We celebrated another family event this weekend, the first birthday of my youngest grandson. In the past, invitations were sent in the mail or by making telephone calls. Today, when my children plan a party, the invitations are frequently sent by using Evite. Using this free service, invitations are emailed to the guests. There are a wide variety of themes that can be used or you can upload your own photos or illustrations



Click on the address, and you will be led to a Google map with the address already filled in, waiting to give you turn by turn directions.



When a guest clicks to accept the invitation, the hosts will have a current response list. The hosts or any of the invited guests can go back to the web site to check up on the guest list at any time.



Need to make a change to the party? Evite can handle that too.



Perhaps, even better, Evite will send reminder notices to the guests.



Evite is a free service. Although you do not have to sign up with them to view and respond to invitations, you do need to sign up to send invitations. The site makes money by selling advertising links. While there are plenty, they do not overcrowd the site.

While the older crowd may still prefer paper invitations, Evite has a lot going for it. Not only is it free, giving directions has never been easier and gently nudging your guests for RSVPs and sending reminders it very easy. Perhaps I will use Evite the next time I host a party!