Event Planning

Ordering a birthday invitation online can seem daunting, but in reality, it is easy! Follow these simple steps to find out how to create and order your ideal invitations:

Choose a theme

You probably have an idea of what kind of party you want, but if you're struggling, we recommend you have a look online for inspiration. Pinterest and Instagram are some of our favourite apps for party inspiration, with the perfect styles for all ages. Whilst themes are more popular for kids parties, they are still loved by teenagers and adults, so feel free to choose whatever theme suits you (or don't have a theme at all!). Featured Product: Kids Birthday Invitations - Princess Pamper Party Once you've chosen your theme, you're one step closer to ordering your ideal birthday invitations! We have amazing invites for pool parties, casino nights, barn dances, and more.

Make a guest list

Knowing how many people you will invite to your party is essential when it comes to ordering birthday invitations. You don't want to waste money on invitations that you won't use! Having a set theme will help you narrow down your guest list (e.g. not inviting children to a night club!) which is why we recommend you do this beforehand. Depending on your party venue, you may have a set amount of guests in mind, but you can have as many or as little as suits you. It is your birthday after all.

Confirm the details

By the time you are thinking of ordering your invitations, you probably are sure on all of the details. But if not, make sure you know the date, location, and time that your party is starting before ordering. Featured Product: Great Gatsby - Invitations You should also make sure your venue is booked, so that you are not at risk of having any last minute issues!

Find your stationery

Take a look online or in shops to find your ideal invitations. You can choose from ready-to-write invitations that you fill out by hand, or personalised birthday invitations that are printed with all of your details. Ordering ready-to-write invitations is easy! Simply choose the amount that you need, and order. At Dotty about Paper, we ensure that your order is sent to you quickly. Meaning that you don't have to worry about your invitations arriving too late. Featured Product: 30th Birthday Invitations - Blush Leopard Print Personalised invitations can be a little more tricky. Find your ideal design and simply type in your wording. If you're struggling, there are lots of easy templates online that you can copy. When you order personalised invitations with us, we send you an online proof so you can check how the wording looks before printing, making it easy to notice any errors and make any tweaks you need. Don't forget to include all the important details of the day - including your name, the date and location of your party, and a date to RSVP by. You may also want to include details of the food or drinks that you will be providing on the day. Now you know how to order a birthday invitation online! Feel free to get in touch if you would like to place an order for birthday invitations with us. We are always happy to help!

We might say there are two types of birthday invitations as far as the words go. One is casual and fun, designed to be light-hearted, or even provoke a chuckle. And the other is more formal, sticking to the key ingredients and focusing more on being polite and friendly. Depending on the kind of person, or writer, you are, either one could prove more of a challenge. In this blog, we take a look at the formal style of birthday invitation, and which wording you should use.

The opening

You should have formally worded birthday invitations in mind for occasions such as milestone adult birthdays. When it comes to the opening, a Dear 'INSERT NAME' should suffice, and for the opening line, you have a few choices. You could start with a simple "'INSERT NAME' is turning 30 or dive straight into the matter of the inviting itself. How about "Please join us to celebrate the birthday of 'INSERT NAME'", or "Please join us for cocktails, nibbles and cake" if you require a little more 'subject matter'. Featured Product: Black Tie Dinner Party - Invitations Want to turn on the formality even more? You could use the tried and trusted "You are cordially invited to attend a birthday party in honour of 'INSERT NAME'".

Putting the meat on the bones

Featured Product: 30th Birthday Invitations - Sakura Blossom Invitations should not be an essay, so get straight to the point. After addressing and inviting your recipient, the main section of your invitation need contain nothing more than the time, date, and location where the party will take place. This shouldn't be a worry in terms of wording, but you should make sure that all the information is displayed clearly, centrally positioned, and in large enough font to read easily.

Signing off

The name of the person who is celebrating their birthday, and if relevant, the name of another person who is doing the inviting, should both be displayed somewhere on the invitation. If you are a couple, you might like to sign off with both your names at the bottom of the invitation. Below that comes the RSVP. "Please RSVP to 'INSERT EMAIL, PHONE NUMBER OR OTHERWISE'" is all that should suffice. Featured Product: 40th Party Invitations - Gold Sparkle Champagne If you've been putting off writing a birthday invitation, you can soon realise that they needn't take long!

When it comes to penning birthday invitations for children, it can be nice to have some fun with the wording and make it super cute! Particularly if the birthday boy or girl is very small, cute wording written on cute invitation paper just seems fitting for their age group, letting all their little friends know about the big day.

Stuck for words?

Featured Product: Kids Birthday Invitations - Fun Party Bear If you need a little inspiration, here are just a few suggestions the Dotty About Paper team have come up with for you to adapt! ‘Shhh, can you keep a secret? A very special friend is about to turn three, and we are having a surprise party for them. We would love you to come along to enjoy cake, games and giggles with the birthday boy/girl!’ ‘We’d love you to come and help (name) celebrate his/her third birthday! There will be a tots’ teatime, soft play and – of course – balloons and cake. Please join us for the fun!’ It can also be cute to word your invitations as though they were written by your little ones, even if their pen skills aren’t quite up to scratch yet! ‘I’m having a very special birthday and I would love you to come to my party - I’m already very excited because there will be games, music and plenty of yummy food, so please join me for lots of fun!’ ‘I’m about to turn three, and I have something very special planned for next Saturday. I’m having a little party and want all my best friends to be there. Please join me for an afternoon of yummy food, soft play and lots of fun!’

Playing with a theme

Featured Product: Kids Birthday Invitations - Dinosaur World If you’ve decided on a theme for your child’s party, then it can be cute to make the wording fit with it. For a dinosaur themed party, you could invite guests to have a ‘roarsome time’, or for a party with an animal theme, encourage them to think about what animal they would like to come dressed as. Featured Product: Kids Birthday Invitations - Ooh La Llama Handwriting cute birthday invitations is a great way to invite all your little one’s friends to celebrate, so browse our collection of invites and get creative!

Baby's first birthday is such a huge milestone that every parent wants to celebrate with family and friends. Sending a special birthday invitation is the icing on the cake and helps to set the tone for the entire celebration. Of course, that first birthday party is as much a party for the parents as the new toddler! But whether you're planning a quiet get together or a themed extravaganza, putting together the invitations is your first task. With our customisable invites, all you need to do is choose a theme you love and then personalise the wording, making it super easy to create invites to treasure!

Use the right tone

Featured Product: 1st Birthday Invitations - Unicorn Cake Who is your invite aimed at - the children who have been invited or the adults accompanying them? If you're appealing to the kids then use simple language and a cutesy tone. If it's for the parents then a more formal invitation will suffice. Try "Your friend is turning one, come and join the fun!" for the kids and "You're invited to celebrate our first birthday party" for the adults. Our invitations even have suggestions for wording so you can just follow the template to make it super easy!

Show the world how far you've come

Featured Product: 1st Birthday Invitations - Blue Dots Typography Turning one is a huge event in your child's life and your parenting career. Celebrate the milestone with wording like "Baby days are done, now our toddler is turning one!" or "Now I'm turning one, there's so much more to explore so come and celebrate with me on my birthday!" Then upload a photo that shows just how far your baby has progressed in their first year.

Find inspiration

Featured Product: 1st Birthday Invitations - Snappy Crocodile If you're stuck for the right wording to use, there's plenty of inspiration to be found. Remember to keep it short and sweet as you'll need to include the date, time and venue on the front of your card plus RSVP contact details. Save any longer message for the back of the card.

Be punny!

If your baby's birthday falls in the winter then why not celebrate in a winter ONE-derland? Using a birthday pun is a piece of cake so make sure your invitations are ONE-derful to celebrate the one you love!

A 50th birthday is one of the biggest age milestones we pass in our lifetimes, and as such, it should be celebrated in style. When writing out invitations for a 50th birthday party, follow these dos and don'ts to ensure your birthday party invites cover everything you need them to.

Receiving a birthday invitation is a compliment, without a doubt - somebody wants you at their party. Whether you decide to attend or not, it's always polite to express thanks for your invitation and make sure the host knows you appreciate being thought of. Here's how to best say 'thank you' for a birthday invitation.

Writing a 30th birthday invitation, much like any other party invites, takes a bit of thought. Our 30th birthday can be when some of us start to feel a little bit... old. Although anyone 50 or over will tell you it is anything but old! So here's how to beat those birthday blues with the most perfect 30th birthday invitations ever.

How do you decline a birthday party invitation? People don't typically hand out birthday invitations like confetti. If you have been invited by a friend or family member to join them at a birthday celebration, it is because you, and your company, are valued. That means a quick 'brush off' or note might not be received well. There are plenty of reasons why you might need to decline a birthday invitation, and in this blog, we look at the best way to go about it.

It is a common query we come across here at Dotty About Paper - just how far in advance should you send out an invitation for a birthday party? So, let's get to the bottom of the issue. In this blog, we take a look at how you should judge when to send your birthday bash invites.

So your birthday is on the horizon. You have an event or an activity in mind, and you just need to send the invitations. But first, you need to write to them. An adult birthday invitation which is personally written - whether it is for a 21st, 30th, or 40th - can have so much more impact than a generic, printed note. So put some time and effort into writing your own invitations. And don't worry, because in this blog we’re sharing some of our tips with you.

Strike a joyful note

Featured Product: Foil 21st Birthday Invitations - Sparkly Typography Parties are all about celebration and having a good time with your friends. So start as you mean to go on from the first words of your invitation! Begin on a happy note; whether it's a joke related to your age, a reference back to the last birthday party which you held, or a rallying cry to your friend that you are ready to go out and have a good time, and require their company.

Get them excited

Featured Product: 30th Birthday Invitations - Happy Hour What's your plan? If you aren't excited about it, how can you expect anyone else to be chomping at the bit? Once you have set the tone, lay out the plan, and what people can look forward to. Whether it's several rounds of your favourite drink, a fun group activity, or a night on the town with a 'crawl' through multiple venues - give a rough agenda for the night without making it seem too organised. Birthday parties are typically relaxed affairs, so see how the night goes.

Include the essentials

While the tone should be relaxed and happy, you shouldn't forget to include all the essential information. A start time is one of the most important, especially if you are going somewhere and have booked transport, or have booked a certain activity or venue. If the location isn't familiar with your friend, you might want to include a helpful map or clear directions to the meeting spot.

Make it personal?

Featured Product: 30th Birthday Invitations - Marble & Rose Gold Typography If you have the time, and the inclination, you could choose to personalise each invitation, with a tailored greeting for each friend. After all, you know them best!

A physical birthday invitation with an RSVP card is a lovely thing to receive. It shows how much care and attention the organiser is putting into the event and makes it simple to accept. An RSVP is a stylish way of gauging attendance figures and it only takes a few seconds to reply. Here's how to respond to a birthday invitation RSVP.