How to Create an Open House Invitation

Open House Celebration

So the proud moment has arrived and your son or daughter has graduated from high school. We realize that continuing their education is important if they want better job opportunities, but the costs of education are soaring. An open house gives us the opportunity to share in the happiness with friends and loved ones and allows them the opportunity to perhaps help with the upcoming expenses of college.
As invitation after invitation arrived at our home from my son's classmates, I realized that I could create an invitation as nice as some of the ones received through the mail and save money for other things needed for his open house.

Things You'll Need

• A picture of the graduate
• A computer
• Microsoft Office or a program similar
• A scanner or some way to save the picture to your computer
• A floppy disk, thumb drive or cd to store your invitation on
• Envelopes
• Stamps

Instructions

1. 

   Using your senior's picture, or a picture of his or her choice, scan it and save it to your computer and save it under a name you will remember.

2. Open up a new document at Microsoft Word. Insert the picture from file.
   Using word wrap type the invitation tightly to the right side of the photo. Make sure you include the student's name, the place, time, and date of the event. Microsoft has a number of different fonts, so you can be as creative or simple as you choose, but be certain that it is legible and includes all of the necessary facts.

3. Depending on the size of the picture you choose, you can get 3 to 4 invitations on one page simply by copying and pasting. Be sure to line up your pictures and text neatly so that they appear professional. The picture tool bar can assist with placing the picture.

4. Place card stock in your printer and print as many copies as you need. Do a test copy to see if you need to make corrections prior to printing more than one. Have your graduate look it over and offer suggestions. An extra set of eyes is sometimes helpful. If you do not have a printer you save your document to file and have it printed for you.

5. Cut neatly between the invitations. I used a Fiskars paper cutter because it cuts uniformly and the appearance was so much more professional.

Tips & Warnings

• Add rsvp if desired

• Churches can save you big because they don't charge for rental and come with kitchens and bathroom facilities

• I created a collage of pictures of my son from birth to graduation showing the steps he had taken to encourage his future steps

• Call and remind people of the event just prior

• Allow friends and family to help in preparation if you want

• Summers are full of plans and activities so it is good to plan well in advance to have a better turn out.