on letterpress-to-impress. Also, my mental image of casual invitation cards involved tacky border designs of party hats. What else is out there?
After hitting scads of stationers and online options, I came up with strategies and ideas for all sorts of invites. Time to step up the socializing .
Strike a pose.
Invitations are a sneak preview to the style of your party, and they prime your guests for a good time. Decide on the fanciness level: are you thinking super casual or dressy? Do you have a specific reason or theme in mind—a chill Sunday brunch, a birthday, an excuse to wear that awesome-yet-silly Pucci dress you can’t quite let out of the house? Also, figure out how much you’re willing to spend on the invites. These two factors will significantly narrow the field.
The 5 Ws and 1 H.
