Which Way of Sending Party Invitations Suits You Best?

Which Way of Sending Party Invitations Suits You Best?

Whether you are planning a surprise party, theme party, graduation party, baptism, bar mitzvah, holiday party, business party or anniversary party, your first order of business is to invite people. There are three ways -- and endless possibilities within those ways -- in which you can choose to do your invitations. Which way of sending out party invitations suits you best?

1. Electronically. Log on to online invitation sites to send electronic invitations and keep track of who is responding yes or no. You can also send thank you notes through evite once the party is over.

2. If you'd rather send the traditional paper invitation, there are many companies that offer a plethora of designs for any and every party type imaginable.

3. Your other option is to buy some cardstock and get out the glue, scissors and ribbon and make a handcrafted invitation yourself. There are many Web sites online that can help you in the inspiration department.

Keep in mind that your invitation should match your event. If it's a very formal event, then a formal invitation is warranted. If it's casual, then a simple evite may do.

Experts say invitations should be sent out eight weeks in advance or as close to that as you can come. Consider sending "save the date" cards up to three months before your event if you are concerned about guest's calendars booking up (for example, for a summer event).

Include the following information:

• Name of the host giving the party
• The purpose of the party
• Name of honoree
• Day and date of party
• If a formal event, include the year and spell it out
• Time ("6:00 p.m." would be accurate for casual events and "six o'clock in the evening" for formal events)
• Name of place
• Location of place (include city and state if there are out-of-town guests but do not include zip code)
• Appropriate attire if it might be an issue