One great way I found to cut cost that is actually fun is by using printable party invitations that I have found on the web. Using printable party invitations not only saves you money, but it is also simple and fun as long as you have a computer and printer. You can get invitations that you can color yourself as well as those where you just fill in the relevant information making it a simple matter to print, cut and send. Some of the sites even allow you to make your own matching envelope.

A More Customized Look

One of the nice things about printable party invitations is that you can give them a more customized look than store bought invitations. You can choose any color of paper you want for your invitations, add glitter, stickers or bits of ribbon for a more customized look, or simply print them out as they come. The choice is entirely yours.

One of the things I do that gives my printable party invitations a nice polished and very professional look, is I either print the invitation it’s self out on thin printing paper or on plain colored scrap-booking paper and then trim around the invitation with those special scissors that create scalloped borders. I then mount this on a slightly larger piece of scrap booking paper for a layered look and add a bit of ribbon or another sticker or other effect to go with the occasion.

With a little experimenting you can create a lot of astounding designs for far less than you can purchase 6 or 8 invitations in a store. I also allow my children to help put the invitations together and they have a blast which means that not only they are getting more involved with their own party but it gives us a project to do together which is a fun way to pass an evening and gets the kids away from the television and computer games for a while.

Where To Get Free Printable Party Invitations

The Internet has several sites where you can find free printable party invitations, many which carry invitations for adult type parties as well as children. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Internetfamilyfun.com
• familyshoppingbag.com
• Americangreetings.com
• Mygatsby.com
• easyprintableinvations.com

There are many other sites as well and a simple search will allow you to find a large number of sites where you can download free printable party invitations. It really is a great way to save money on your next children’s party while being able to get your child involved in helping with some of the party arrangements.

Some people may not want to do something quite like this, but if you look at the middle photo above, you will see that this was an invitation I created on my printer, and by going to the craft section at Walmart, I bought some black ribbon and some cutouts of the black dresses in the creative memory or photo album section. Then all you have left to do with your software program is create what you want to say on the white part, and possibly on the pink part on the right.

I also had created a very cool Batman birthday invitation.  One of the things that a good sofware program is going to do is give you ideas, as well as layout what you want to say in the invitation, making sure that you don’t leave anything out. Early on before I began using software, and just trying to use a program like Microsoft Publisher, I found that I was constantly leaving something out, like the time, where we are meeting, how to RSVP, etc.  Today, there is software that is just about creating invitations.

You can research things on your own by doing a search, but just to let you know what I use, I use a program called Printable Cards and Activities.  It is a good program whether you want to create something really special, or whether you just want to do something quick for a class party or something. I know I create a lot of quick invitations for my kid’s school class parties, as well as Sunday School parties.

One of the things I like about it is that it also covers several of the holidays.  I have done a couple different Valentine and Thanksgiving party invitations for my kid’s school. 

Again, you are certainly welcome to do what you want. I just like creating my own and I found that program to work great for me.  Plus, it’s cheaper than most of the programs that I found at stores like Best Buy.  If you happen to find one that is cheaper or one that can do more than this one, please let me know.

Click here to view the embedded video.

One other thing I would suggest is a trip to Barnes and Noble. Get a book on creating invitations.  There are some good ones and it will fill your mind with great ideas for creating printable party invitations.

The one main reason I do this is because the invitation sets the tone for the party… isn’t that true! If you get some cheapo invitation that was hand written on some fill in the blank card, you know the whole party is going to be that way.  But, if you receive a nice, creative invitation, you know that the rest of the party is going to be filled with creativity and maybe some great suprises.

You are not going to find invitations that are cuter or of higher quality than thost two at the store. The only limitation is your creativity when making any kind of invitation. You may find that you are just printing a plain invite with some graphics at first, but before long (usually two or three parties), you will be creating some incredible printable invitations.

About two or three years ago I decided I wanted to do this on my own… you know, the way many people do scrapbooking. I began trying to do a few things on my own, and they were okay, but not something my kids were too thrilled to hand out to their friends. Then I came across a website called Fun Printable Cards. It was a program for my computer than makes cards and invitations for absolutely everything.

My invitations when from a grade of D to a grade of B overnight. My kids began enjoying working with me in designing some of their party invitations. In fact, I remember after about 3 months my son’s school teacher asked if I could design invitations for the class to attend a special field trip. My cards and invitations were getting noticed.

I really began enjoying what I was doing. Fun Printable Cards had everything I needed. I used quality, card-stock paper and printed some great invitations. Then, one day a friend of mine who also does scrapbooking had me add some of her little cut out shapes and other items to my cards. They were absolutely fantastic. My cards and invitations now went from a grade of B to a grade of A+!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since that time, I have been asked to create printable party invitations for three baby showers, on baptism, numerous birthday parties, one wedding, about a dozen anniversaries, and many, many occasions at our church – sending out invitations to visitors and others.

Like I said at the beginning, the only thing you really need is a computer and a printer. But, if you want to get A’s and B’s on your invitations, you’re going to want to use a program like Fun Printable Cards and make a trip to the scrapbooking store for some decorations to spice up your printable party invitation. Not only will you save a ton of money by not buying cards and invitations from the store, but the quality and personaization of what you create will be unsurpassed. Most of all, have fun and make some memories!

Kim

Printable Party Invitations