When you add up the invitations, decorations, food, beverages and gifts, baby showers can be expensive – why not save money where you can? Even if you’re working with a tight budget or have a lot of guests to consider, you can still plan a wonderful event without spending a fortune. You can save money on baby shower invitations in particular by taking advantage of these money saving tips.
One of the ways you can save money is to use electronic baby shower invitations instead of mailed cards. In this day and age, most people have at least one email address they check regularly, although if you do have guests to invite who don’t have email access, you can send them invitations or call them by telephone to invite them. Emailed invitations can be as simple as a text message with the pertinent details or as complicated as an HTML and graphics based announcement.
You can even avail yourself of a number of party planning sites that will allow your guests to RSVP online; this is great for the party-planning hostess on the move. You may even be able to check your RSVP list using your cell phone, which can really save time and money when you’re out and about. If you’re feeling creative, you can send animated invitations or invitations featuring music or video. You can even send IM or text message reminders to those folks who haven't yet responded.
With just a little Internet searching, you’ll also find a number of websites that offer free baby shower invitations that you can customize and print out at home. This is a great way to create custom invitations at a fraction of the cost. You can download “fill in the blank” style invitations or just art and templates that allow you to use your own wording and design style. You can save the invitations and send them to the guests electronically or you can print them out at home using your own printer and paper.
If you don’t have a printer or want a slightly more professional option, you can save them to a flash drive and print them off at your local office supply or printing store. Many printing stores will also help you with the folding and trimming at no cost. You might consider using a border punch or edging scissors (check out the scrapbooking section at your local craft store) to add another design element. You can also upload the completed invitation to a photo site like Snapfish or Walgreens and order prints of the invitation at very reasonable prices.
As another option, ask the mother-to-be where she’s registered for baby shower gifts. Some stores provide baby shower invitations free of charge to mothers-to-be who register at their stores. Using these will certainly save you some money!
Or, if you’re crafty, you can create your own invitations at home using scrapbooking supplies, rubber stamps, or any number of crafting styles and ideas. Plain paper or card stock decorated with ribbon is simple and inexpensive, yet can be a very striking invitation.
If you want something unique, consider visiting your local thrift stores for baby t-shirts, bibs or onesies. You can often find these very inexpensively – usually several items for a dollar. Using a permanent marker like a Sharpie, write the shower invitation on the baby clothing and mail them to your guests. They’re sure to be one-of-a-kind invitations your guests won’t soon forget.
Finally, while mass market retailers often have multipacks of invitations that are available inexpensively, don’t overlook specialty stationery stores. They often have clearance aisles where you can save some serious money on your baby shower invitations.
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