How To Ask For Gifts On An Invitation

Receiving gifts on any occasion is a pleasant experience. However, when you are throwing a birthday party or family get-together party, you are not sure whether the guests would bring a gift or not. In this type of situation, you can ask for gifts on the invitation. But asking the guests for gifts is a delicate question and it needs to be treated carefully. It is not mandatory to ask people to bring a gift to a birthday party or a wedding party or a baby shower. It is some kind of tradition to bring gifts to these types of parties.

Most people don’t think it’s rude to ask for gifts on an invitation as long as you are doing it in an appropriate way. Sometimes guests find it a bit difficult to pick a gift so a hint in the invitation card is appreciated by them. You have to consider a lot of things when making a gift request.

There are a lot of things that you have to keep in mind when asking for gifts on an invitation. To help you out I have discussed several easy ways on how to ask for presents on invitations. Keep reading the article to know the details.

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Ask For Gifts On An Invitation

Things To Consider Before Sending An Invitation With Gift Request

You have to make sure you have asked politely for gifts on the invitation. To do so, first, you have to clear your mind and decide what you want to ask as a gift on the invitation card. There are a few things that will help you have a clear picture in your head about what you want. Let’s check them out.

Occasion

This is a very important factor to consider. Whether it’s a birthday party, Christmas, a wedding, or a completely different occasion; you should ask for the gifts depending on them. Moreover, you also have to consider the size of the party, if it’s a big party or small gathering, the number of people coming, etc. The answer to these questions will tell you what kind of invitation to send and whether you should ask for gifts. If you are throwing a big party then you can go with impersonal and short cards but for small gatherings, you can send personalized invitations.

Guests

The types of guests you are inviting also decide whether you should request for gifts or not. Are you inviting your close friends and family members or throwing a party for your coworkers, bosses, and people that you know a little off? If you are inviting your friends and family members then you can simply ask for gifts in the invitation card because things are easier with intimate friends, and family members. Moreover, you can be honest about what you want and they will understand your reason. Besides, you can personally tell them the reason so you don’t even have to write anything about the gifts on the invitations. This way you can save a lot of time and effort. 

On the other hand, if you are inviting a lot of people that you don’t know very well then you’ll have to think about how to politely ask for gifts on invitations. So you should review your guest list and consider who is coming so that you can decide what to do with the cards. For friends and family members write funny and creative cards that will make them laugh. But, when you are inviting your coworkers you have to stick to a professional invitation.

Gifts

Before asking for gifts, first, you have to decide what gift you want. If you are throwing a family gathering then you can just ask for one big gift from all of them. It’s convenient for everyone as you will get what you want and your guests can save time on planning and picking separate gifts. But you also have to think of some alternatives in case your guests are not willing to give what you want. This way you can avoid misunderstanding and embarrassments.

How To Ask For Gifts On An Invitation

Ask Politely

Asking politely and directly is the best and the most intimidating way to ask your guests for gifts. Directly asking for gifts may sound rude but if you ask politely then it won’t sound rude. In fact, you can directly ask for your birthday present from your family members or close friends. They won’t mind if you tell them the true reason for asking the particular gift and be honest with them. You should tell them the true reason why you want that gift. 

Tell them what you will do with the gift. If you keep yourself honest and tell them your reason, they’ll understand, and some of them might even feel relieved. Sometimes people find it difficult to buy gifts for a particular person year after year. So giving them an alternative or hint might be stress relieving for them. Lastly, you shouldn’t be ashamed to make a birthday gift request as long as you’re not greedy, have a reasonable cause, and you do it politely.

Invitation Cards

If you are sending an invitation to invite guests to a party then you can easily ask for gifts on the card. Generally, the invitation card contains important information like the date of the occasion, the time, the place, etc. So you can give specific instructions on the invitation card like a request to bring a particular gift for the party. You can add your request to the bottom of the invitation. But if you have other things to say then you can add a separate column in the invitation with your message. This is a great way to say that you will appreciate a specific gift for your birthday. Moreover, if you follow the method then the chance of hurting the fillings of your loved ones is zero!

Asking Gifts On A Birthday Invitation

It’s a bit tricky to ask for gifts on a birthday invitation because in a birthday party most of the guests would bring gifts. Some of these gifts are good and others might not be any good use of yours. So the only way you can prevent this from happening is to ask for something specific in the invitation. Now the main question is how you can ask for a specific gift on the invitation. You can directly write “gifts would be appreciated” on the invitation card. You can write it in a small print at the bottom of the invitation and make sure you keep it short and sweet. 

Moreover, you can give your guests a list of choices so that they can pick a gift according to their suitability. But the problem with this method is; you could end up with duplicate gifts. You can also register on a gift registry and include it on the invitation card. You can also add a note “Please feel free to call if you need gift ideas” to your invitation card. So your guests can call you before they go out to shop for your present.

Asking Gifts On A Wedding Invitation  

To many people, it is acceptable to ask for gifts on the wedding invitation card. It is more preferable if it is done by registering with a wedding gift registry. What you can do is; write down the name of the entire registry at the bottom of your wedding invitation. You can write “We are registered with (Name of the gift registry).” 

Many couples want money instead of gifts and if you are one of them then you have to be careful with your wordings. You can use no gift wording in the invitation card. There are many different ways to write money instead of gifts on an invitation. For example:

1. Gifts are not required. But if you want to give me one, I would appreciate a cash gift to help me spend a long-awaited holiday in my dream place.

2. The presence of your family and friends will do, no gifts, please. However, if you want to give something, some cash would mean a lot.

3. Your presence is all I need for the day. But if you want to give me any present then any donation to help build my house is appreciated.

4. Your presence is the only present desired but if you really want to give me a gift then give me money instead of gifts so that I can buy my dream computer. 

Asking Gifts On A Baby Shower Invitation

You can include a gift request on a baby shower invitation card and it is acceptable by everyone. The main purpose of this type of party is to gather family and friends together to receive gifts for both the baby and going to be a mom. This is an excellent way to collect some of the biggest and more expensive items for the newborn baby. You can set up a baby registry and then include the name of the registry at the bottom of the invitation card.

Final Thought

I hope you have found the above information helpful and successfully ask for gifts on an invitation. Be honest about your needs & wishes and while approaching the guests make sure you don’t hurt their fillings. Let us know in the comment section how you have celebrated your party and if our tricks have worked for you!

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