Simple Graduation Invitations

Graduation invitations can seem like the start of the celebrations. When it is time to issue the invitations have had various opportunities to experience it all with our children. Our outgoing daughter was all set for a big graduation celebration. She was looking forward to the ceremony, spending the last few moments with family and friends and also the party that we had arranged. Our son on the other hand wanted to get away from it all and play sports with his friends. For both of them we wanted to be equal in our treatment and also give their relatives a chance to spend time with them. Like most parents we pushed on and had a party at home for which we issued graduation invitations about 8 weeks before the party.

The first thing I noticed looking back was the different approaches we took to designing the invitations and to the whole party. This was not intentional but just kind of happened naturally. Our daughter would spend lots of time with guests, have a great time socialising, playing games, dancing and laughing. The design for her invitations was bright, colourful and the wording was the same. Our son was going to be quite reticent. He would be polite and welcome guests. He did enjoy the party but in a quieter way. He ended up playing hoops with his friends in the driveway in between doing his duties.  The design for his graduation invitations ended up much more sporting and straightforward. Thinking about it now this was actually perfect as it reflected his personality.

One of the key lessons learned was to make sure the invitations reflected the personality of the graduate and also the occasion. We were having an informal party at our home and the invitations were informal as a result. If we had been having a formal party with formal attire we would have made formal invitations. If we had been having a beach party the invitations would have had a beach theme. However I would add that the type of party probably should reflect the graduate’s taste and wishes.

For formal graduation invitations you could use a professional printer who can help you with the design. This could be a minimalist design with something like high quality white paper, a single scroll and red ribbon and formal wording with absolutely correct etiquette. I think this would reflect the occasion and also guests would understand the type of party they were attending.

For an informal party at home you can make the invitations yourself. Using clipart images such as caps and scrolls you can easily make your own. You can add all the wording required and print them onto either printer paper or choose a colored or higher quality paper. For close family you could add a personal message at the bottom of the invitation.

There are lots of party themes. The theme will of course drive the design, wording and perhaps expense of the invitations. However for most party themes you can control costs and produce very good invitations yourself.

I hope your graduation invitations set the scene for your graduation parties.