Party Planning Tips

I will share my best party planning tips to make your event spectacular. When planning an unforgettable party, I recommend at least 3 months of pre-planning. I tend to start the initial concept planning at least 4 months ahead.

Start with brainstorming. Write down every idea that pops in you mind to organize later. Then choose a theme and color scheme. Add everything to your list that you can think of from food, drinks, games, decorations, seating, candy, music, DIY, etc. I like to get a small notebook and use this for all my party planning.

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Get ideas on-line. Look up “Party Ideas for….” your theme. View the images and add to your brainstorming notes. Save images to reference later and make notes to changes you will have for your party.

If you are having the party at your home, walk through the entertainment space and decide where seating will be and the serving of food. Also, look for decorations you have already. You will be surprised on how much you already have.

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Making A Party Planning To-Do List

Once you complete your brainstorming efforts, now you need to organize your thoughts. I organize my notebook in these sections:

To-Do – write down everything you have to do so you can check them off as you complete each task.

Guest List – This step is critical for proper planning. Make a list of all potential guests and determine if they will be bringing anyone with them. This step in planning determines the quantities for food, gift bags, party location and games. For example, if you plan to invite 30 people, around 25 will actually attend. So when ordering quantities, aim for 24-30. I make around 27 gift bags and only those that RSVP are sure to get one.

To Make – Decide what you are going to make and what you are going to buy. From your brainstorming notes, write down the list of what you plan to make. For example: favor bags, favor cups, slime, centerpieces, games, etc. Look around your home to see what you already have.

To Buy (non-food) – Make a page of all the things you have to buy and where you might find them. When shopping, I start off at my local Dollar Tree or Dollar Store. The most surprising things are at the dollar store, especially when you are making some of the things yourself. Walk up and down each isle, while thinking what can I make with that.

I use dollar store items as base items for crafts or I find a way to embellish them to make them special. For example, I use the mini container cups for treats in favor bags. I like to get glassware that I plan to embellish from the dollar store. Other things you can get are pens, serving utensils, foam blocks, vases, filler and glass beads.

Menu – Determine your menu and stick to it. Try to buy or make foods that taste good at room temperature. Food warmers are great, but let those be for your main dishes. Appetizers and cold foods should be considered how safe they are to eat after a few hours or what you need to do to maintain food that needs to stay cold.

So don’t make a menu that has everything must be kept hot or cold. Have a mixture of food and buy according to expected guest count. Have a main food, what I like to call the bulk food, like spaghetti, pizza, chicken parmesan, lasagna, brisket, etc. Something that hungry guests can fill up on and leave satisfied. Nibblers love all the other choices on the menu and move from one item to the next.

Make a printed menu and place in picture frames. That way you can interact with your guests without someone asking every five minutes, “what is this?”. It is a good idea to make food labels to place in front of each food item, list if it is ground turkey or meatless or if it contains nuts. My guests always appreciate this because if they have food allergies or are vegan, they do not have to discuss their eating preferences everywhere they go.

Food Shopping List – make a detailed grocery list of what you need. Make a buy ahead list (things that will not go bad) and buy week of party list. For perishables, shop 2-3 days before your party and not the night before. The day before can be used to prepare dips, wash and cut up veggies/fruits and making chilled desserts. You will also be doing some last minute decorating, so keep that in mind.

Gift Bags/Favor Bags -Determine what you will be putting in the gift/favor bags. It is important that you know what is going in the bags, so you are not scrambling last minute. Everyone should leave with something, so that they feel valued as a guest. The contents of your gift bag will add enjoyment to your guests, well after your party is over.

Favor Bag Content Ideas

Adults: Mini wine or champagne bottles, mini water bottles, candy in mini containers or bags, bath bombs, soap, bath salts, something theme related, cookies, hot chocolate bombs and themed pens.

Kids: Themed juice boxes, mini water bottles, candy in mini containers or bags, themed chips, cards, mini coloring kits that match the theme, keychains, themed toys and cookies.

Prizes

The number of prizes depends on the number of games. Determine the games and gather the prizes. I like to put the prizes in themed bags that match the gift bags. Great prize ideas are:

Adults: Wine Glasses, Essential Oils, Bath Salts, Spa Accessories, Candles, Lotto Tickets, Wine, Liquor, Cook Books

Kids: Themed Toys, Card Games, Board Games, Arts & Crafts, Themed Books, Notebooks

Items That Help With A Great Party

Balloon Arches
Gift Bags/Favor Bags
Favor Boxes
Serving Platters – I like white and clear platters because they can be used for any theme party.
Warming Dishes
Ice Platters
Punch Server
Table Cloths

Timing Of Party Planning

3 Months Before Party

Shop for all non-food items.
Make all items you plan to make – gift bags, banners, favor containers, centerpieces, invitations, menu, food tents, paper items, etc.

2 Months Before Party

Mail or send internet invitations. So if you are planning a Christmas Party, you need invite your guests the week after Halloween. Your invite is in competition with other Christmas parties, company holiday parties and out of town trips.
Create party games or determine the location they will be. Then if you need printouts, do this at this time. If you need to build anything, do at this time.
Purchase prizes for the games.
Order Bakery Cake (if applicable).

1 Month Before Party

Purchase long shelf life or freezer items. You will be surprised how things you normally shop for, disappear when you need it.
Toward the end of the month, finalize the RSVP list. Knowing who is coming or if extra people are coming, will allow you time to make extra homemade crafts such as gift bags. Also, this will allow you to review your order quantity for food and drinks.

2 Weeks Before Party

Order grocery store cupcakes (if applicable).
Make homemade candy, bath bombs, bath salts, soap, sugar scrubs, slime, etc.
Type your party agenda with estimated timing. So I recommend a agenda to keep things moving. Guests should never be bored and the host should not be stressed or disorganized. With an agenda, the host can relax, while the flow of the party moves from one thing to the next.

1 Week Before Party

If you are having the party at your home, decorate your house. You can put out everything except for helium balloons and the food. Depending on the theme and the extent of the decorations, sometimes I start 2 weeks ahead, so I can take my time.
Wash or wipe down all serving trays and platters. If you are like me, it takes half a day just to locate them all around the house. Use food tent cards to label what is going on them and make sure have enough.
Have the yard cut and tidy the flower beds.
Finish all laundry, so you do not have tons to do after the party.
Secure your helpers. Call a few friends or family to come a few hours early to help.

4 Days Before Party

Deep clean the house or have it cleaned. That way you will only have to do light touch cleaning before your party.
Take out party outfit and accessories. Also, determine what everyone in your family will be wearing.

3 Days Before Party

Purchase all perishables because you may have to go to several stores to get everything and the freshest items.
Assemble Gift Bags – If you are assembling favor bags with candy and bath items, do not put them in the bags too early together or the candy will taste like soap. I usually assemble the bags with everything else in it and then drop the bath/spa item in the day before the party.

2 Days Before Party

Rinse and cut veggies and fruits and place in plastic bags.
Arrange all games and prizes. Make sure you have enough paper copies for trivia games, pens, poster boards and score keeping ready. If you are having some games outdoor and rain is not in the forecast, set it all up. Also, have a folder with the answer keys to all the games.

1 Day Before Party

Pick up bakery cake or store bought cake/cupcakes.
Arrange party platters and serving dishes. Then set out food tent cards.
Make all dips and any make ahead meals. I like to make foods that are make ahead, so I do not have to do much the day of the party.
Deep clean the kitchen.
Check and touch up all the bathrooms (make sure you have enough toilet paper in the restrooms).

Day of Party – Morning

Pick up bakery cake or store bought cake/cupcakes if you did not pick it up the day before.
Pick up any food platters you ordered or have them delivered through a service. Arrange a time for it to be ready. That way, they are ready when you are.
If you are having helium filled balloons, pick them up as soon as the store opens. Call on your way or the day before, to make sure they don’t start blowing them up once you get there.
Pick up Ice.
Two hours before start time, get dressed except for party clothes (adult parties). Pre-heat the oven and bake any items that are needed. So be sure and set the timer, so that nothing burns.
One hour before start time, heat all food that needs to be heated and keep warm. Have help placing out all food on the food trays/platters.
20 minutes before stat time, place all hot food in warmers. Then place all cold items on ice beds or ice trays
10 minutes before party starts, put on party clothes. Put on some music and welcome your guests!

Follow your agenda and enjoy your wonderful event!

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