Make Christmas Party invitations

Materials needed to make these Christmas party invitations:
8 1/2" by 11" cardstock
scrapbook paper or wrapping paper
construction paper
art pens
ribbon
glue or adhesive

To make Christmas party invitations I used: plain white 65 lb. cardstock, some scrapbook background paper for the "x-mas gift" embellishment, and also a couple different colored construction papers for the Christmas tree embellishment and ornaments. I added a little color to my "you're invited" font with some sparkly art pens and topped everything off with a ribbon!

Step One: Laying out the text. You will layout the text for this invitations in a 4-up (four to a page - postcard) format. You will use this same format for both the front of the card and also the inside text. Although this is the format you would normally use to design a postcard type of invitation, we will not be creating the Christmas party invitations as postcards. When finished they will be postcard sized (4 1/4" by 5 1/2") but have embellishments that are too fragile to send through the mail unprotected. Luckily this size is a common size for envelopes also.

Step Two: Printing your text. Once you have your text in format you will need to print them out onto paper. There are two ways to go about doing this.
A - You can print both pages onto plain white printer paper and take them to a local copy shop to have them copied onto your chosen papers (this will save you money on your inkjet or toner in your home printer) or you can simply print them each separately onto your chosen papers.
You will print the front of the card onto the cardstock, and the inside text onto your scrapbook paper making sure to print on the plain white side of this sheet. If you choose to go with a wrapping paper for the "gift" decoration, then you will instead print the inside text of the card onto plain 20 lb. printer paper and then attach the wrapping paper to the outside.

*For the text on the front of this card I chose to use a holiday themed font called Bodie Holly. If you would like to use this same font it is available for free (along with hundreds of others)! click here to check out 1001 free fonts!

Step Three: Cutting the paper. Both sheets of paper will need to be cut into quarters. If you have to make a very large amount of Christmas party invitations then having them cut at a copy or print shop will make more sense. It is quick, easy and inexpensive. And the cut will come out perfect.

Step Four: Folding your invitations. In making these Christmas party invitations you will only need to fold the paper intended to make your "X-mas gift" embellishment. This is also the paper which has your invitation text printed onto it. This fold will have to be done by hand although it is quite a simple fold.
Here we will merely be folding the paper into quarters. You will need to hold the text up to the card to see where you will want the fold to land in orientation to the card.

Step Five: Creating The Christmas tree embellishment! I created the Christmas tree using different colored construction papers. I drew the trees by hand onto the green construction paper and then cut them out and in half. I did the same to create the star for the top of the tree but you can easily accomplish this by using a tree or star shaped paper punch. To create the ornaments on the tree I used a small hole punch on different colored papers and then used the small circular cut-outs to glue to the tree. I also chose to use some gold wrapping paper for ornaments to give the invitations a little sparkle. I then used a glue stick to adhere all of the different pieces to the card.

Step Six:Attach ribbon embellishments. You will attach the ribbons to your folded paper quarters to make them look like Christmas gift packages. First attach a short length of ribbon horizontally across the front of the folded piece of paper. I did this using a tacky craft glue much like Elmer's. I spread it onto the back of the ribbon somewhat generously using my fingertip. A Q-tip would work well also. An even easier and quicker way to attach the ribbon is by using a glue runner with permanent glue. Make sure to cut off or fold over any overhanging bits of ribbon.
Next you will take a much longer length of ribbon and wrap it vertically all the way around the folded paper. There should be many inches of ribbon left dangling over the edges in order to tie a bow at the top of the folded paper to complete the look of a wrapped gift package. This longer piece of ribbon should be attached at the back of the paper only.

Step Seven: Attach your inside text sheet "X-mas Gift" to the cardstock. Using a craft glue like Elmer's or a permanent glue adhesive runner attach your "X-mas gift" paper and ribbon to the front of the card. Be careful to align it centered between both the printed words on the front of the card and the edge of the card to create a border.

Step Eight: Just tie your ribbon at the top of the paper gift box and let your Christmas party invitations dry!

Optional finishing touches - I used some sparkly metallic art pens to my holiday font on the front of the invitation to give it a little extra jazz.In this case i used a gold pen to color in the font. The gold matched some of the ornaments on the Christmas tree I created. I also used a green pen to add some color to the holly on the font.

* To change it up a bit just change around your embellishments! Instead of a Christmas tree use a wreath, or candy cane!

* Use different fonts! check out the link above to find all sorts of new and different fonts to suit your needs!

* Use different papers!

Following any of these tips to help make your Christmas party invitations can change the look of your invite dramatically! Get creative and make it your own!

See Also...

Make Snowman Christmas cards

Make your own "jingle bell" Christmas cards

go from Christmas Party Invitations back to Party Party