How to Do a Roast Invitation
- 1). Create your roast invitation in a word processing program you are most comfortable with. Microsoft Publisher offers several invitation templates that are fairly simple to navigate. And if you get stuck, you can simply prompt the program for “help” or watch a quick tutorial.
- 2). Fill in the basic information about the roast first, including the time, day, date and location of the roast. Many people now use navigational websites to find directions, but remember that some of the guests may not even use a computer. For them, be sure to draft an easy-to-read map of the location of the roast.
- 3). Specify whether dinner will be served and what the menu includes, remembering that food remains a major attraction for social events. Note whether there will be a cash or open bar.
- 4
Celebrities still conduct roasts, and their humor is usually biting.John Rowley/Photodisc/Getty Images
Provide an RSVP and due date. You’ll be glad you did, especially as you plan the itinerary for the roast beforehand. - 5). Describe the person’s role and/or function at the roast; everyone should have one. If the guest is a former college roommate, for example, explain that he will be counted on to share a five- or 10-minute humorous story about the guest of honor from their college days. At the roast itself, line up all the college friends so that they can give their roasts together. Segregate other guests -- family, neighbors and work colleagues, for example -- in the same manner so that they can share stories about a slice of the guest’s life.
- 6). Request on the invitation that guests come to the roast with a piece of paper that includes a memorable quote, saying or expression from the guest of honor. Ask that that the guests drop this paper in a bowl that you will have stationed at the front door of the roast. Then, at intervals throughout the evening and to keep people entertained, draw a slip of paper from the bowl, read the quote and ask the guest of honor to guess who provided the telling submission.
- 7
A roast usually concludes with the guest of honor having the final word.Goodshoot/Goodshoot/Getty Images
Add a friendly “heads-up” on the invitation that encourages guests to share only “G-rated stories,” for example, or any other advice that you think might help the evening go smoothly. You may want to add an equally friendly suggestion that some topics (hurtful family estrangements, past romances or former marriages, for example) should be off-limits during the roast.
Source...