On this page14 sections
- Quick picker
- Inviting friends and family
- Formal and printed invitations
- Work events, meetings and calls
- Joining a team, club or cause
- "Please join us in welcoming..." and similar announcements
- Online, live streams and social media
- From casual to formal
- Join us for, at, in or on?
- Phrases to use with care
- Saying yes or no to an invitation
- Sample invitations
- Practice
- Quick answers
Good other ways to say join us are come along, we’d love to have you, we’d love to see you there, you’re welcome to join and come and celebrate with us for friends, and we invite you to attend or we request the pleasure of your company for formal invitations. If “join us” opens an announcement (“Please join us in welcoming Dr Patel”), the usual alternatives are please help us welcome and let’s give a warm welcome to.
“Join us” does four different jobs, and the best replacement depends on which one you mean: coming to an event, taking part in a meeting or call, becoming part of a group, or joining in an action such as welcoming or congratulating someone. The sections below follow those four jobs, then cover the prepositions that trip people up (join us for, at, in, on), sample invitations you can adapt, and a short practice set with answers.
Quick picker
| Situation | Try this instead of “join us” |
|---|---|
| a text to a friend | Come along! / Want to come? / You in? |
| a dinner or party at home | We’d love to have you. / Come over for dinner on Friday. |
| a birthday, launch or celebration | Come and celebrate with us. / We’d love to see you there. |
| an open event anyone may attend | All are welcome. / Everyone is welcome to come. |
| a printed formal invitation | We request the pleasure of your company at… |
| a work event or webinar | You’re invited to… / We’d like to invite you to… |
| a meeting people must attend | Please attend… / Attendance is required. |
| an online call | Here’s the link to the call. / Hop on the call when you’re free. |
| recruiting staff or members | We’re hiring. / Become a member. / Get involved. |
| a welcome or announcement | Please help us welcome… / Let’s give a warm welcome to… |
Inviting friends and family
Between friends, “join us” can sound a little like a printed card. Spoken invitations are usually shorter and built around the activity: “We’re getting pizza, come along” is warmer than “Please join us for pizza”. The phrases below are all natural in texts, chats and conversation.
| Phrase | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Come along | “We’re going to the lake on Saturday. Come along if you’re free.” | easy, low pressure |
| Want to come? / Do you want to come? | “We’ve got a spare ticket for the match. Want to come?” | a real question, easy to say no to |
| Would you like to come? | “We’re having a few people round for dinner. Would you like to come?” | more polite than “do you want” |
| We’d love to have you | “It’s only a small party, but we’d love to have you.” | stresses that the person is wanted |
| We’d love to see you there | “The exhibition opens on the 12th. We’d love to see you there.” | good for events you are hosting |
| Come over | “Come over after work and we’ll order food.” | to someone’s home |
| Swing by / Drop by / Pop in (UK) | “We’ll be at the café until four. Swing by if you’re nearby.” | a short, informal visit |
| Come and celebrate with us | “Sam turns forty next month. Come and celebrate with us!” | birthdays, anniversaries, good news |
| You’re more than welcome to come | “Bring your sister too. You’re both more than welcome to come.” | reassures someone who may feel like an outsider |
| Feel free to tag along | “I’m meeting Jo for coffee. Feel free to tag along.” | joining a plan someone else already had |
| You in? / Are you in? | “Five-a-side football on Thursday. You in?” | very casual, mostly written in chats |
| Why don’t you come with us? | “We’re driving down on Friday. Why don’t you come with us?” | a friendly suggestion, not a complaint |
Come join us or come and join us? Both are correct. “Come join us” (with no “and”) is especially common in American English; British speakers more often say “come and join us”. “Come to join us” means something different: it describes a purpose (“She came to join us for the last week of the trip”).
Formal and printed invitations
Weddings, galas, award dinners and official ceremonies still use set formulas. They read as stiff in an email, but on a printed card they are exactly what guests expect.
| Phrase | Example | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| request the pleasure of your company | “Mr and Mrs Okafor request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter…” | social events, receptions, dinners |
| request the honour (US: honor) of your presence | “…request the honour of your presence at the marriage of…” | by etiquette tradition, a ceremony in a place of worship |
| cordially invite you to | “The board of trustees cordially invites you to the opening of the new library.” | official openings, institutional events |
| are delighted to invite you to | “We are delighted to invite you to our tenth anniversary dinner.” | formal but warm |
| would be honoured if you would attend | “We would be honoured if you would attend the award ceremony as our guest.” | inviting a speaker or an important guest |
| the pleasure of your company is requested | “The pleasure of your company is requested at a reception for the visiting delegation.” | very formal, impersonal |
| we hope you will be able to attend | “We hope you will be able to attend the dedication on 4 May.” | polite, less ceremonial |
Formal cards normally end with a reply request: “RSVP by 1 June”, “Kindly reply by…” or “Regrets only” (reply only if you cannot come). For what to write about gifts on the same card, see other ways to say gifts are optional.
Two phrases that turn up in lists of “formal alternatives” do not belong there. We solicit your involvement sounds like a request for money or a sales call, because “solicit” is most often used for asking for donations, business or bids. We anticipate the pleasure of your company is a garbled version of “request the pleasure of your company” and reads as if you are assuming the guest will come.
Work events, meetings and calls
At work, “Please join us for…” is perfectly normal and nobody will mind it. Alternatives help when you want to vary a series of emails, make the purpose clearer, or be honest about whether attendance is optional.
| Phrase | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| You’re invited to | “You’re invited to our quarterly town hall on 14 March.” | clear and neutral |
| We’d like to invite you to | “We’d like to invite you to a short demo of the new booking system.” | polite, slightly more personal |
| We hope you can make it | “Drinks are at 5:30 in the atrium. We hope you can make it.” | friendly, clearly optional |
| Can you make it to | “Can you make it to the planning session on Tuesday?” | asks for a yes or no |
| Your input would help at | “Your input would really help at Thursday’s design review.” | tells the person why they are wanted |
| Please attend | “Please attend the fire safety briefing on Monday at 9:00.” | use when it is not optional |
| Attendance is required | “Attendance is required for all new starters.” | plain and honest about obligation |
| Register for | “Register for the webinar using the link below.” | events with sign-up |
| Here’s the link to join | “The call starts at 3. Here’s the link to join.” | online meetings |
| Hop on the call / Jump on the call | “Hop on the call whenever you’re free and we’ll go through it.” | informal, between colleagues |
One habit is worth breaking: dressing a compulsory meeting up as an invitation. “Join us for the compliance training, it’s mandatory!” sends two messages at once. If people must come, say “Please attend” or “Attendance is required”, and save the friendlier wording for things they can actually turn down. For the line after an introduction, see other ways to say looking forward to meeting you.
Joining a team, club or cause
Here “join us” means “become one of us”, and the alternative should name what the person would actually become: an employee, a member, a volunteer, a supporter.
- We’re hiring. “We’re hiring two junior designers. Applications close on 30 April.” Clear, and it works as a headline.
- Come and work with us. “Come and work with us at our new office in Leeds.” Friendly recruitment wording.
- Become a member. “Become a member and get free entry to every exhibition.” Best for clubs, gyms and societies.
- Sign up. “Sign up for the Saturday running group.” For anything with a form.
- Get involved. “Want to get involved? We need volunteers for the summer fair.” Open-ended, good for community groups.
- Volunteer with us. “Volunteer with us for two hours a week.” Says exactly what is being asked.
- Be part of. “Be part of the team that builds the new children’s ward.” Works when the project itself is the draw.
- Add your name. “Add your name to the petition.” For campaigns and petitions.
Some job adverts say “join our family”. It means to sound warm, but it can come across as promising more than a job, so “join our team” or a plain description of the role is usually safer.
“Please join us in welcoming…” and similar announcements
This is the use most lists of synonyms miss. In speeches, newsletters and emails, “join us in” or “join me in” asks the audience to share an action with the speaker: welcoming, congratulating, thanking or remembering someone.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| Please join us in welcoming Maya to the team. | Please help us welcome Maya to the team. / Let’s give Maya a warm welcome. |
| Please join me in congratulating Tom. | Many congratulations to Tom, who… / I’m delighted to announce that Tom… |
| Please join us in thanking our volunteers. | A huge thank you to our volunteers. / We owe our volunteers a big thank you. |
| Join us in welcoming our keynote speaker. | Please welcome our keynote speaker, Dr Ana Ruiz. / It’s my pleasure to introduce… |
| Please join us in remembering… | We remember today… / Please take a moment to remember… |
Use join me when you are speaking for yourself and join us when you speak for a group or organisation. Both take in plus an -ing verb: “join us in welcoming”, not “join us to welcome” in this sense. For more announcement wording, see other ways to say happy to announce, and for greeting a newcomer, other ways to say welcome.
Online, live streams and social media
- Tune in: “Tune in at 7 pm for the live Q&A.” For broadcasts and streams.
- Watch live: “Watch live on our channel from 6 pm.”
- Follow along: “Follow along as we restore a 1960s caravan.” For series and ongoing projects.
- Come and say hi: “We’re at stand B12 all weekend. Come and say hi.” For fairs and pop-ups.
- Join the conversation: “Join the conversation using the event hashtag.” Fine online, though it has become a stock phrase.
Some event copy reaches for big images: “step into a world of wonder”, “let your spirit soar”. These are metaphors, and they can work for a themed party or a festival, but they say little about what will actually happen. One vivid line followed by the plain facts (date, place, what to bring) is usually enough. Our guide to figurative language explains how metaphors like these work and when they fall flat.
From casual to formal
The same invitation to a dinner, written five ways:
- “Dinner at ours Friday, you in?” (a text to a close friend)
- “We’re having a few people over for dinner on Friday. Want to come?” (casual)
- “We’d love to have you over for dinner on Friday.” (warm, polite)
- “We would be delighted if you could join us for dinner on Friday, 6 June.” (formal email or note)
- “Mr and Mrs Lee request the pleasure of your company at dinner on Friday, the sixth of June.” (printed card)
Notice that “join us” is fine at level four. The aim is not to ban it but to have something else ready when it would sound too formal, too vague, or repeated for the third time in one email.
Join us for, at, in or on?
| Pattern | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| join us for + activity or meal | what you will do | “Join us for lunch.” / “Join us for a quiz night.” |
| join us at + place or event | where it happens | “Join us at the Grand Hotel.” / “Join us at the conference.” |
| join us in + -ing verb | sharing an action | “Join us in celebrating ten years.” |
| join us on + trip, platform or day | journeys, online places, dates | “Join us on the coach trip.” / “Join us on Zoom.” / “Join us on Saturday.” |
“Join” already means “come together with”, so you do not need “to”: “join us”, never “join to us”. “Join with us” exists but is formal and old-fashioned, heard mostly in religious services (“join with us in prayer”). “Join together” is common in speech, though “together” adds little.
Phrases to use with care
| Phrase | The problem | Better |
|---|---|---|
| “Be there or be square!” | a dated joke; fine among friends, odd anywhere else | “Hope to see you there!” |
| “You must join us!” | warm in speech, pushy in writing to someone you barely know | “We’d love you to come.” |
| “Join us, it’ll be fun!” | no date, place or reason to say yes | “Join us for a barbecue at ours on Saturday from 2 pm.” |
| “We solicit your presence” | “solicit” suggests asking for money or business | “We invite you to attend.” |
| “Be part of the gang at the camping trip” | wrong preposition; also vague | “Come camping with us” / “Join us on the camping trip.” |
| “Your presence is mandatory. Join us!” | an order dressed as an invitation | “Please attend. This session is required.” |
Saying yes or no to an invitation
If someone sends you a “join us”, these replies keep things easy. To accept: “I’d love to, thanks!”, “Count me in”, “Sounds great, I’ll be there”, or more formally, “Thank you for the kind invitation. I would be delighted to attend.” To decline: “I’m so sorry, I can’t make it this time”, “Thanks for thinking of me, but I already have plans”, or formally, “Thank you for your invitation. Unfortunately I will be unable to attend.” A short reason is kind but not required, and a “next time?” keeps the door open when you mean it.
Sample invitations
Text to friends: “Hey! We’re doing a picnic in Victoria Park on Sunday from 12. Bring a blanket and something to share. Come along if you can, it won’t be the same without you.”
Work email: “Hi all, you’re invited to a short lunch-and-learn on Thursday at 12:30 in Room 4, where Priya will walk us through the new reporting dashboard. Sandwiches provided. It’s optional, but we hope you can make it.”
Community poster: “Everyone is welcome at the Elm Street spring clean-up, Saturday 10 am to 1 pm. Gloves and bags provided. Come for an hour or stay all morning.”
Announcement: “Please help us welcome Daniel Moreno, who starts on Monday as our new head of support. Daniel has spent eight years running help desks, and he’s keen to meet everyone, so do say hello.”
Formal card: “The Directors of Harbour Arts request the pleasure of your company at the opening of the Winter Exhibition on Friday, the fifth of December, at seven o’clock. RSVP by 21 November.”
Practice
Pick the best wording for each situation.
- A text inviting a close friend to watch a film at your place. (a) We cordially invite you to a screening. (b) Film night at mine Friday, want to come? (c) Your attendance is requested.
- A printed invitation to a charity gala. (a) Come hang out at our gala! (b) The Trustees request the pleasure of your company at the annual gala. (c) Gala Friday, you in?
- Opening a team meeting where a new colleague is introduced. (a) Please help me welcome Lena to the team. (b) Join to us in welcoming Lena. (c) We solicit a welcome for Lena.
- An email about safety training that everyone must attend. (a) Feel free to tag along to the safety training! (b) Please attend the safety training on Monday at 9:00; it is required for all staff. (c) Why not join us at the training?
- Choose the correct preposition: “Join us ___ celebrating our fifth anniversary.” (a) for (b) in (c) to
- A poster asking local people to help at a food bank. (a) Volunteer with us on Saturday mornings. (b) We anticipate your involvement. (c) Be there or be square.
- Choose the correct preposition: “Join us ___ dinner after the show.” (a) in (b) for (c) on
- Replying formally to a wedding invitation you must decline. (a) Can’t come, sorry. (b) Thank you for your kind invitation. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend. (c) Count me out.
Answers: 1 b; 2 b; 3 a (“join to us” is ungrammatical, “solicit” is wrong here); 4 b (it is required, so say so); 5 b (join us in + -ing); 6 a; 7 b (join us for + a meal); 8 b.
Quick answers
Is “join us” rude or too casual?
No. “Join us” is polite and works in almost every register, from a friend’s text to a work email. People look for alternatives to avoid repetition, to sound more formal on printed cards, or to be clearer about what the event is.
What is a more formal way to say “join us”?
“We invite you to attend”, “We would be delighted if you could attend”, and on printed cards, “request the pleasure of your company”. For a ceremony in a place of worship, etiquette tradition uses “request the honour of your presence”.
What can I say instead of “please join us in welcoming”?
“Please help us welcome…”, “Let’s give a warm welcome to…”, or simply “Please welcome…” followed by the person’s name and role.
Is it “come join us” or “come and join us”?
Both are correct. “Come join us” is especially common in American English; “come and join us” is more usual in British English.
What is a casual way to say “join us”?
“Come along”, “Want to come?”, “Swing by”, “Tag along” and, in a group chat, “You in?”
How do I say “join us” in a job advert?
“We’re hiring”, “Come and work with us”, or “Join our team as a…” followed by the role. Naming the role is clearer than a general “join us”.