Graduation Invitations & Announcements
 Who should you invite?
- Talk to your graduate! Make sure you agree! They will want to invite their friends, but a graduation party is also about celebrating the passage to “adulthood” so encourage them to invite adults too.
- Look at your holiday card list. It’s an easy place to start. Take off people you don't consider appropriate. Send invitations to the rest.
- Family, of course! Add a short handwritten note to printed invitations.
- Friends of the graduate. Typically grads start handing out graduation invitations at school. This is kind of scary considering you have no idea how many kids will come! But don’t worry. They tend to travel in packs (coordinating via cell phones and Facebook). They will arrive in large groups, drink all your water & pop, and barely eat a thing! Kids will often post their party on social networking websites such as Facebook. Talk to your grad about this. It may mean you need less printed invitations!
- Graduate’s friends’ parents ... especially the fun ones! Make sure you address the graduation invitations with the friend's name as well their parents' names or there may be some confusion over who is invited.
- Neighbors ... we don’t like to snub anyone in our neighborhoods.
- Teachers and coaches ... which ones really made an impression? Think back to middle and elementary school.
- Graduate’s coworkers. Don’t forget to ask for the day off. We heard of one party where the grad couldn’t come because he had to work!
- Friends of the family ... especially ones that know the grad!
As you prepare your invitation list, keep a copy of the addresses to be used later by your graduate for sending thank you cards.
Many people want to avoid looking like they only invited a lot of people to receive gifts. We respect that concern. If you feel awkward about inviting someone, don’t. However, being the party girls that we are, we would rather not hurt someone’s feelings. Graduation gifts can be as little as $10. Check out our gifts & gift giving webpage for some unique and inexpensive ideas.
Planning for out-of-town guests
Are you hoping to have out-of-town guests? Let them know your schedule. Call them or send an email, long before the graduation invitations go out! Some people also send out save-the-date well in advance of their party.
Are you going to invite them to stay at your home? Or will they be staying at a hotel? Create a list of hotels, telephone numbers, prices and availability for them. They'll appreciate your help with this.
Keep in mind that your graduate is going to have a lot of exciting activities going on, so don’t expect them to spend the whole week sitting home with grandma ... also, decide ahead of time if you are going to invite people to stay in your home and who gets first dibs. We suggest someone that is helpful – the “likes to do dishes” type. Contact your first choice ahead of time to invite them, even before you mail an invitation. If you have room in your home and your heart for more, invite the one that likes to run errands!
Speaking of out of town, don’t plan any unnecessary events for yourself the weeks around graduation. You may be invited to parties that you won’t want to miss.
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Warning! Do not rely on your graduate to pass out graduation invitations to parents of friends. It's best to mail them. We've heard too many stories of invitations never making it home to the parents. Feelings were hurt on both sides.
Address the envelopes clearly so parents know they are invited. Options include: The Venable Family (in which case they may bring their whole family) or Jon, Mary and Ashley Anderson (in which case Jon and Mary should bring their graduate).
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Want printed, more formal graduation invitations?
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There are lots of resources available for printing graduation invitations. You can order through a printing expert like Carlson Craft. They have fun and casual invitations as well as more formal ones.
Carlson Craft also has several different photo graduation invitations and they offer lots of suggestions on what to print on your invitations. You can even order a sample before you order the full quantity you need. Just remember to leave yourself plenty of time to do this.
Simply click on the Carlson Craft links to view their selection of graduation invitations and to order online.
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Looking for less expensive graduation invitations?
For less expensive graduation invitations, here are some popular options:
- Design and print your graduation invitations yourself. We have a wide range of "You Print" stationery in our online store - Flat Card Invitations, Open House Note Cards, Slim Invitations, Graduation Letterhead, and more.
- Carlson Craft offers blank Open House Cards that you can hand write.
- Pick a favorite picture of your graduate and go to Snapfish to create a photo graduation invitation. Snapfish has a number of card options including photo cards, note cards and postcards.
- Create a newsletter on 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Include some pictures and some short news stories about your grad. Take a printed copy (or a digital version) to a copy store such as Kinko's. Color copies are very reasonably priced these days.
- The photographer that did your senior portrait is another option (give them a call, it may not be too late!).
Design Options
Whether you order pre-printed graduation invitations or you print them yourself, be creative!
In our book, Graduation Parties! Everything You Need to Know From Start to Finish we have 16 different examples of graduation invitations.
Some ideas for graduation graphics include:
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graduation hat and tassel
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school logo
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future college logo
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confetti
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diploma scroll
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baby pictures, school photos, and graduation photos
A simple flyer typed up on your home computer costs approximately 5¢ per black & white copy (color is a little more). These can be folded and mailed "as is" or inserted into envelopes. Adding color adds excitement but increases your price.
You can produce a color invitation on a color printer and copy it in color. Or you can buy graduation-themed letterhead and load it into your printer or into a regular copy machine. See our online store for letterhead you can buy through our website or check your local office supply store. Shop around for copying services.
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Warning! You cannot copy a professional photo at a copy store. The copy store should require a written waiver from the photographer. A 1976 law prohibits copying professionally created photographs. So call your photographer to obtain a one-time copyright waiver and bring the waiver with you to the printer. They may charge a small amount of money. This varies by photographer. Or design your invitation with a great photo you took yourself.
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RSVP's?
We have found that if you are having an open house, RSVP’s usually don’t work. Don’t be disappointed. If you are having a sit down dinner then the RSVP is a good idea. You may have to make some follow up phone calls anyway. In our book we have an invitation checklist with more specific suggestions.
How many people will come?
Look at our Food Formula. No matter who you invite or how many, they won't all be able to come. Our "food formula" gives you an idea of how many people to plan food for.
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Money saving Tip: Your graduate may come home and ask for 20 more graduation invitations to pass out at school. Either order more than you plan to mail and avoid a reorder, or make a less expensive version for the kids.
Consider designing a postcard. You’ll save on paper/printing costs and postage!
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When to mail your graduation invitations?
We have heard all kinds of opinions on this, but we basically recommend mailing your graduation invitations 3 weeks prior to the party.
Don’t feel bad if you get them out late. The kids will pass them out at school right up until the day of your party.
If you are inviting out of town guests send your invitations earlier or send a "Save the Date" card or call them ASAP so they can schedule their trip.
Thank you cards
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Order your graduation thank you cards and personalized return address labels at the same time you order your graduation invitations. Have them ready for the graduate.
Thank you cards, envelope seals and return address labels can all be ordered online from Carlson Craft or through our online store.
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Or go to Snapfish.com to create unique and fun Thank You cards using your favorite graduation photo.
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PhotoStamps!
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Don't forget to get stamps, too. The latest trend in celebrations is PhotoStamps. You can turn your grad's photo into real US postage using PhotoStamps.com.
Add another fun & unexpected touch by using these one-of-a-kind stamps on your graduation invitations and thank you cards.
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Graduation Return Address Labels
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Graduation themed return address labels are super-convenient for grads & parents to use. Use them on Graduation Invitations, Announcements and Thank You Cards.
Our online affiliate Carlson Craft offers two choices - black and gold. Click here to see their prices and to order.
Return Labels may also be available from your local print shop. Go to our Local Resources webpage to look for print shops in your area.
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Graduation Envelope Seals
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Enhance the look of your Graduation Invitations, Announcements and Thank You Cards with graduation-themed envelope seals.
Our online partner Carlson Craft offers several choices. Click here to see their selection and to order.
GraduationParty.com also offers budget envelope seals in our online E-Shopping store. Click here to check out our selection.
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Photo Confetti
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Some people like to spice up their graduation invitations and thank you cards by including a little bit of confetti in them. Why not go the extra step and add some Photofetti!
Photofetti is photo confetti made with your snapshots, mingled with colorful accents. In addition to including it in your invitations and thank you cards, you can also sprinkle it on your tables the day of your party.
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Graduation Cards
 Think of the other graduates in your life. Buy packages of Graduation Cards. They are cheaper than buying individual cards. Don’t wait until the last minute and pay card shop prices. Our online store has some packages of cute greetings cards or check out your local card shop.
One fun idea is to take a picture of your graduate's school and go to Snapfish.com to create unique Congratulations cards for your graduate's friends and classmates.
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