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Are Personalised Party Invitations Really Worth the Cost (and Why)?

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Whether you’re planning a birthday party, an anniversary party, a baby shower or any other celebration, you want it to be an occasion worth remembering. Not only for the benefit of the person or people you’re celebrating, but also for your party guests!
After all, you’ve spent so much money and time planning the event – you want it to stick out in everyone’s minds for years to come.

When it comes to inviting said guests, you might be wondering whether it’s worth the cost to invest in personalised, custom-printed party invitations. Wouldn’t it be easier – and cheaper – simply to buy pre-printed invitations from a party supply shop, or even to send out a Facebook invitation?

As it turns out, personalised party invitations aren’t that expensive, and are quick and easy to design and order – but they can make a world of difference to your guests’ experience, and the overall vibe of the party!

So, without further ado, let’s discuss the ins and outs of personalised party invitations and why you might go the extra mile for a special event.

Why Choose Personalised Party Invitations?

There are many reasons why personalised party invitations are worth the cost.
Personalised Party Invitations Create a Great First Impression

Standard pre-printed party invitations are available from most UK high-street party supply and greeting card shops. Now, there’s nothing really wrong with these invitations – but they are generic, and, well, a bit boring.

How many hundreds of times have those designs been used? Perhaps, in the past, you’ve received the same design invitation for different people’s birthday parties. How did it make you feel about the party—were your expectations set at a high level, or did you expect a run-of-the-mill birthday celebration?

And what about receiving a Facebook or text-message party invitation? You probably felt as though the party wasn’t that big of a deal – maybe not even one worth RSVPing to.
Sending a personalised party invitation helps to create a great first impression of the event right from the get-go, and also lets your guests know that this party is going to be a big deal!

Personalised Party Invitations Save Time and Effort

One major advantage of personalised cards over shop-bought is that there is no requirement to write anything. With a personalised card, all relevant information, including venue address and party start time, can be printed on the invitation – whereas on a pre-printed invite, you have to write it all by hand. Not only is that extremely time-consuming, especially if you’re inviting lots of guests (hand cramp, anyone?) but it also doesn’t look very professional! And the same goes for texting (or calling) each and every invitee.

Although personalised party invitations cost a little more, the time saved more than makes up for it.

Personalised Party Invitations Help Build Excitement

If you’re planning a birthday party for your son who’s a huge fan of comic books and superhero movies, wouldn’t it be amazing to design a personalised superhero themed party invitation with bold, primary colours and comic-book style graphics? Then you can personalise it with his name, age, and party details.

If you were to receive that invitation, it would naturally set high expectations for the party and even inspire you to make a bigger effort to attend and buy an expensive present. It will also create excitement and a sense of anticipation for a party or event. People who would ordinarily avoid a party might be intrigued enough to come if they receive a special invitation.

While it’s more effort than just buying a bog-standard pack from a local shop, the upside is invaluable. Imagine how happy your partner will be when their best friends flock to their 50th birthday party, gifts in hand. The extra effort pays dividends and shows that you care.

What Type of Events Can Use a Personalised Party Invitation?

Through personalisation, you can create invitations for any purpose—perhaps you’re planning a summer barbeque or scavenger hunt for friends and family, and want to make it special, with a fancy personalised invitation. It’s great for setting the party’s tone and expectations.

There is no limit to the imagination that you can put into this type of invitation. Including the words RSVP elevates the feeling of the recipient—it feels like a party they should attend.

This could be any type of celebration or event that you could imagine. For example:

1) Retirement parties. Make an imaginative invitation, chronicling their work-life and show appreciation for the sacrifices they made in bringing you up.
2) Anniversary parties. If you’re planning to host a party on your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, create a customised invitation in a golden colour scheme with a picture of them on their wedding day.
3) Birthday parties. Invite friends and family to your son or daughter’s 18th birthday celebration in style, with an invitation personalised with their name, party details and gift list.
4) Surprise parties. Plan a special surprise birthday celebration for your partner’s 40th birthday. For fun, include a baby picture, and add a personalised note reminding people not to spoil the surprise.
5) Baby showers. Pick an adorable baby-themed party invitation and instruct guests to dress up in pink or blue, according to their guess for the baby’s gender!

Don’t forget to include RSVP details on the invitation, so your guests know how to let you know they’re coming! This is particularly important if you’ll need a final head count before the big day.

Personalised Party Invitations for Themed Events

When it comes to themed parties, the options are almost endless. For example:

1) If you’re considering a Harry Potter-themed birthday or Halloween party, complete with Quidditch, butterbeer and broomsticks, remember to use the same themes in your party invitation.
2) For a Christmas party invitation, use Christmas themes, including bold red, green and white colours in your invitation.
3) Plan a murder mystery party and create a personalised invitation using a Raymond Chandler, film noir style, and spike the theme by writing RSVP in an ominous blood-red-style font.
4) Design a spooky invitation to a Halloween party with this Boneyard design.
5) Create a scavenger hunt invitation and design the card around the theme of the scavenger hunt and, for added spice, include the first cryptic clue.
6) Throw a special university graduation party for your son or daughter, inviting friends and family with a graduation themed invitation.
7) Invite friends and family to the first night of an amateur dramatics show, featuring themes and lyrics from the show on the invitation.

A themed and personalised party invitation will quickly let guests know what to expect and how to dress (or what sort of present to bring), and will get them excited for what’s to come!

How Can You Personalise a Party Invitation?

As mentioned above, the options for personalisation are extensive. For example, look at the huge variety of invitation templates and design options available from 123Print, a UK-based professional printing company.

Invitation Size

Two sizes are available, standard (A6) and large (A5).
The larger A5 size gives much more scope for design and personalisation. It’s ideal for invitations that you’ll need to fit a lot of text and details on. The smaller A6 size, commonly used for postcards, is more convenient for delivery. Which size you choose is completely up to you, but depends in part on your budget, as the larger size is slightly more expensive. (Worth it, though!)

Choice of Templates

Hundreds of default templates are available, covering a wide number of themes and occasions. Each design includes a thematic image with some default text. Every party invitation template can be fully customised using a flexible, completely free and easy-to-use design editor capable of modifying any aspect of the template, including the text content.

The editor can update text position, font type/style, size and colour. But if you want to save time and you’re happy to use a default design, all you need to do to get an amazing custom invitation is to add your party details, and you’re good to go!

Custom “Blank Slate” Design

Can’t find a party invitation design that’s quite right? If so, you can start with a completely blank template and upload custom artwork to the editor. If your design requirements are specific, employ a graphic designer and upload their content to the editor! It’s a more expensive option, but you’ll get an incredible looking invitation.
It’s also possible to upload pictures directly from a computer, Facebook feed or Instagram channel.

Reverse Side

Don’t forget that invitations have two sides, and they’re both worth taking advantage of! It’s possible to be just as creative with the reverse side as it is the front. Add extra party details such as the dress code – or why not add a picture of the birthday person?

Order Your Personalised Party Invitations Today with 123Print!

At 123Print, we’ve got over 100 years’ worth of experience printing professional-quality party invitations, thank you cards, business cards and a wealth of other stationery through our parent company, CCA occasions.

Have a browse today through our extensive selection of party invitations to find one that’s right for you – or start from scratch!

The party invitation editor is free to use—no payment is required until you’re happy with the design and ready to order. And you don’t need to do it all at once: if you create an account, you can save your design half-way through to work on at a later time. If the party is an annual event, you can even re-edit and print a new invitation for the next year.
With a 100% satisfaction guarantee, you’re bound to be pleased with your custom invitations – and so will your guests. Get started on planning your perfect party today with 123Print!

16 Fun and Easy Kids Birthday Party Theme Ideas

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There’s so much to think about when planning a birthday party for your child – especially if you want them to have the best party of all time! From deciding where to host the party, to what party invitations to buy, it can feel fairly overwhelming.
Having a solid kid’s birthday party theme can help make everything that little bit easier. You can design the decorations, invitations, and even the food to coordinate with the theme, so that nothing looks out of place. And theming a birthday party doesn’t have to be difficult, time consuming or expensive!
Here are 16 fun and easy birthday party themes for you to choose from.

1. Detective

Why not put a twist on the classic theme of cops and robbers by throwing a detective themed party. Give out some cheap magnifying glasses, and have the children search for crime-solving clues in a scavenger hunt.
You could use brown paper bags decorated to look like evidence bags, and put some mini disguise kits and a notepad inside each one to act as their party favours. You could even finish the party with a classic game of Cluedo!

2. Sports Day

If you’d prefer an outdoor party, then a sports day themed birthday would be perfect for your back garden, or even the local park.
The children can dress up in their sports kit and you can pick activities such as a sack race, a ball relay, or if the weather is warm enough, maybe water balloon dodgeball! You could finish the party off by giving out medals and prizes to those who took part. This trees invitation will help spread the message that the party will be held outside!

3. Lego

When it comes to throwing an awesome, creative, and gender-neutral party, what’s better than lego? Not only will it be popular, but it’s likely that you will have enough at home to add to the decor.
Why not have a building challenge, or use some moulds bought online to create sweets or chocolates in the shape of these bricks. You could even create bigger bricks for decoration by using some boxes and painting them in the same colours as your theme. A construction-themed party invitation will help get guests in the mood for building!

4. Princes and Princesses

The great thing about a prince and princess themed party is that as well as being timeless, it’s also flexible. Whether you go for a general royalty theme, or base it around a specific Disney princess, you’re bound to have a perfect time.
Consider activities such as magic wand making, a scavenger hunt for royal treasure, and maybe swap musical chairs for musical thrones! Have pink lemonade and cut some sandwiches into dainty heart shapes. End the party with some cheap plastic crowns as party favours. This sparkly pink love heart invitation definitely gives off princess vibes.

5. Pirates

If your child is into pirates, then have a swashbuckling good time with a pirate-themed bash. Organise a scavenger hunt and have the kids search for pirate booty, and if they’re dressed up then even better! Luckily, pirate costumes are cheap and easy to make – all you need is an eye patch, a bandana and a billowy shirt.
You could even add to this with some temporary skull and crossbones tattoos, and if you have activities making pirate flags and telescopes, then they will really look the part. End the party with some fish and chips and ‘grog’. This spooky skull invitation would be perfect!

6. Pancakes and pyjamas

If you’re not a fan of sleepovers, then throwing a pancakes and pyjamas themed birthday can be a great alternative.
With a spread of pancakes, pastries, fruit, cereal and yogurt available, consider activities such as pancake decorating, pillow sack races and making necklaces out of your favourite hoop shaped cereal, all whilst wearing the comfiest pyjamas!

7. Rainbows

The best part of throwing a rainbow themed party is going crazy with all the colours, and not limiting yourself to just one or two hues. This makes shopping for props a breeze!
You can buy brightly coloured balloons and streamers for some exciting décor, have guests dress up in their favourite colours, and provide face painting as an activity. Food can be kept simple with rainbow fruit or veggie kebabs and if you have the time, you could make some rainbow fruit ice lollies. Add to the theme with this bright rainbow balloon party invitation.

8. Robots

Consider picking robots if you are looking for a versatile theme. With mostly silver, and one other colour, such as orange, blue or green, you could recycle some old boxes by sticking robot faces on them. You could even cut a circle in one of them to make a photo booth!
Why not put your snacks into different sized aluminium food trays, and arrange them to look like a robot, and for drinks, label some bottles as fuel. For activities, create your own masks and play a special game of musical robot statues.
And don’t think that robots are just for boys, either – this gears of love invitation combines robotic gears and subtle hearts for a girly touch.

9. Science

Throwing a science party is one of the most fun themes on this list; think orange, green and purple to create a mad lab with your little scientists. You could use food colouring in water for drinks and decorations, and you could even buy some petri dishes to put jelly in with some gummy worms.
Some simple science-themed party activities could include making slime, or conducting the classic coke and mentos experiment. As long as you have lots of bubbles and foam then you are bound to have a fun time. Don’t forget to dress up in your white lab coats!

10. Unicorn

If your little one wants a magical or fantasy themed party, consider picking unicorns! You could stick to a pastel colour scheme, or even combine this with the rainbow theme for an enchanted time. Party snacks can be as simple as candyfloss for unicorn hair, and chocolate covered pretzel sticks with sprinkles for a unicorn horn.
Activities can be just as easy, with adapting a simple ring toss game to create toss the ring on the horn, or pin the tail on the unicorn instead of the donkey. Why not have the children decorate unicorn shaped biscuits for a fun and yummy treat.

11. Under the sea

Under the sea is another simple yet effective theme for your child’s birthday! You can keep it basic and stick to sea animals, or you could adapt it and make it mermaid or Spongebob themed, for example. Consider decorating with blue, green and purple streamers – they would make a great backdrop if you hung them from the ceiling, or maybe you could add them to some balloons to make some wiggly jellyfish.
For food, you could cut pizzas and sandwiches to look like starfish, or even decorate fish-shaped biscuits as one of your activities. For delightful ocean themed desserts, consider individual jellies with gummy fish in them, or skewer some grapes to look like seaweed! This seaside party invitation will tie the theme together.

12. Zoo

While going to the zoo can be fun, when you invite even just a few of your child’s friends the ticket price can soon add up. Instead, why not bring the zoo to your home, with a zoo-themed party! Have everyone dress up as their favourite animals, and make masks or use face-paints.
Why not have animal themed snacks: bananas for monkeys, veggies for goats and peanut butter sandwiches for elephants, and as well as decorating using different animal patterns, why not pop some small toy animals on the snack table that can be used as party favours. This adorable pastel zoo invitation would fit the theme perfectly.

13. Dinosaur

Dinosaurs will always be one of those “roarsome” birthday party themes that will never go out of style, and with a simple colour scheme of green and brown, you are bound to organise this with no effort whatsoever.
Why not have a sandpit as a digging site, with some plastic dinosaurs for the children to find? Or if you want to go the extra mile, you could make some fossils using salt dough. Biscuits with dino footprints would make a great snack alongside a fruit-a-saurus salad, and hold a dinosaur egg and spoon race for some extra fun.

14. Outer Space

With space missions starting up again, now is the perfect time to throw a space themed party! Gear yourself up with space themed decorations – multicoloured balloons would make great planets (whether from this solar system or not!)
Come up with some galactic activities, such as painting ‘moon’ rocks, creating ‘UFO’ frisbees, and making some ‘alien goo slime’. How about some out of this world flying saucer pizza or special star shaped sandwiches? However you choose to throw this intergalactic bash, don’t forget to pick a side for dressing up. Will you choose to be an astronaut or an alien?

15. Woodland creatures

A woodland themed party is great for all ages, and can be perfect for any season of the year. The best part is being able to use things from nature in your decorations and activities, saving money. Why not have a pinecone treasure hunt? And if you’re out in the woods, you could have a den-building competition from logs and branches.
You could even incorporate a fairy theme into it if you wanted to, decorating fairy doors and making fairy or animal masks. The food is where you could get the most creative: decorate cupcakes to look like mushrooms, use Swiss rolls as logs, pretzels for twigs, and incorporate lots of different berries. This neutral toned butterfly party invitation would be perfect for a woodland party.

16. Ice Cream Sundae Party

Perfect for the summer months, an ice cream sundae party is simple, but very tasty! Create your own sundae station, and add things like sprinkles and chocolate sauce, but also different fruits, biscuits and fun cereal toppings.
Consider a themed game: participants roll a die and depending on the result, put a cherry on top, add some chocolate syrup, pass the bowl to the left, etc, and when it ends they eat what’s in front of them. You could also play the classic game of “duck duck goose”, but instead change it to “banana banana split.”
Have you chosen your ideal birthday party theme yet? When you’re ready to pick your perfect matching invitations, head over to 123Print to browse our huge range of templates. They’re available in two sizes (A5 and A6) and are all fully customisable. Happy designing!

How to Throw an Awesome Kid’s Birthday Party on a Budget

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Gone are the days of jelly and ice cream, musical chairs and pass the parcel in the local community hall! With the birth of social media, and documenting every moment of our lives online, sometimes we feel pressure to compete in hosting the biggest and best kid’s birthday party.

But with the price of living increasing, it may not seem to make financial sense to spend all our time planning something that will only last one day. What if we told you there was a way that you could have a great celebration, whilst still sticking to a budget!
Follow our step-by-step guide, and ensure that you throw a party that will last in your memories, not break the bank, and leave you with enough spare change to treat yourself for a job well done.

1. Plan in Advance

Planning is the most crucial part of the process, and is potentially more important than the party itself. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to:

 Narrow down details, such as where you’re going to host the party (more on that later)
 Research what you need to know
 Ensure you stick to your budget, without impulse buying
 Spread out the expenses over a few months, rather than spending all at once

Start a few months early with a rough plan; when do you want the party? Can you be flexible with the date? How many guests do you want to invite? Do you want to book a venue, or use your garden?

And as early as you can, start to think about your hard limit on your budget. Figure out how much you can spend on each aspect of the party, and stick to it!

2. Timing Considerations

A huge plus of planning in advance is that the earlier you look at venues, the more you can narrow down the perfect one – and the more you can save. The later you leave it before you book, the higher the chance that venues will be booked up, leaving you stuck with the most expensive ones.

Consider the day of the week – weekends are always going to be more expensive than weekdays. You can plan the party for after school on a weekday if you need to save a bit of cash. (The party doesn’t need to be on your child’s actual birthday!)
But also think about the time of day. If you have a party at midday or in the evening, you may be expected to provide a full meal for the kids. If you plan your party between 2pm and 5pm, guests will have already eaten lunch, and won’t be ready for dinner. This means you won’t have to spend money on set meals, but instead can provide a few snacks, which keeps the costs down.

3. Prune the Guest List

The best way to prevent large spending is to limit the amount of guests you invite. Consider sticking to a core group of 10 or fewer friends, rather than the whole class. This will help you save on your food and drink budget, and also allow you to choose a smaller venue.

Make the drop off and pick up times very clear on the invitation, so that parents don’t stick around expecting to be fed. You may also need to say if siblings are or aren’t invited – you don’t want to prepare for 10 children only for 20+ to turn up.
If your guests are under 6, their parent will probably want to stay with them. Be aware of this, and invite fewer kids if you can’t afford to cater for the parents too.

4. Choose the Invitations

These days, it is becoming more common to send a text or email instead of physical invitations. It makes sense – how many times has your child received an invite only for them to have lost it minutes later? Part of the birthday fun, however, is handing out paper invitations to their friends! This is a tradition that you don’t want to lose.

You could make your own invitations. But if you don’t have the time, try a website like 123Print that offers professionally printed party invites at low cost. There are many fully customisable designs to choose from, and they won’t break the bank.

5. Pick the Right Venue

Planning a party on a budget is all about the location. The most obvious choice is to throw the party at home!
Not only does this cut costs – you don’t have to pay a fee to hire your own home – but you can also decorate it exactly how you want (some venues may not let you hang things up). You also know how many guests can fit into your home.
However, renting another location makes clean-up easier, and you don’t risk anything getting broken – some people can get overwhelmed at the idea of children rampaging through their house!

Consider a community hall. If booked early enough, they offer reasonable rates, and usually come with a small kitchen, chairs and tables.
If you have good weather, heading outside can be a simple yet still creative way to throw a party – either in your back garden, or in a local park, which may have the added bonus of play equipment for the children.

6. Theme Ideas

Coming up with a party theme can be as simple as thinking of your child’s favourite toy or TV show, and also means you could use their toys to decorate (you don’t have to buy decorations).
Unless your child wants something specific, consider a generic theme such as pirates, princesses, superheroes, or even the colours of the rainbow. These will be very easy to shop for, and you’ll probably be able to find everything you need a discount store or pound shop.
You could even ask guests to dress up for the party, which would add to the decor without extra spending.

7. Source Cheap Décor

You may have seen pictures of Pinterest-perfect parties, but with the average one costing £300, you shouldn’t be pressured into spending more than you have. You can do so much with just some balloons, streamers and bunting, all of which are cheap and widely available.
With the internet and some basic supplies, you could even make your own decorations, such as tissue pompoms, DIY confetti balloons, and simple but fancy banners. Injecting colour into your decor is a great way to take something simple and make it look fun and exciting.
If you do choose ready-made decorations, stay away from party shops that come with premium pricing, and order well in advance to get the cheapest prices possible.

8. Budget for Food

Let’s face it: children are more interested in playing at parties rather than stopping to eat food. Therefore, there’s no need to over-complicate things. This isn’t a grown-up dinner party, after all!
Stick with small bites of finger foods. Home-made sandwiches, pizza slices (made from frozen pizzas), and mini sausage rolls are all cheap and tasty ideas that are big hits with the little ones.
Consider portioning out the food in advance in party boxes so you don’t overspend, and cut down on food waste! It also means that the kids can take home leftovers, leaving minimal mess.

9. Entertainment Options

Don’t feel as though you have to hire a magician, a balloon artist or a clown. Cutting down on the expense of entertainment doesn’t mean cutting down on the fun.
The internet is full of great games and activities that take no planning, minimal set up, and will cost very little if anything at all. For example:

• Pass the parcel. You can use recycled newspaper or even left over wrapping paper, and a small bag of sweets to pop in each layer. The final present doesn’t have to be expensive – a toy from the pound shop will do!
• Musical chairs is always popular, but if you don’t have seating, instead try musical statues – you only need a smartphone and a playlist.
• Pin the tail on the donkey: an old favourite that only requires paper, scissors, and a pin (or blue-tack). You could alter this game to fit the theme – for example, pin the eye patch on the pirate.
• “Simon says” is completely free, and a great way to get children to calm down and pay attention – perfect when waiting for pickup.

If you’re hosting the party in your back garden or a park, you could have a scavenger hunt. The kids could find things from a list (such as leaves and rocks) or you could hide things for them to find.

10. Cut the Cost of Cake

Every kid’s birthday party has to have cake – but you don’t have to spend a bomb on it! The cheapest choice, of course, is to make the cake yourself. A simple Victoria sponge goes down a treat, and isn’t difficult to make.
But not everyone is a baker, and with trying to prepare everything else, you may not have the time to make your own from scratch. If you’re not a confident baker, cupcakes or fairy cakes are easier, and you could even incorporate cupcake decorating as one of the party activities.

Another option is to buy a basic cake from a supermarket, and jazz it up yourself with decorations – then you can make sure it fits in with your theme! Chocolate buttons, sweets and sprinkles are cheap and easy options.

11. Party Bags?

There is an ongoing debate about party bags, and whether to provide them or not. It is completely up to you whether you want to provide them. If you want to, making them yourself can be much cheaper than buying ready-made ones.
But if your budget just won’t cover it, try to think of party bags as a bonus, and not a necessity. Provided your little guests can take home a slice of cake, and as long as you send out thank you cards after the party, there will be no hard feelings!

How Far in Advance Should You Send an Invitation for a Party?

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Planning a party is a lot of fun, there’s no doubt about that. But it can also be stressful – particularly when it comes to the guest list.
Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, a baby shower, or just hosting a casual dinner party, you’ll need to know who’s coming and who isn’t. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to make arrangements when it comes to things like catering.

Generally speaking, it is best to send out party invitations at least a couple of months in advance of your event. This can vary depending on what type of party you’re hosting (its tone, size, and the importance of the occasion) and what preparations are needed.
In this guide, we’ll reveal the best times to send out party invitations, no matter what kind of celebration you’re hosting. We’ll also find out where you can order beautiful, professionally printed invitations for a low price.

When Is the Best Time to Send Party Invites?

No matter what kind of party you’re planning, always send out paper invitations with RSVP cards (or that incorporate a tear-off RSVP section at the bottom).
Paper invitations work so much better than digital ones: they’re more exciting, more personal, and much more memorable. Your guests will take your party much more seriously when receiving a paper invitation compared to a casual text or email.
A good rule to follow is to give your invitees at least four weeks’ notice of the party. However, if any of these apply to your celebration, be sure to give your guests some extra time.

1. Are your guests travelling? They may need extra time to find and book transport to and from the venue.
2. Will your event mean some of your guests need to stay overnight? Even if the party is close, they may not want to drive home afterwards – so they’ll need time to organise accommodation.
3. Is your event being held at a time of year that is particularly busy? For example, in the school summer holidays, or a Saturday in December? You’ll need to get in early, otherwise your guests may already be booked up.
4. Are you asking your guests to bring anything to the party, such as food (a potluck, for example)? They’ll need time to prepare it!
5. Also, consider whether any of your guests have children or pets – they may need extra time to find childcare or pet sitters for the event.

What Else Should I Consider?

You should also think about what kind of party you’re having, as this will have an impact on how early you need to know guest numbers (or whether you need to know them at all).
If any of these apply, you may want to send invites early to give yourself more time.

1. Are you preparing food or having catering? The caterers will need to know how many guests to feed (and be aware of dietary requirements).
2. Will your choice of venue change based on how many guests will be there?
3. Do you want to know numbers for booking of entertainment or equipment?
4. What is the parking or accommodation situation? Will you need to know exact numbers for this?
5. Does your event have detailed plans that you need to communicate with guests?
6. Are you giving guests gifts or personalising your celebration?

You might also consider how important the party is. If a high attendance rate matters to you, give your recipients more time. The later you send out invitations, the more guests will RSVP “no”.

When Should I Send Dinner Party Invitations?

If you are hosting a dinner party, you should aim to send out invitations about four weeks before your event. This allows you to get a good idea of numbers when purchasing food and drinks which saves you time and money.
You may also want to plan a table setting and if guests will be drinking, they might want to arrange a hotel or taxi.

As a formal dinner party can take some preparation, its best to give your guests (and yourself) plenty of time. This will help avoid stress leading up to your party and allow you to enjoy!
If you are having trouble choosing an invite for your dinner party, this Charming Elegance invite would be a perfect fit.

How Early Should I Send Birthday Invitations?

If you are planning a casual birthday party, three weeks before the event should be early enough to send out invites. This will give you enough time to prepare and if needed, book a small venue. If you are not booking a venue and hosting at home instead, two weeks should be enough notice.

When hosting a children’s party, remember that during school holidays families may be busier than usual. This means you may want to push forward your invites to four weeks.
Sending invites three weeks before the event would be recommended if you are hiring a bouncy castle or swimming pool for example. Even if your party will be held at home, this will take extra time and be dependent on availability and number of guests.
Choose a themed invitation for an added personal touch – or skip the stress and go with a classic invitation like Party Clown.

When Should You Send Out Surprise Birthday Invitations?

When sending invites for a surprise party, invitations should be sent four weeks in advance. This reflects the planning involved: more time equals less stress.
For surprise parties, especially if the party is for someone in your household, you should definitely use postal invitations. This reduces the chance for any overheard conversations that could spoil the surprise! Although postal services are usually reliable, sending early ensures that invitations will be received on time.

Sending an invite for a surprise party also allows you to inform your guests that your plans are in fact a surprise. This means that there will (hopefully) be no slip ups and the party will remain secret.
You will need to share more detailed plans for a surprise party so it may be best to customise your own invitation.

When Do You Send Out Baby Shower Invites?

If you don’t want friends and family to miss your baby shower, it’s best to send invites four to six weeks before you host. A baby shower typically falls between month six and seven of pregnancy. Because of this small time frame, it’s important that your guests are made aware of your celebration early. This gives them more time to make arrangements so they can attend your special day.

You also want your baby shower to be as low stress as possible, and although pregnancy can make this hard, having time to plan and an idea of numbers can lessen the pressure.
Many people choose baby blue or pink invitations for baby showers. But if you haven’t found out the sex of your baby, go with a neutral coloured invite like this Hey, Baby design.

How Soon Can You Send Christmas Party Invitations?

When inviting others to a Christmas or other holiday party, invites should be sent out at least eight weeks before the event. Christmas is a notoriously busy time, and if you want your party to fit into your guests’ seasonal plans, you should aim to send out invites extremely early.

This allows you plenty of time to plan, especially if you are planning on offering food or accommodation to guests. If your party will include gift giving, you will also be able to shop for those attending before the pre-Christmas rush.
Make sure you let your guests know what to expect on your invite. If you would like them to bring food or alcohol, make sure this is clear. As well as this, if you are gifting, it’s best to let people know in advance to avoid any awkwardness.
If you’re struggling to select an invitation for a winter party, Penguin Celebration would be an excellent choice.

Where Can I Order Party Invitations?

We now know that it’s always best to send out invitations with plenty of time before your event. This helps your guests and you to have a less stressful party experience. What’s also important is to order your invitations early, so that you have plenty of time to post them (or hand them out).

You can find hundreds of high quality party invitation designs at 123Print. If you don’t see a template that you love, feel free to personalise one using our ‘create your own’ option. We provide 48 hour shipping and offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee – so you can get your perfect invitations fast, and start collecting RSVPs!