The #1 Trick That Gets People to RSVP!

You've spent money buying invitations or spent time hand making them yourself.  All the perfect party details are ready. You wait to hear back. *crickets*.  

When no one sends an RSVP, it puts the party host in a lurch. Do you plan goody bags for 5 kids or 25?!  Without an RSVP you can't be sure whether to tell the caterer 30 people or 100 people for the retirement party.

A few years ago I stumbled upon one trick that gets guaranteed RSVPs.  It's simple and effective.  I first tried it for one of my children's birthday parties and got RSVPs the day after mailing invitations and had nearly 100% of people reply, even the ones who couldn't come!

Knowing who was going to be at the party made it much easier to plan!

Are you ready to know the secret to getting RSVPs?

Offer a door prize for the first person to RSVP.  

That's it!  On the birthday invitation, or as a slip you include inside the envelope, let guests know "Door prize for the first person to RSVP!"  You could even offer it as "The first 2 people to RSVP will get a prize!"

What to offer as the RSVP prize?  

Anything you want!  It could be a gift card, a houseplant, locally made snacks, or a small candle for a grown-up party.  For a child's party you might give the first RSVP a pack of bubbles, or the $1 size giant box of movie candy, a gift card to a local store, playdoh play pack, etc.  

What you offer doesn't so much matter (and the guests won't even know until they show up to claim the prize) but just putting "Door prize for first person to RSVP!" on the invitations guarantees you'll hear back from most people and be able to plan your party accordingly.

I absolutely hate not getting RSVPs when I've worked hard to plan a party!  This rsvp trick has helped me be able to better plan for party day!  

Try it out and let me know if it works for you too!

Minecraft Birthday Party Favors

My son recently turned eleven.   I gave him several choices of what we could do and he chose to take friends to Sky Zone (an indoor trampoline park.  If you have one, you MUST go) and then lunch at Pizza Hut.

He chose a Minecraft cake and we hired a friend to make. Her cakes taste awesome and she's got a knack for decorating them. It was fantastic.  Except for the fact that little brother snuck into the cake the night before the party.  Notice the sideways handprint...

Anyway, I put together these Creeper Minecraft themed goody bags for him and his friends.  They were a big hit!

The green bags were from the party section at walmart and I added the creeper faces with Sharpie.  I scored the Minecraft box from Target's toy section. It was nearly empty so I took it and the cashier said I could have the box!  I knew it would be perfect for displaying the party favors, plus we are using it as a bedroom decoration/storage now.

These Minecraft tweener treat bags contained:

• Glow sticks (Dollar Tree $1 for 5-pack) 

• Finger lights (Dollar General, $1.50 for a 4-pack) 

• Jolly Rancher Green flavoring for bottled water (Kroger, $1 for 6-pack) 

• Cry Baby sour gum (Dollar Tree, $1 for bag of about 25 candies) 

• Green reusable water bottles (Dollar Tree, $1 each)

If you think your child might like a Minecraft party soon,
be sure to "pin" this post so you can find it later! :) 

Graduation on the brain

This week marks a big test for me in one of my classes, as well as a booty-kicking science lab.

I've already written about 4 papers for my classes this week! I just keep plugging along with the thrill of graduating keeping me going!

I found some fun ideas to celebrate with when the big day finally gets here and now I'm sharing them with you!

I love these little party favor treats. They are made using smarties candy. :) We will definitely have these when I walk in commencement! from pinterest

Invitations:

I'm not sure that I'll actually do invites for my little graduation. But if I did, I'd want these!
from pinterest

Super cute graduation cake. I'm thinking once I get the education degree, THIS should be my cake! from pinterest

















College textbooks=pricey. I swear they made me cut off my left arm just to pay for my books this semester. This is a fun centerpiece using some of your textbooks and tying a ribbon around them. If you've got high-schoolers about to graduate you could do this too!



from pinterest