Have you heard of Paperless Post?
It's a super fun and easy way to surprise guests with a classic invitation just like the old days- along with the convenience of doing it right from your phone or email.
When Paperless Post offered to partner with me, I knew the perfect event I could use my invitations for. Recently, I invited fellow bookworms over to my house for a "Book Chat" night. I've been wanting to have a book club for years but could never get people together, let alone think of a book we would all enjoy reading. On top of that, it was hard to imagine finding the time to read another book on top of all the others I read for reviews. So instead, I decided we could just get together to talk about whatever book we are currently reading. And the night turned out to be everything I was hoping for, and more.
I of course wanted to use a bookish theme for the invite and Paperless Post came through with the perfect one. They have so many to choose from but I fell in love with this one right away:
Paperless Post offers beautiful templates and there are fun choices for colors and patterns for the envelopes too- plus they are animated which just adds a really fun touch for the recipients. They are so easy to customize for your event so every invite is truly unique.
The app allowed me to upload a guest list and send out the invitation to multiple people and then kept track of RSVPs, so I knew who was coming. It was so convenient and easy to build, send and manage the invitation!
This was the mess that was my shelves as I prepared for Book Chat- picking out what books I thought others would like to borrow was so fun!
My tips for a no-pressure, relaxed book "club" would just be to offer a comfy setting for your fellow book-loving friends to gather and share what they are reading. I told guests that there was no pressure to talk to the group, they were welcome to just sit back and listen. You didn't have to bring a book to trade but if you wanted to borrow, there were others who brought plenty to it worked out great. I had light snacks and drinks laid out-it was later in the evening so I knew most everyone would have already eaten. Snack foods like pretzels and popcorn are always a good idea!
I set the books out that I thought people might want to borrow and arranged them in genres- thrillers, non-fiction, historical fiction, family dramas and even made a pile of my husband's personal favorites because he has fantastic taste in books too!
I bought blank library slips on Amazon for people to use as book marks or, if they were lending out their books to others, they could write their name on the library slip so that others would remember who to return it to.
I wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable and had a great time. We talked about books we loved, hated, remembered reading from our childhoods and swapped tons of books with each other. It was a bookworm's dream come true!
Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and we all left with a list of books to read based on others' reviews. It was so fun to listen to others talk about their favorites. It helped me realized that I would enjoy reading something out of my usual genre and I love that!
The best part was the difference of all the books and preferences. Some of us love e-books, others swear by physical copies. One of the ladies admitted to reading the ends of the books when she can't wait to find out what happens and that made others gasp in shock. It was so funny! We all can't wait to get together again!
If you are planning an event or get together, definitely check out Paperless Post's invitations. They have everything from baby showers, baby announcements and more. So fun!
