Inauguration Party Preparations

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’re well aware of the fact that Tuesday is Inauguration Day for President-Elect Barack Obama. And no matter what your political affiliation may be, you’ve gotta admit, it’s going to be a historic day.

Since the majority of us can’t make it D.C. for big day, why not host your own Inauguration Party?

Here’s how I’m planning to invite my guests and set the theme for my own “Inaugural Ball”:

1. Invitations
To save money, I’m using a website that lets you design and print free invitations. Since it’s hard to find invitations made specifically for Presidential Inaugurations, I’m just altering one that was meant for a 4th of July party. Americangreetings.com and Invitationland.com both have some great options, or you can always use evite.com to send your invitations via email. (A great option if you don’t have time for snail mail!) Plus, evite.com does have invitation templates made up just for the Inauguration…how easy is that??

2. Theme
Well this one seems pretty obvious. I’m sticking with the red, white and blue color scheme and America-themed décor. And an added bonus of this theme is that you can find plenty of “Stars and Stripes” party supplies meant for 4th of July on sale this time of the year. You can try partyamerica.com.

3. Dress Code
My party is going to be a true Inaugural Ball…complete with a dress code!

I know most of my girlfriends still have old prom dresses sitting in the back of their closets, and if not, they surely have a bridesmaid’s dress handy. Or, if worse comes to worse, I’m recommending they check out local thrift stores. The point of my “ball” isn’t necessarily style – humor will get you in my door as well! The only rule is my guests can’t spend more than $20 on their whole outfit (this includes the guys as well). I can’t wait to see what kind of suits the guys can find for that price!

Of course, if you want your guests in less formal attire, you can always ask them to wear red, white and/or blue. Everyone has something that fits those criteria in their closet!