Graduation Invitations & Announcements
 Who should you invite?
- Talk to your graduate! Make sure you agree on who to invite. 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.
Using Social Media for Invitations
Facebook may be all the rage for teenagers communicating, but don’t rely on it to invite people to your graduation party.
In our July, 2010 survey, parents reported lackluster results from social media invites noting lots of confirmed guests ended up being no-shows. Of those hosts using social media, 55% were satisfied with the control over who was invited, but only 39% felt they had a good idea as to how many people would attend.
One party planner explained her disappointment, “The people I mailed paper invitations to attended the party. Of the people invited over Facebook, only about 10% showed up.”
Another party planner said, “My older son graduated back in the days of using the US Mail and handing out invitations in school. Facebook can scare you. 349 confirmed guests! We had approximately 60 kids stop by.”
Use social media as a supplement to mailing or handing out attention-getting invitations to your A-list. Don't rely on social media as your main way to invite people, especially those you definitely want to attend.
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 send out save-the-date cards well in advance of their party, as soon as they know the date and time.
Are you going to invite out-of-town guests 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 ones that like 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 graduation invitations?
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There are lots of resources available for printing graduation invitations. You can order through an online printing expert like Carlson Craft or Pear Tree Greetings. They have fun and casual invitations as well as more formal ones.
Both Carlson Craft and Pear Tree Greetings have a huge selection of plain and photo graduation invitations and they both offer suggestions on what to print on your invitations.
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Through Carlson Craft 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.
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.
- Pear Tree Greetings offers a selection of 3 1/2" x 2" Profile Cards your grad can give to friends. They also have some less expensive invitation cards to choose from.
- Pick a favorite picture of your grad 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 FedEx or Office Depot. Color copies are very reasonably priced these days.
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Money saving Tips: Your grad may come home and ask for 20 more invitations to pass out at school. Either order more invitations than you plan to mail and avoid a reorder, or make a more economical version for the kids. Check Pear Tree Greetings for less expensive 3 1/2" x 2" profile cards or design a photo postcard at Snapfish.
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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, mascot
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future college logo, mascot
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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.
Color invitations can be printed on a color printer or they can be copied in color. You can also buy graduation-themed letterhead and load it into your printer or into a regular copy machine. Check out the selection of reasonably priced graduation letterhead on our Graduation Letterhead page 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're having an open house RSVP’s don’t work. Don’t be disappointed when people don't call. But if you're having a sit down dinner then an RSVP is a good idea. Even with RSVP printed on the invitation you may need to make some follow up phone calls. 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.
When to mail your graduation invitations?
We have heard all kinds of opinions on this, but we basically recommend mailing your graduation invitations three 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 on hand and ready when your grad needs them.
Thank you cards, envelope seals and return address labels can all be ordered online. Check out our Thank You Cards page for some fun options as well as tips and suggestions on thank you card etiquette.
Need ideas for writing thank you notes or need some examples? You can find these on our Thank You Cards page as well.
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PhotoStamps!
Don't forget to get stamps, too. A popular trend in celebrations is PhotoStamps. You can turn your grad's photo into real US postage using PhotoStamps.
Or create a stamp using the college your grad is going to or just graduated from. These are also available from PhotoStamps.
Add another fun & unexpected touch by using these one-of-a-kind stamps on your invitations and thank you cards.
Graduation Return Address Labels & Graduation Envelope Seals
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Graduation themed return address labels and graduation themed envelope seals are super-convenient for grads & parents to use.
Use them on graduation invitations, graduation announcements and thank you cards. Not only do they make life easier, they also enhance the look of your invitations and thank you cards.
You can order both online at reasonable prices. Check out the selection on our Invitation & Thank You Card Add-ons page.
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Photo Confetti
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 Some people like to spice up their graduation invitations, graduation announcements 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 and 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 all the other graduates in your life. It's much more economical to buy packages of graduation cards than individual cards. Don’t wait until the last minute and pay card shop prices. Check out the selection of graduation cards on our Graduation Greeting Cards page.
Or create your own greeting cards through Snapfish. One fun idea is to take a picture of your graduate's school and go to Snapfish to create unique and personal Congratulations cards for your graduate's friends and classmates.
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