First off, my Disney-loving husband would like you all to know that this party was not his idea. It was mine. That’s true, and I’m willing to take credit. That said, he is doing a pretty good job of turning Elise and me into Disney nerds. (Yeah, it’s happening. I’m surrendering.)
When I asked Elise what kind of birthday party she wanted, she would give me answers like a “house party” or a “shoes party.” Basically, whatever was in front of her at the time, she would say and then add “party” to the end of it.
So with little to go on, I decided to honor her love of Mickey Mouse and Disney World. (We’ve visited twice in her short three years.) And the idea of a Magic Kingdom-inspired party was born.
And what better way to send an invite to a Magic Kingdom party than to send a postcard. (Well, a fake postcard.) Let’s get started!
I always try to take a special photo for the invitation that no one has seen before. Not only to fit the theme of the party, but it’s kind of a fun extra surprise for friends and family if they haven’t already “liked” it on Facebook. It’s nearly impossible to get young children to sit still for long and forget about posing. But if you take enough photos, you’re bound to get something usable. I usually combine the photo shoot with a trip to the park or a run around the back yard so that everybody’s happy.
I used Photoshop to add the border, the text and to tint the photo a bit so it looked glowy. Many photo websites will let you add borders or text to a plain photo print free, so something like this is not out of reach for those without graphic design software.
I got the photos printed at Target for 19 cents a piece. I normally don’t do quick-photo places because I prefer matte prints, but for this, I thought the glossy finish suited the postcard concept.
For the back, I scanned an old Disney World postcard to get the logo and the castle. I used Photoshop to erase the parts I didn’t want, and used it as a background for my party information.
I kind of mangled the words to the old Mickey Mouse Club theme song to suit my needs. I usually struggle with invitation wording, but this came easy.
I printed on some blank index cards (the kind without lines). They were already 4″x6″ and so it was an easy, no-cutting way to create a back to the 4″x6″ photo print. I think you can feed 4″x6″ cards directly into most printers. Do a test run and adjust as needed.
After the ink was dry, I attached the print to the card with some scrapbooking adhesive. Easy and mess free.
The cost ended up being around 40 cents per invite/envelope. And it would have been less if I had stalked out a sale on photo prints, but I needed so few invites, it only would have saved a couple of bucks.
Update: 07/02/2012 – Get the free postcard printable!
p.s. The Magic Kingdom font is called Started by a Mouse and is free. The Walt Disney World retro logo font is called Florida Project and is free. And the scripty font I used is called Filmotype Jessy and is the only font I’ve ever paid for. Bought it a while ago for a yet-to-materialize project. Money well spent!
See more Magic Kingdom party details! >>
I love this! I am planning our DD’s third birthday and this party is perfect. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow a few {most} of the ideas. I have been trying to find something that was Disney without being Mickey overboard. We will be returning from Disney two days before her party so it fits perfectly. I was wondering if you happen to have saved the postcard back template? I want to use this same idea. If so is there anyway you could email it? jennebowers{at}live{dot}com. I can easily add my info through a program I have but was hoping you already had the basic format. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful party!!!
Thank you, Jennifer! So glad you liked the party. Borrow away!
As for the postcard template, I do have it! Let me get it together into a file type you can use and I’ll e-mail you soon!
This is such a great idea! We’ll be taking our 4 1/2 year old daughter to Disney World for her 5th birthday, but still wanted to have a small party for close friends & family. A Magic Kingdom theme would certainly help us get more excited for the trip. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
You’re welcome! Have fun on your trip!