Thoughtful Guidance On Planning a Party



Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009

by Shannon Summers

Most parties have a purpose. It may be just a get-together of friends to have fun. However, often it is to honor someone for an accomplishment or to celebrate a special occasion. So then, some thoughtful guidance on planning a party is helpful as the direction of your planning may be governed by who your party is for, what are you celebrating, not to mention how you will finance it, and when and where you will hold it.

Any time is a good time to party. However, life events like weddings, the birth of a baby, graduations, anniversaries, retirements, going-aways and homecomings are events among many others that we feel the need to celebrate. You plan a graduation party for your child because you want to rejoice with them in their achievement. You arrange a retirement party for a fellow worker or spouse because you desire to honor their years of hard work. You prepare an anniversary party for your parents because you love them and rejoice in their devotion to each other. Such events add meaning to our lives.

The first step to making your party a reality determining the budget. Write down the supplies, food, decorations, party favors, utensils, equipment, etc. needed and then itemize your expenses. Determine what you can afford. Now you can create the guest list, the invitations, arrange the venue and its decorations, the menu and entertainment. The guest list is crucial because it dictates the size and location of your venue.

At this point I recommend making a party planning checklist. This should be a list of everything you will need to do to prepare for the party. Then take a calendar and jot down on it a deadline for accomplishing each task. This will help you get organized.

Now that you have a list of what you need to get done, you will also need to determine how much of the work you can do yourself and how much you can delegate. My recommendation for a large party is to recruit volunteer help and delegate as much as possible. This will keep you from getting lost in the details. It is better for you to coordinate the work of others, then be an exhausted martyr trying to do it all yourself. Also, if you can afford it, hire others to do catering, bartending, and entertainment (bands, DJs, etc).

With food and drinks as another primary consideration, ask around and compare prices for a sit-down dinner or a buffet. Ask about appetizers, cocktails, other drinks and desserts. A catered sit-down dinner or buffet will be more expensive than simple brunches and cocktails. Less expensive, but entailing more work is buying and preparing your own food. Another option, if the party will lend to it, is going potluck; that is having guests contribute various categories of food items.

A key that will add magic to your party and set it apart from others as uniquely its own would be to choose a unique theme. Go online and do a search on "party themes" and you will get all kinds of unique ideas. You start applying your theme with the content of your invitations, including how your guests should dress. The theme will then determine the decorations from the center stage to the backdrop, from table covers to your centerpieces.

In conclusion don't feel it's too complicated. Such thinking only gets in the way of organized planning. You just have to make the decision that you are going to do it, then set your mind and heart into doing it, and the rest will follow. Put into practice the above suggestions. Get organized by making a party planning checklist, plus a list of all needed supplies. Delegate as much of the work as possible. Then follow through, check back and coordinate the work of your helpers. Follow a theme, and everything will fall into place a lot quicker than you think. Start early so that when party times comes everything will be in place and you will be relaxed and ready to join the fun, rather than frantically running around caring for last minute details.

Shannon Summers is a teacher and a party planning enthusiast who enjoys teaching others how to create "magical" parties. For more excellent party planning tips and suggestions sign up for Shannon's free Party Planning Magic Mini-course at Shannon's website, http://www.partyplanningmagic.com. Also, click on the following link for more information regarding thoughtful guidance on planning a party ".

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