Hostessing: How to Write an Invitation {+ free printables}

Hostessing is almost a lost art, but if there's one thing even more uncommon now than hosting people at your home on a regular basis it's gotta be this. Writing invitations - either informal or formal. Writing of any kind is unusual in this age of technology. We rarely correspond these days unless it is by email, text or telephone. I'm not saying it's absolutely necessary to issue written invitations to people on every occasion. If you're just wanting to have friends over after church or last minute, it's obviously not appropriate to write an invitation. However, how neat is it to receive an invite in the mailbox for an official get together? The last time I got one was for a baby shower which is entirely appropriate and necessary to control who is invited and to plan for food. I thought it would be fun to revisit how to write an invitation - informal and formal - so that we have it for not-too-distant future use.

The Informal Invitation -

• List the name(s) of the host(s). Omit honorifics such as Dr., Mr., Mrs. and Ms. unless the person holds an official rank. The host's title goes on a line beneath the host's name. When there are multiple hosts, the most senior person's name is listed first.
• Extend the invitation.
  semiformal: "cordially invite(s) you to"
  informal: "invite(s) you to join us"
• List the event, such as "dinner," a reception" or "lunch."
• Give the purpose of the event (i.e., "in honor of...").
• Give the date (i.e., "Friday, February 12").
• State the time (i.e., "at 7 p.m.").
• Give the location, including street address.
• List any special instructions, such as "map enclosed."
• List R.S.V.P. information. If you are issuing an invitation without a separate response card, print the address and telephone number of the person handling replies. If you are supplying response cards, state "Response card enclosed." Do not list a cutoff date for a reply.

The Formal Invitation -

• Follow the same rules for the Informal Invitation above, but include honorifics such as Dr., Mr., Mrs., and Ms. and official ranks of people such as President, Pastor, Reverend, Captain, Officer, etc.
• Extend the invitiation. formal: "requests the honor of your presence"
• Dates: Write out the extended date, including the year
• Time: Spell out the time. (i.e. "o'clock")
• Include RSVP card with the invitation

These are some cute free printable templates you can use. I found them on Pinterest, but you can click the link below each one to find the source and print.

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Have you written any invitations lately? How do you prefer to do it?

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find the whole series at the tab above {Home Economics}.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm sharing this with a few of these friends.