Invitations Cont'd

Benefits of Physical Invitations

Picking up from last time with a specific example ... 

For instance, say you want a summertime pirate-themed party. Its probably easy enough to find paper invitations for this party theme – as long as you don’t mind them being geared towards kids – and even these will give your guests something they can stick to their refrigerator.

 But what if you hand-draw your own pirate map, with the party details on it? Draft a master copy – as authentic-looking or zany as you like – then take it to a copy place like Kinko’s Copies and have them run off however many you need on parchment-colored paper, one per guest or household, depending on how you’re doing things.

At this point, you already have a party teaser that is several cuts above getting an online invitation, and certainly usable as-is. However, as it is said, “the Devil is in the details” – and so, it turns out, is the Delight. To make your invitation even cooler, you could:

Singe the edges of each map invitation to give it a tattered, ‘olde’ look

Tightly roll it up, seal it with a skull and crossbones sticker, and stick it in an empty, dry bottle (de-labeled rum and scotch bottles look the best for this application)

Pin it with a dagger to each guest’s front door when they’re not home (OK, just kidding … but you get the idea)

Of course, the invitation needs to match the event – you don’t want an Oh-My-God invitation for a Cheeze-Whiz and Boone’s Farm social; that would only serve to build anticipation that would not be fulfilled, and frustrate everyone. However, if you’re planning to pull all the stops out, it is in your best interest if your invitation pulls the stops out as well – so in this case, go for that map-in-a-bottle, seal it with a cork (and if you have candle-making supplies, a final seal of wax over the cork is a nice touch) and hand-deliver or mail each bottle to your guests. They will be blown away, and your upcoming event -- if its up to the promise of your invitation --  will be the talk of your social circle.