It’s time to make the invite. Everyone has their own style, but I’ll make some suggestions here, and tell you that my tried and true way to invite is through email. It works well for me, our guests seem to respond right away, and then I move on to planning the party.
- Actual paper invite. Snail mail.
- Pick up the phone. Leave a message.
- Email invite. Hopefully you’ll get a response.
- Evite. Invitation through the Internet.
- Casual invite. In passing or knock on their door.
After you invite your guests to dinner, you are committed. Try not to back out unless there is an emergency. But we all have to realize that schedules do change. If you have to reschedule, learn to be gracious on both ends. Choose a new date, or on the receiving end, realize that changes happen and go with the flow.
Life = Flexibility
Maybe you are feeling as if you are in a rut when it comes to inviting. How about inviting people you’ve never thought of inviting? Sometimes we kind of look at who we think we’re most comfortable with, and it never occurs to us to invite people that we only half know, or don’t know at all. I am trying to practice what I am preaching here. This last Saturday night we had 3 brand new guests into our home. It was wonderful!
The photos in this post are from a neighbor’s luncheon that I held in my home, where I actually went around to the neighbor’s homes, knocked on their doors, and my daughter and I personally made the invite.
What is your easiest way to make an invitation to a dinner party?
(I wanted to address the comments on my blog. I love how some are very heartfelt and I take these very seriously. Sometimes I feel it’s better for me to email the reader back on a personal level, than comment back on my blog where it’s common knowledge to all. Some comments are very painful, and I don’t take these lightly. Thank you!)
Follow my fabulous friends in this 31 Days Series …
Chatting at the Sky, Nesting Place, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, My First Kitchen, Life With My 3 Boybarians, Remodeling This Life, The Inspired Room
Hi, I'm Sandy. Five years ago I stocked up on beautiful glasses from the Dollar Store. As I started writing about dinner parties, I realized that this “icon” portrays a great message. 
In most cases, I make a phone call so we can de-conflict schedules and get something on the calendar. We send/personally deliver formal invitations for birthday parties. In our current situation, we usually e-mail or phone, and depending upon the crowd, we send out invitations a week to one month in advance. Our coffee invites had to be prepared early for translation, but sent out only a week in advance.
Tara G.´s last [type] ..Homecoming Weekend
[Reply]
I usually make a phone call, because that is the quickest way to get a definitive response. I really like paper invitations, but sometimes they are put aside and forgotten and I have to call anyway just to see if folks are going to stop by!
Lynn from For Love or Funny´s last [type] ..Bloggers without makeup- unite!
[Reply]
My favorite way to send an invitation is through the mail. I love receiving snail mail so I prefer to send it when I can. I also love making the invitations really beautiful so everyone wants to come and see how beautiful the meal will be!
http://ashleyanderic.blogspot.com
Ashley Hasty´s last [type] ..Comprehensive Exams-Defense
[Reply]
I was kind of expecting to read that online invitations were lazy, so I’m glad to see you think they’re okay! We usually create an event on Facebook. It works pretty well since nearly everyone we know is on Facebook.
Jenny´s last [type] ..How to blow your grocery budget in five easy steps
[Reply]
Just wanted to let you know that your blog has inspired me to reach out and start entertaining. I knew something was missing from our day-to-day lives…but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. We’re a young family, we have three kids (6, 4, and 7mos), we’re very busy, both my husband and I work outside the house, we have lots of aquaintances, we go to church….but something was missing. And it wasn’t until I read your blog that I realized we were missing real connections. So this weekend, we cooked and then we had some friends over for dinner yesterday…that’s right, on a Monday night! I would have never done that…but once I got the nerve and the motivation, I decided to go with it! If I waited until a weekend, or a friday night, most likely our guests would have been busy or something would have come up. So Monday it was… and it was GREAT. Thank you so much for your inspiration!
[Reply]
Thank you for writing this post!
I find myself to be an invitation snob. I love mailed invitations (the tangibility of them, the work that is put into them, the excitement of opening them.. and sending them out). But with working 40+ hours a week, it is really hard to put so much time into snail mail.. and the price. I find myself leaning more towards evites for simple get-togethers, they are easy, most people respond quickly to them. I still yearn to send out nice invitations, but I save those for really nice or larger events.
[Reply]
With my hubby’s work schedule, we have become very spontaneous. It may even be that afternoon or at church when talking to people that we invite them over…If we have had a birthday party or event at our home, it is so easy to invite people over the next day. The house is semi clean and we will enjoy leftovers. It is casual and FUN!
lisa´s last [type] ..Chocolate Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
[Reply]
I usually invite people in person or via e-mail or text. Depending on how I know the people will respond best. For larger parties, I will send out snail mail invites.
Kirstin´s last [type] ..The Show MUST Go On
[Reply]
I’m probably more of an email type when it comes to invitations. Or I make Dave call the family for me. Have you seen paperless post? It is a beautiful form of online invitation. It lets you be green but still send a stunning invitation that even includes an envelope to open. There is a fee but much cheaper than mailing a letter. http://www.paperlesspost.com/session/new
Selena Cate´s last [type] ..Pluots & Ice Cream
[Reply]
i LOVE having people over, and usually just set it up via phone, text, or e-mail, but i almost lost my mind when i found sites like mypunchbowl and paperlesspost that let you send beautiful stationery-inspired invites through e-mail.
the perfect combo.
enjoying the 31days!
abby
[Reply]
Personal invites or emails are my faves… I am just happy to hear yes…..to the invites.
Kim´s last [type] ..Update on being a loser
[Reply]
I’ve never actually had a dinner party. Isn’t that sad!? I’m a bit shy in that area. Working on it tho!
Kristin´s last [type] ..7 Steps to Dating Your Spouse
[Reply]
Most of our dinner parties are pretty casual and often a regular thing. A phone call to each invited family is typically the best way to invite our friends over. Now that I think about it, even for my husband’s 40th birthday I called the three other couples who were invited to dinner. If it is a larger party – we used to hold annual holiday brunches and have had my husbands co-workers over once or twice, I have sent casual-formal invitations.
Holly L´s last [type] ..2 Days Left – Enter E-mealz Giveaway
[Reply]
I love to personally invite people:) I’ll give a paper invitation as a reminder to hang on the fridge. I’m hoping you’ll write about hosting people in a small space. I’ve even drug my dining room table into my living room to eat our meal, lol:)
Michelle G´s last [type] ..Tuesday Tag Along 10-5-10
[Reply]
I LOVE to use email for invitations. It’s the easiest way to get a response, I think–people can just hit reply and get right back to you! And I like to receive email invitations, too–getting the email is easier for me than getting a phone call. And if the invitation is something that’s not a good thing for me, it’s easier for to respond gracefully and graciously via email than over the phone.
I wish I could email you and ask you to dinner! Maybe someday you’ll need to visit Durham!
Richella´s last [type] ..Show us your life- the dining room
[Reply]