Betsy Veldman
It’s October once again and around our house that means we’ve got a birthday right around the corner. This Sunday, my oldest son will turn nine! I can hardly believe it!
Well, each year I try to come up with something clever for his birthday invitations. I feel lots of pressure because my family members now expect something fun and clever! Last year I made secret decoders, which was super fun and you can read about in this blog post. See? I’m feeling lots of pressure to top that one!
Well, I’m not sure I topped it, but I did come up with a fun and easy way to create an invitation that’s actually a personalized crossword puzzle. Do you know a kid that doesn’t like puzzles?
All of the clues have to do with the date, time and location of the party. By the time the recipient finishes the puzzle, they will have all the details they need to get themselves to the party!
There are many sites on the web that let you make your own crossword puzzles. I used Crosswordpuzzlegames.com to create mine. It allows you to type in your words and the clues that go with them, then just click on a button and it creates the puzzle for you. So easy! After printing out my crossword, I added just a few simple stamped elements to dress it up.
On the backside of the card are the party details, clearly spelled out, just in case! This was super fast and inexpensive, and I think his buddies will love it!
Did you know there are lots of other sites out there to make all sorts of different puzzles? You can make your own word searches at www.armoredpenguin.com, mazes and more at www.kidcrosswords.com and a plethora of puzzles at www.edhelper.com. I’m thinking of all sorts of possibilities, including Valentine treats with hidden love notes, children’s birthday cards, get well cards and so much more!
I’d love to see your ideas for creating something “puzzling”!
Betsy Veldman,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal
P.S. Make sure you check back with us tomorrow when Jennifer spotlights the five winning cards from the World Card Making Day gallery! To see Cath’s five winners, head on over to Moxie Fab World!
WOW!!!
Great project!!!!!
Thanks for Crosswordpuzzlegames.com
Just love this site!!!!!
Thanks!!
cute, cute, cute! thanks for the heads-up on the puzzle websites–i can use them for my sunday school extras! too much fun! ~k
Well, how cute is this! I love it! Thanks for the links to puzzle web sites! I love this idea very much!!
OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS!!! hmmm my Bday is next mth and I wanted to have a party how awesome would it be to have invites like this! TFS!!
What a cute idea! I love it! This would be a great Valentine idea! Thanks! I hope the party goes great!
This is SUCH a great idea! I love it!!!
These are too cute! There is always the old print the invite on a small puzzle, take it apart and mail the pieces, they have to put it together to find out where the party is. Fun and easily personalized.
Thanks for the fun post!
Very cool idea, Betsy!
SO clever Betsy…I love this idea!
Brilliant! What kid wouldn’t love this!
so cool! i have two boys 9 and 11 and i’m always looking for neat and interesting party ideas. last year we had a secret agent party and i made little file folder invites and the wording inside was flipped so that you had to read it using a mirror! that was fun!
Those are stellar invitations. Brilliant idea!
Those are so clever, and cute to boot!
You definitely topped it! But then I think crossword puzzles top ALL other ideas
Cute, cute, CUTE invitations. I am thoroughly impressed 
You rock, Ms. Betsy! Awesome idea
Amazing and clever idea! Love this! So cool, Betsy!
That is so amazingly clever! I have 4 young girls and we love to create inspiring party invitations, I think we may have to put a spin on this one.
this is so clever, betsy!
What an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing.
how cute! we did word searches one year and that was a big hit! there are several sites where you can make your own using whatever words you want to add to the puzzle. it’s super fun!
I think it would be cool to make your own little puzzles to put together.
super cute–tfs!
These invites are AWEsome! Thanks for the link to the crossword site!!
SO STINKIN’ CUTE – TFS!
I love that idea! It’s so very clever, and crossword puzzles are my very favorite. =)
These are the cutest things ever Betsy! How I love your creativity!
Melissa
Oh wow, I’ve seen the customized puzzles and never could figure out how people did them. I’ve got to try it out! Thanks!