• Invitations for a surprise party should reflect the theme of the event.invitation mariage image by Christophe Thélisson from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  The invitation to a party should be an indication of the party's level of formality, and should give guests an idea of the good time they will have at the celebration. If you're planning a surprise birthday party for a friend or loved one, there are several ways to decorate the invites to reflect the special surprise you're planning.
  
  

e-Invitations

• In order to make sure that the guest of honor doesn't find out about the party, invite the guests via email. You can still decorate the invitations with free stock photos from the internet--use images of the birthday girl's favorite animal as the backdrop for the invitation, or the emblem of the birthday boy's hometown sports team. You can also customize your invitations using sites like evite.com. Add an RSVP to the invitation so that guests can confirm their attendance via email (which makes it easy to keep up with the guest list). Be sure to remind the guests at the end of the invitation that the party is a surprise, so that they won't show the email invite to the guest of honor.
  
  

Picture Invitations

• Use a photo of the guest of honor as the backdrop for the invitation--choose a picture that shows the birthday girl in a fun pose, or the birthday boy with a big smile on his face. Word the invitations with a phrase like "Let's recreate (guest of honor)'s smile by throwing a surprise party!" To give the invitation more of a creative feel, convert the photo to black and white, and accent it with bursts of color, i.e., making the jewelry the birthday girl has on in the photo her favorite color, or accenting the shirt color of the birthday boy. Make sure that the font is easy to read and include a phone number and email address for guests to RSVP.
  
  

"Surprise" Invitations

• Include a little surprise for guests in each invitation, in keeping with the "surprise party" theme. For instance, word the front of the invitation with a phrase like "What would make (guest of honor)'s surprise party great?" Tape a small mirror in the invitation and write the word "You!" above it. Include all the details of the party beneath the mirror, and remember to tell guests at the end of the invitation that the party is a complete surprise. You can also purchase pop-up invitations, so that fun images like brightly colored flowers or presents will "surprise" guests when they open the invitation.