• A future Marine leaving for boot camp can be an exciting and overwhelming experience.fighter image by Cora Reed from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  When a future Marine leaves for boot camp, it can be a bittersweet experience for friends and family. While he'll be greatly missed, he's starting a new chapter in his life and embarking on a career that could potentially last for a lifetime. If you're holding a going-away party for the new Marine, make the invitation something distinctive.
  
  

Combat Boot

• Design your invitation in the shape of a combat boot. Use black paper to cut out the shape of this traditional military footwear. For a decorative touch, you can add boot laces with black string. Print the details of the invitation on a lightly colored rectangular piece of paper that fits within the area of the boot. Glue the text section to the boot section. Your future Marine will likely appreciate the fact the invitation looks like something that will soon seem like an extension of herself.
  
  

Simple

• A simply designed invitation can go a long way in conveying the solemn occasion of a loved one leaving for Marine boot camp. Make the invitation in a traditional greeting card size using neutral colors such as gray, black or beige. Punch two holes roughly one inch apart in the top of the invitation and thread a yellow ribbon through them. Yellow ribbons traditionally symbolize support for military troops, and your Marine should be touched by the simple gesture.
  
  

Marine Colors

• Design your going-away party invitation using the official colors and symbols of the Marine Corps. Make the background color of the invitation scarlet, with the printed part on a gold paper. Add embellishments such as the emblem that contains an eagle, a globe and an anchor.
  
  

Photo Montage

• Joining the military often serves as a bridge between youth and adulthood. Piece together a photo montage of your Marine growing up. Use image-editing software to create a border of the pictures around the invitation text. In each invitation, include one full-sized picture of the party guest of honor so friends and relatives will have something to remember him by.