Bar/Bat Mitzvah Invitations

Your Invitations Announce Your Bar/Bar Mitzvah Event

A Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitation announces your event to the recipient and asks them to share in the joy of your mitzvah. It should provide an order of events, from the religious service through extended celebrations. Be sure to include information about receptions or parties for persons you will invite.

It is a Jewish “Mitzvah,” or blessing, to share the joy of a loved one, relative or friend. So a first important step is a ‘Save the Date’ announcement. This acts as a prelude to the actual invitation. It can take the form of an oral or written communication as soon as the celebrant’s date is received. Date assignments are generally years in advance so be sure to give notice to important family members and friends to insure ahead of time that they do not make other plans on your special day.

The most important information on the formal invitation is the order of events. Include the date and time of the service. Also include the name of the location, street address and town where the service is being held. Directions and maps on supplemental inserts may be provided for people coming from different areas, as well as distant states or countries.

You should make arrangements for out-of-towners, or those unfamiliar with the area, with hotels for accommodations or for staying with relatives. Try to reserve rooms at a hotel in advance if you will be having a party celebration after the bar/bat mitzvah. Most hotels will furnish a card to insert in your invitation with hotel details. Be sure to inquire about discounts for your guests.

You should also provide details if other party celebrations are planned. These include pre- and post-party dinners, receptions and even open houses, picnics, outings, etc. Some close family members may be invited to all events, some guests to selected events, and some may be invited to just the service.

Invitations Announce PDF Version (needs Adobe)

Pre-Printing Considerations for Your Bar or Bat Mitzvah Invitations

Here are some considerations to be made prior to printing the invitations. These include numbers of invitations, wording, addressing, as well as timing.

Firstly, consider the number of invitations you will need based on your anticipated list of invitees. There will always be last minute invitees or people you initially forget to add to your list. Aunt Alices, Uncle Sam….Allow for a small percentage of extra invitations. Your invitation wording can be casual or formal, routine or exotic. It is your party, plan it to your satisfaction. Here are some preparation questions to ask and answer.

Who will address the envelopes? Will you hand write them or have a professional calligrapher address them? You can also use a word processing program with a calligraphy font to address them.

Remember to add a return address to track any invitations that did not reach their anticipated destination. Return addresses can be printed on the envelopes, decals (clear are best) can be used, and address embossers are still available. Your choice depends on how formal you want to be.

Will you select special postage stamps to color coordinate with your invitation or theme? Special postage is available with the party celebrant’s (or others’) picture on it. If you pick this option, first check with the post office to determine what selection is available. Also, remember large sized envelopes and heavier invitations (over one ounce) require additional postage. You also need postage for the return envelopes.

It is always best to take a complete invitation set to the post office where you will be mailing from to determine the postage according to size and weight. Then you will know the total cost of each mailing so invitations are not returned to you for insufficient postage.

You should mail out invitations seven to eight weeks prior to your event. The response time should be set three weeks before your event to give enough time to follow up with non-responders. Yes, there will be some of those. A contact call should be made to find out whether the response, or even the invitation, was lost in the mail.

Pre-Printing PDF Version (Needs Adobe)

What Different Types of Bar and Bat Mitzvah Invitations Are Available?

Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations come in many variations, simple and economical, elaborate and formal. You can do-it-yourself or turn to professionals. You can produce unconventional invitations if you are creative and lean in that direction.Many word processing and publishing programs exist for those who would like to do-it-yourself and are familiar with computers.These programs allow you to prepare and print the invitations yourself. You can purchase specialty papers and envelopes and construct your own wording.

Blank invitation sets are available from office supply stores and also on-line suppliers. You can purchase invitations with matching envelopes, or invitations and response cards with envelopes provided for both. These invitations typically come with suggested wording. When you find a suitable invitation, you can go to the company Website and download a template form to set up the layout on your computer. More formal invitations are available at party stores, printers, through your local synagogue, party planners, etc. You can browse through numerous books with sample invitations, ink colors, wordings, etc. These printers may also include response cards, table place cards, napkins, yarmalkas, matches, thank you cards and other related items.

On the unconventional end, you can make invitations as large postcards, scrolls, messages in bottles, or even present your invitation on a CD or DVD, etc.Be creative and let your imagination soarif you have the time and desire!However, with these types of invitations you might want to request a telephone or other (how about e-mail?) response.

One final note is wording for twins or siblings celebrating the same date.For two girls, it will be called a B’not Mitzvah, while for two (or more) boys or boys/girls, a B’nei Mitzvah.

Types of Invitations PDF version (needs Adobe)