Springfield Index: Graduation Party Invitations

Whether your three-year-old is graduating from pre-school or you'll be beaming with pride at your college-bound Dayton grad on June 23, there's no getting away from it – graduation season. 

When daughter Zoe graduated from high school we hosted a balloon- and flower-filled backyard open-house for friends, neighbors and family. Even though we could have used an e-vite invitation or posted it as a Facebook event, we decided to splurge on printed invitations from The Paper Pedlar and were enormously pleased with the results.

We found a range of party invitation options available in and around Springfield on Thursday May 20. There's a better selection at the high-end places, our favorite bargain stops had little choice or no inventory.

The Paper Pedlar on Morris Avenue offers boxes of ten blank invitations, prices range from $13 to $21. For printing in black ink, figure in an additional 55 cents per card (75 cents for color).  Proofs are $10.  Most jobs can be completed in five to seven days, depending upon how busy they are. If you're a procrastinator like me and wait until the very last minute, just let them know -- 'rush' is no problem. Heidi Mucci told us that they handle a lot of graduation party invitations and can help you zero in on the perfect invite. Paper Pedlar stocks a nice selection of unique graduation cards, too.

Five Below on Route 22 eastbound, has  a limited selection of all-purpose invitations for the rock bottom price of eight for $1. If you're on a budget, you couldn't find anything for less – customize the inside with colored pencils, stickers or photo stamps and you're a creative genius.  Five Below stocks matching party supplies and graduation cards.

Shop Rite on Morris Avenue sells packages of eight pre-printed invitations for  $3.14.  The store had a limited but solid selection, these'll do fine. The store also carries graduation cards and matching party supplies and can't be beat for one-stop shopping. Pick up your party drinks to stash in the garage while you're buying the invites.

Paperfolio on Beechwood Road in Summit is the local gold standard for printed invitations. They're pricey but worth it, especially if you're creating a graduation scrapbook. Cost for a box of ten blank invitations starts as low as $9 with printing extra. The set up cost is $12.50, with printing 60 cents per card. Delivery is usually within two to three days. Emi Havas and her sister Deidre Carner have co-owned the Paperfolio for twenty-six years

Bed, Bath & Beyond on Morris Avenue, is one of our go-to sources for anything house and home. No graduation party invitations to be found, but BB&B gift cards are a thoughtful present for any college-dorm-bound student who will have a gazillion things to pick up in the fall. The store also had a decent selection of graduation cards.