In the Office Show Holiday episode, we had to create a "pretty and festive" holiday party invitation really quickly. But you don't have to be a design guru to do the same for your party. Microsoft Office helps you get great-looking results, whether your work hangs in galleries or you can't draw a straight line. Just keep these simple principles in mind:

  • Be inclusive. For most holiday parties, choose an image that everyone can relate to, such as a seasonal plant or something weather-related like a snowflake.
  • Keep it simple. Pick a single image and one or two fonts and colors to use in all your designs.
  • Personalize to make it memorable. Include elements like names and photographs that are meaningful to your guests.

If you want to create a set of complimentary seasonal stationary - invites, cards, banners and decorations for example - using consistent colors, fonts and images will help build a strong identity for your event, and make it more appealing to your guests.

If you're short on time you can always use templates. There's a nice variety of holidays templates available on office.com that are sure to get you in the festive spirit.

Here's a quick tip to make that template personal. Many holiday themed templates - including this one - support themes. That means you can choose one of the many set of complimentary colors and fonts already built into Word 2010 and apply them to your template.

  • Download the template and open it
  • Click the 'Page Layout' tab
  • Click the 'Themes' button - it's the first button on the left of the ribbon
  • A gallery will appear and you can preview the themes right in your document by rolling your mouse pointer over each thumbnail
  • Click whichever thumbnail meets with your approval (I like how 'Waveform' keeps the holiday colors but really makes them pop!)

Have a happy and well-designed holiday season!

-- March Rogers