When to Mail Birthday Party Invitations

When throwing or hosting a birthday party, it is important to mail out invitations with plenty of time for the guests to plan accordingly, but not so early that too much time passes and the guests forget about the upcoming party. You will also want to be mindful of the time of year your party is being held; will your potential guests have other social engagements that might conflict with your party?

Etiquette and Themes

When mailing invitations for a party, etiquette states an invitation should arrive approximately one month prior to the event. However, when throwing a themed-birthday party, you want to give your guests plenty of time to plan and should consider adding at least one additional week. Guests may need this additional planning time to reserve or make a costume fitting of the theme. Something else to keep in mind is when the party is being held. If you are planning a birthday party during the middle of summer on a Saturday afternoon, you will want to add an extra week or two to the mailing. People are generally busier and their social calendars fill up quickly in the summer, particularly on the weekends. 

Delivery Considerations

If you are mailing out invitations through regular US mail, you will want to allow anywhere from 2-9 business days for the invitation to arrive, depending on how far the invite has to travel. For this reason, many people choose to send e-invitations that arrive almost instantaneously via email. In today's society, it is completely acceptable and quickly becoming the norm to send e-invites. With an e-vite you are able to put off "mailing" the invitation a bit longer because you aren't relying on the postal service.