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An easy way to make sure that you know exactly who is coming to your Thanksgiving dinner gathering is to send out invitations, and to either enclose a return RSVP card, or request that people RSVP by phoning. By making those cards yourself, your personal touch will add meaning to the holiday for everyone involved. It may even become something of a tradition in future years.

Here are some simple ideas that one can do to make attractive Thanksgiving invitations.

Card making and craft stores typically have all of the supplies you will need. You can purchase the basic card stock and envelopes and use those as the basis for your invitation. If the cost of making the cards is a consideration, opt for the simplest thing you can produce.

Here are some ideas of things you can do to make handmade invitations to send out to the people you intend to invite to your Thanksgiving celebration.

*Calligraphy -

If you do calligraphy, you can do something incredibly elegant, or do something that takes your invitees back to the time of the Pilgrims. If you use a Copperplate pen nib, you can write an invitation in a script that will have that old feeling that you might want to create. You can do brush calligraphy and make it more informal, and the brush pens come in wonderful colors. To make your invitations look truly old, purchase some parchment paper at an art supply store. If you burn the edges of the paper, that will make it look even older. Seal your invitation with sealing wax for another touch of the past.

*A Fall themed invitation -

To make a quintessentially fall looking invitation, use maple leaves as the backing or as part of the background for the invitation. You can treat it with fixative spray (which will keep the color from changing,) or you can paint on something like polyurethane or some gesso (that is used for preparing paint canvasses before they are painted on.) Then take some construction paper, parchment, or other type of colored paper and write the details on that.

*Rubber stamping -

Rubber stamps are a great way to create a unique look on an invitation. You can get specific Thanksgiving themed stamps and arrange the design however you would like. If you want to get more elaborate, you can use different techniques that people frequently use for making cards. Embossing gives a very elegant and unique look. Adding buttons, ribbon or other objects can also add to the uniqueness of the invitation.

*Create your own stamp -

One of the simplest ways to print an image on paper is to create your own printed design. You can do that by cutting a potato or any other similar vegetable (a turnip or any other hard vegetable that can be carved,) and cut a design into the potato. Then use that as the medium from which the imprint will be printed onto the paper.

*Stencils -

You can purchase stencils or make your own. Consider using something that will be fitting for a fall harvest type theme. You can use maple leaves and stipple or sponge paint the leaves onto the invitation.


When it comes to determining how or what to do for the design of a Thanksgiving invitation, the choice is entirely an individual one. Much will depend on the amount of time that you have, how much money you can afford to spend, how many people you intend to invite, and what the nature of the party will be. In the end, however, a wonderful, handmade and personal invitation can be a very special touch, and it may set the tone for what the actual Thanksgiving dinner or party will be like.

Learn more about this author, Theresa Rose.
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