Party invitations don't have to rely on stock phrases like "You are invited!" or "Guess who's turning 12!" You can exercise as much creativity as you can in making wording for party invitations. In fact, the more creative you are with your wording, the more the celebrant and his or her guests are sure to appreciate the effort you put into the act of making the invitations. It gives the party that much-needed personal touch, even before the gathering actually starts!

However, if you're not careful, your wording for party invitations could end up being awkward. This occurs most frequently in two situations: 1) you do not know the celebrant very well, or 2) you are so determined to make an impression on the celebrant (whom you know very well) and his or her guests (whom you may or may not know very well) that you try too hard to sound clever and unique.

If you do not know the celebrant very well, what most people do is rely on stock phrases. Pull a random overused phrase from your repertoire, or pick a random phrase emblazoned on the front of the most popular invitations at the stationery shop. This is what we traditionally call the "easy way out." And there is nohting wrong with this! This technique works well enough especially if you're pressed for time, or you are not exactly verbally inclined, as it were. Sometimes when doing your research at the gift shop, you'll come upon a good phrase that is quite unique and just perfect for the kind of birthday gathering you need to make an invitation for.

But if you have time to do your research at the gift shop, why not use it to brush up on the personality of the celebrant? Spend a little time talking to the people closest to the celebrant - his or her spouse, siblings, parents, or dearest friends. It's actually likely that you'll know the celebrant yourself very well, since it's seldom that people ask total strangers to draft up invitations for themselves or their loved ones - but sometimes a friend may approach you asking to borrow a little of your creative skills, for the sake of creating a completely one-of-a-kind invitation.

If you already know the celebrant very well, however, you may be tempted to make jokes about this celebrant's age. Jokes are witty and quite a novelty for invitations, and when it comes to birthdays, jokes about one's age are the most frequently used. However, no matter how well you think you know the celebrant, you may actually not be in the know about how sensitive this person is about his or her age! It is not true that women are the only ones who are sensitive about their ages - sometimes men are, too.

If you've thought of a clever joke that you would like to use for your wording for party invitations, a good thing to do would be to run it by the celebrant first - or at least another person who knows the celebrant very well. It would help avoid an awkward situation, as well as wasted time in thinking up a joke that won't be used!