Invitation cards: the Pros and Cons of Inviting by Snail Mail and Email

My daughter’s first birthday is less than a month’s time and I haven’t made any major preparation just yet. First off, I’m faced with the dilemma of still preparing an invitation card. Is it still practical to do so when I can fairly invite everyone with a click on my keyboard? While battling with the idea, I thought it best to put them in words, exposing both the pros and cons of making (or not) an invitation letter.

Pros

Anything tangible, i.e. seen and touched, does admittedly feel personal. And anything personal appeals to the senses which definitely make us want to say yes or no depending on what the intention was.

The invitation card may be kept for sentimental value purposes. They say memories are forever, and so is the invitation card as well. The picture, the printed time and place of the celebration will serve as a reminder of that special point in time.

This is the perfect reason (and alibi!) to get everyone to go home early. The planning, preparation and the making of the invitation need the hands and heads of everyone in the family.

The theme you want for the party, the design, the printing, preparation of materials, etc. need time. If you have the extra budget, you can simply hire someone else to do the job for you. Otherwise, you should have available time on your hands before deciding to choose this option.

Though this may be a one-man’s job, the work is easier and faster with more people involved. If you belong to a small family (in number of members), then an extra paid hand would be helpful.

The finished product –invitation card is useless if it does not see the person named on it as invitee. And the ways are a little costly – either sending the card by mail or delivering it personally (door-to-door).

Pros

Wherever, whenever and at whatever time convenient, you can invite by sending through email. In this time and age when everything is digital and everyone is connected with the internet, it’s not a big surprise how you can just click once and be able to invite hundreds of people –talk about group messaging.

Unless you don’t have the internet at home, there’s no cost you need to incur before sending out invitations.

Since there’s no more time spent on planning, preparation and making of the invitation, much time has already been saved.

Cons

If the invitation was sent by group messaging, no name of the invitee was on it most likely. People tend not to respond when they feel they’re not really invited. The general message affirms this belief.

Not everyone owns a computer or a gadget connected to the internet. And even for some who does, checking mails are on the least of their priorities.

When you want to reminisce of the good old days, you have nothing to show for it. Unlike the invitation card, messages through email are not good enough to evoke feelings felt during the party.

If you don’t trust your creative instincts, then it’s time to make use of the power of the internet! There are a lot of free invitation templates out in the open. Explore and have fun! As for the party I’m planning, I’ll do both options: send by email and snail mail. Just a few invitation cards will do; mostly for families and close friends. People who live far may very well get invited through email. At least I can have something to go back to when my baby’s a grown up girl already.