On the Birthday
Party Invitation How to fill in
the blanks
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After choosing a
birthday party invitation
here are some ideas on how to fill in the blanks. Most of
the invitation is straight forward ... but there are a few
tricky parts. We've included how to fill out the RSVP, how
to keep siblings from attending, asking parents to stay - or NOT
to stay - for the party, how to request that guests don't bring
presents, how to ask guests to pay for their food or admission,
how to ask them to donate to your charity and is it okay to ask
for money or gift cards.
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First the easy part - what details to
include in your party invitation.
Date - Always include the
day along with the date. Ex. Saturday March 15, 2008
Time - Give the
start and end times for your party. Ex. 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Place - Your house
address or location of the party place. Hint - It is
always good to draw a map on the back of the invitation or
include one on a separate piece of paper.
For - Include the
child’s name and how old they are going to be.
Example: Sally's 8th birthday celebration!
RSVP - Include parents
names, phone number and an email address on the invitation RSVP
line. Some parents are shy about calling other parents or
too busy to pick up the phone, but they will take the time to
email.
RSVP used to mean please let us
know if you will not attend. It is a very important piece
of party planning information - as any party planner knows.
But today many people either overlook the RSVP or don't know
what it means so they don't respond. A good way
around the RSVP is to let guests know how you want them to
respond. You can add a comment like this to your
invitation:
Please let us know if you are
coming so we can prepare enough food.
Please call and let us know if you are attending so we can tell
(name of place) how many to expect.
Please respond by _(date)_____ so we can expect you.
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There will most likely be a few
that will show up without calling. Always prepare for 2 - 3
more guests then have called to tell you they will attend.
Include any special party
information
- any information that the child needs to know before
they arrive at the party should be included in the invitation.
How to dress - if it is a costume or dress up party give a clear
description of the theme and give examples of how to create the
look you want. |
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| If you will be serving lunch or
dinner - What type of food you will be having (this
alerts any parents of possible food allergies) |
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What to bring - (swimsuit,
sleeping bag, pillow, old clothes if you are going to do a painting
craft).
If you will be going to dinner, the
movies, the mall .... anywhere other then your house
make sure
and include it on the invitation. Parents will want to
know where their kids are going to be during the party.
Keeping siblings from attending a
party unannounced is easier to do on the invitation.
Sometimes
parents think it is okay to send along siblings with the invited guest
with or without warning. If this hasn’t happened to you yet … just
wait. Suddenly there will be a 4 year old sister who has shown up
for your tween daughters spa party and it is hard to say no when they
are on the doorstep excited about the party. To avoid this
situation mention in the invitation that the party is for invited guests
only. You can say it very tactfully.
Here are some suggestions for the
invitation:
“We are sorry, but due to the theme of
the party we can not accommodate siblings”
“No siblings please”
Or you can incorporate it into your
invitation and say something like:
“Your invited to Bobby’s party as one of
his 6 very special guests!”
Asking parents to stay for the
party.
When you want to encourage parents to stay for
the party there are several different ways to convey this on your
invitation. One of the best ways is to provide a separate table of
refreshments just for adults. Some suggestions for the invitation:
Address the invitation to both the parent
and the child.
"We would be honored if you both attended
______________ birthday party."
"We can't wait to see you both!"
"Parents are welcome to attend." or
"Parents are encouraged to stay."
"Separate adult refreshments provided."
or "Adult refreshments provided."
Asking parents NOT to stay for the
party.
If having extra parents around is not in the
plan then add "Please pick up your child at 4:00 PM."
Asking guests to pay:
If your party will be held at a restaurant or other venue and guests
will be required to pay for their food or admission then add the price
on the invitation.
"Admission price to the zoo is 6.50 for
adults".
"We've got great seats for the Ranger Game. Hotdogs, Soda and
Nachos are 1.50 each at the concession stand."
"Each birthday guest will receive 25 tokens! Additional tokens are
5.00 / 25 tokens."
Requesting no presents on the
invitation: "The gift of
your presence is enough. Please no gifts."
If you are asking for donations
to a charity instead of a present - add an
information sheet about the charity to the invitation and give details
on how they can contribute if they want.
Asking for certain gifts, gift cards,
money or telling guests where you are registered is considered
socially incorrect on the birthday invitation. If guests call you
requesting suggestions then it is okay to tell them what you prefer.