How to Design Birthday Invitations for Kids

Designing birthday invitations for a kids party is a great way to get a child involved with the planning of his own party and teach him a little bit about invitation etiquette in the process. You can design the invitations and then have them printed, or if you are only inviting a dozen or so people, you might make and write the invitations by hand. Either way, you and your child will have a great time together making your birthday party invitations.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Pieces of paper
• Ruler

Instructions

1. Decide on the dimensions of the invitation. A common size is 4 by 6 inches, the same size as a standard photo. You should draw the size and shape of the invitation on a piece of paper, using the ruler to create straight lines and ensure that all of the edges are even.

2. Pick a theme for your invitations. It can be a favorite item of your child's such as airplanes or cowboys, or just a fun party theme with balloons or cupcakes. If you are hand-decorating the invitations, you may want to get stickers with this theme. If you are having them printed, then you can choose paper with this theme.

3. Decide what to write on the invitations. You can be elaborate and write in very ornate language, or you can use a simple fill-in-the-blank approach that lists times and dates. Make sure to include what the attendees should bring with them (for example, a bathing suit for a pool party) and specify where the party will take place. Write the information where you want it on the invitation outline.

4. Select any "pizzazz" that you want for your invitations. If you want the invitations to really stand out, design it with extra design touches, such as a special delivery option (many sweet 16-ers have their invitations delivered by people in costume that compliment their theme) or a 3-D option such as glitter accents, pom-poms or cutouts that make the design really pop. Mark where these items will be on the invitation outline.

5. Create your invitations. Using your mock-up as a guide, either work with a printer to develop your final birthday party invitation or create the invitations yourself using craft tools and supplies.

Tips & Warnings

• * Birthday party invitations tend to peak in their elaborateness around age 16. Do not set the bar too high by allowing your five-year-old to have each invitation delivered personally by a fairy princess unless you are prepared to try and top that next year.