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You know when your kids are babies, and people always tell you that the days are long, but the years are short? Well, that is absolutely true. Somehow my little toddler with blond curls and pudgy, dimpled knuckles is turning sixteen! That little girl will be driving in a few short months. I have been trying to come up with the best “sweet 16” theme for her, and I am not sure if we will party in-person, or have her friends do a drive-by, but I finally came up with invitations! They are perfect for ANY drive-by OR sweet 16 birthday. That seems to be the latest craze, and it is so sad to think that party invitations could be a thing of the past! People will always enjoy receiving a tangible invitation – even for a drive-by! You could even stand there and hand out store-bought cupcakes and goodie bags…or have each car decorate to go with a theme, and treat it like a parade! There are still plenty of ways to celebrate, and it all starts with an invite. Grab some cardstock and key rings, and let’s get started on some DIY keychain invitations!
If you are looking for some more socially distanced, drive-by birthday ideas, check out this roundup, or this parade idea. You might be able to use these paper plate flowers or cars to decorate your porch or garage, or add some sticks to the back and place them in the yard!
what you need:
- Cardstock in multiple colors
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Cutting machine (optional)
- Alphabet stamps
- Inkpad
- Corner rounder
- Fine tip permanent markers (gray and black)
- Glue stick
- Small hole punch
- 24 mm split rings
- Assorted jump rings
how-to:
Use a cutting machine or scissors to cut a 3 7/8” x 2 ¼” diamond, and a 3 9/16” x 2 1/8” diamond.
Use a corner rounder to round off the top and bottom of each diamond. Use scissors to round off the sides.
Use your ruler and gray permanent marker to create four to five lines about 1/16” apart at the top and bottom of the smaller diamond.
Use alphabet stamps and/or numbers from a cutting machine to stamp or glue onto the middle of the smaller diamond. You may write “Sweet 16”, HBD (Happy Birthday), Drive-by Bday, or the phrase of your choice. You can always use the child’s age, even if they aren’t turning sixteen!
On the back of the larger diamond, write invitations details, such as the date, time, place, etc. using a pen or alphabet stamps.
Center and glue the smaller diamond onto the larger one, and punch a small hole at the top.
Attach a jump ring to the hole, and then attach your 24 mm split ring to the jump ring. You may leave the keychain as-is, or add a key (paper or real).
