Party Invitation - Basic Invite

This comes as no surprise when I tell you that I love to host a party! Any party, but especially one in my backyard. There's just something about having your friends and family around the patio, playing fun games in the yard, sipping on cold beverages, and just soaking up those last minute rays of the day. And with summer coming to a close soon, I'm thinking of nothing more than a Labor Day weekend bbq!

When Basic Invite asked me to do a little post about their invitation service, I jumped at the chance. You know the expression, "You only get one chance to make a good impression"? Well, that's how I feel about a party invite. This is your first chance to grab your guests attention and having them RSVP the minute they read party! I know that there are so many ways you can invite people to parties these days, but I'm super old school and will always pick a paper invite you can mail. I love getting personal things in the mail and a party invite is right up there! Who's with me?

I played around with the Basic Invite's website this weekend, creating a couple of samples, and this site is incredibly user friendly! And I love that you can make any invitation suit your personal event by changing the font and size, color, and background. You can choose from over 40 different colors when it comes to your envelope. What's even better, is that all of their envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be quickly and securely closed. Yes please! I hate licking envelopes over and over. That glue becomes gross after a while! Also, use their free address collection service to request your addresses with just three simple steps. Share a link, collect addresses, and get free envelope printing. And, you can add return address info! I love that! This is definitely a win in my book! 

These are the two invites I liked most for a Labor Day themed party. The top invite was the standard font that came with the invite. The second is one I liked more. Play around until you get the visual you want!

And if this one doesn't get your point across, then nothing will! Hands down my favorite!

Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows you almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. I loved being able to see what I was creating within seconds of adding my verbiage. Once you select a design, you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 different color options. This can seem overwhelming, so if using the ones provided helps, go for it! If ain't broke, don't fix it, right? 

A lot of times, I'm leery of what the end result is going to look like in person. It can appear like the perfect invite online, but what if it comes and you just don't like it? Well, Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows you the ability to order a printed sample so you can see exactly how it will print. How awesome is that? Don't like it, go for another one? Or create a couple and decide after they arrive which one you like better! I love this option!

Labor Day weekend seems to be the kick off to the upcoming holiday season. Up next, Halloween. Followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years.... You can see where I'm going with this. If you have an upcoming event, why not check out Basic Invite. There is something for everyone and they offer an incredible selection! What are you waiting for? Head on over.....

XO,

Andrea

This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Should Everyone Be Included

I am treading in new water with McKinley being in Kindergarten. Or should I say, with McKinley being involved in school and outside activities. McKinley's birthday is coming up, April will be here before you know it, and we're in the early planning stages of the big day. But here's the issue, how many kids should be invited to the party? A handful of friends or everyone in the class? And that has me asking the question, should everyone be included?

When did we become this society? When I was growing up, you had a birthday party and you invited your friends. Not everyone, just your friends. And it wasn't every girl in the class. It was girls from both classes and it was maybe a handful. And some outside friends. I think my largest birthday party was 10 girls and that was a lot. And it was held at home. Where most birthday's were held. However, one year we did head out to Putt-Putt which was a lot of fun. But most always my parties were at home.

And at home parties can be fun. You have a theme, you play games, and sometimes a sleepover. You have Miss Piggy deliver a ballon-a-gram. You have someone come and do face paintings. You have a magician. You have a talent contest. Everyone comes dressed from the 50s. You have fun and you don't worry about whether or not you hurt someone's feelings. You weren't friends with them to begin with so why would they want to come to your party anyway? But not today! Today, you have to invite everyone because you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. You don't anyone to feel left out. And you're stressed out as a parent because you don't know what to do with a possible 18 kids and their parents for a couple of hours. Is the stress really worth it?

I chatted with a friend about this not too long ago. She has a daughter turning six in February and is currently planning her party. When I asked how many she was thinking of inviting, she said she wasn't quite sure. I mentioned that our last birthday party had the entire class invited and she was shocked. She agreed that seemed unrealistic to ask of every parent throwing a party. A friend of hers allowed her child to invite the number of kids of the age she was turning. Six friends were invited. That seems realistic. 

On the way to school today, McKinley and I talked briefly about his party. I told him we needed to chat and he said, "about the theme?" I said no, about the guest list. I told him that I didn't think we were going to invite the whole class, but maybe just a few of the friends he spends the most time with during the day. Plus, he wants to include some of his friends from Preschool and I'm totally okay with that. I love that he still thinks of them even though they haven't seen each other since August. We have reached a manageable number of 10. A good round number with a mix of boys and girls. I feel good about it. But where to have it is the next question. I'm not opposed to an at home party, but April is tricky. And early April is even dicier. We've been lucky that the last several years have been warm enough to spend time outdoors. I'm not sure if we will be so lucky again this year. What to do with 11 Kindergartner's, in a house that's not so spacious, is the question. But we have a few other ideas up our sleeve and will look into those soon.

So what are you doing in your neck of the woods? Do you put a cap on the amount of kids your child can invite or do you include the whole class? Do you even have birthday parties that aren't family only? I would love to hear your thoughts!

XO,

Andrea