Sending

• Send the invitation for the anniversary party out at least six weeks in advance. Sending the invitation with this much time before the actual party will allow the individuals invited to the party to consider whether or not they wish to attend as well as glean whether or not they can make the necessary arrangements to do so. Most people, for instance, need sufficient time to arrange time off from work or to book flights and hotel rooms if they are coming from out of town. It is a good idea to include an RSVP card with the invitation as well. This will allow the host(ess) of the anniversary party to know in advance how many of the invited parties actually are planning to attend, which is important to know in terms of refreshments and seating arrangements.
  
  

Writing Considerations

• Pay attention to the grammar, punctuation and abbreviations on the invitation. A traditional, formal anniversary party invitation always uses third person, which means that the invitation should not include pronouns such as "I" or "me." Do not use any punctuation such as a period at the end of each line on the invitation. Lastly, do not abbreviate and do not use acronyms. For example, write "Street" instead of "St." and "United Methodist Church" instead of "UMC." Abbreviations and acronyms are not used on formal invitations in order to ensure that there is no confusion about for what the abbreviation or acronym might stand.
  
  

Children and Gifts

• Make no mention of children, and do not request that the guest bring a gift. Typically, the rule of thumb is that those who are invited to the party are written on the invitation, so if the children's names are not on the invitation, the host(ess) is not expecting or desiring them to be at the party. Additionally, it is considered bad form to request gifts since not everyone invited may be in a financial position to afford one. It is acceptable to put a general statement on the bottom of the invitation such as "children welcome to attend" or, for gifts, "no gifts, please" if the host(ess) wants to make sure that nobody worries about buying the couple anything.