Your child’s graduation party is one of the most fun and unforgettable events you get to plan. You’re not only celebrating their hard work and accomplishments but yours as well. You worked hard alongside them and now you get to see them take their next big leap. As you’re getting your graduation party checklist together, it’s time to think about inviting your friends and family.
Use your graduation invitations, announcements and thank you cards to support your party’s theme. Customize them to fit your graduate’s personality and high school experience. Whether they were on the dance team, played a sport or participated in an academic club, use their passions as inspiration for your invitations.
To make life a little easier for you, we put together some tips on when to send your invitations and what information to include. Looking at a few graduation invitation wording examples beforehand will also make your party planning a breeze. Once you have an idea of what you want your invitations to look like and say, you are ready to design. Use our graduation invitation templates to customize to your child’s graduation party.
When to Order Your Invitations
Before you order, print out a test to make sure you like the outcome. Get another set of eyes to check for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Once your design is ready to go, we recommend placing your order one to two weeks before you plan on sending them out. This will avoid any delays or having to pay rush shipping fees.
When To Send Out Your Invitations
With your invitations, envelopes and address labels ready to go, pick a time and date to put them together. For a small family gathering, putting invitations together won’t take much longer than an hour. If you have a few out of town guests, sending out your invitations a little earlier can really help your friends and family plan any travel arrangements. Lastly, make sure you address your invitations correctly to ensure your guests are notified on time.
What To Include
Your Graduate’s Name
We know you wouldn’t forget to add your child’s name on the invitation but since it’s a fun celebration, feel free to get creative. Include their nickname or if they’re heading to college, add a note about their intended major. Future biologist? Aspiring journalist? Use this line to get them excited about their next step.
Your Graduate’s School Name
Apart from just the name, incorporate the school’s colors and mascot if they fit with your graduation party theme. If you prefer to keep your invitations simple or aligned with the theme, you can also use the school colors, insignia and mascot to decorate the envelope.
Graduation Year
Your graduate has worked hard for this accomplishment and having their graduation year proudly displayed on their invitations, announcements and thank you cards is a must. You can even make their graduation year the focal point of your invitations by playing with big and bold fonts.
Location & Address
Be sure to let your guests know exactly where your graduation party will take place. Include both the name and address of your venue, even if it’s your home. This will avoid any day of confusion as many guests often just enter the name of the venue on their navigation.
Date & Time
Probably one of the most important pieces of information on your graduation invitations. If your party will take place after the graduation ceremony, be sure to account for traffic and distance between both locations. Like many of us, you may have several family members who love to arrive fashionably late. If this is the case, set an earlier time to start your party.
Inspirational Quote
To get your guests in the celebratory spirit, include a short quote geared towards your graduate. Find ideas from inspirational graduation quotes, funny road-to-success sayings, a Bible verse or your graduate’s own journey. If your child will be giving a graduation speech, what better quote to use than their own?
RSVP
We always recommend setting up an RSVP for any party. Not everyone will respond but having a good estimate of the number of guests will help you better prepare for every aspect of your graduation party.
As we mentioned, you will also need envelopes and customized address labels. For your envelopes, we suggest you choose a color that will stand out from the rest of the mail. You wouldn’t want your invitations lost with your guests’ junk mail. Order your address labels at the same time as your invitations to avoid delays when sending out your invitations. It’s also a nice gesture to include a small card or note detailing parking instructions and directions. Once your RSVPs start to come in and you have a better estimate of your guestlist, you can focus on other aspects of your child’s graduation celebration like fun party food ideas and DIY graduation decorations.
Choose your favorite invitation from the editable templates below and use it to create your personalized graduation party invitations.
Planning a graduation party for your child should be all about celebrating their efforts and the young adults they’re becoming. Let their personality and achievements take center stage in all things decor and stationery to create an unforgettable event that your guests and your graduate will enjoy.
