Planning a party can be overwhelming at times. Our best piece of advice is to get organized on the front end, and save frustration at the end. Here is a quick checklist to help you start planning for your next party!
Five Weeks Out
Invitations! These days, snail mail is thing of the past and e-vites are so much more simple. You can create amazing invitations online and email them or even text them! Start planning and creating your invite five weeks out from your party, and get the invite sent within the next week. The ideal time to have them sent is by four weeks from the date of the party. Try websites like hobnob to plan your event and invite people through text! They can respond right on their phone. They even have an app for your smart phone!
Three Weeks Out
You probably have a good idea of the theme of your party by now. If not, get on that and start planning food and decorations.
Things to think about on food: how many people, what time of the day for my party, how much am I willing to spend, do I want just a snack or a full meal? All of these questions, mainly the one about how much money to spend, are crucial for your planning and need to be hashed out early. Make a list of the food you want to serve, and from that make your grocery list. Making your grocery list early gives you ample time to shop and look for great prices!
Things to think about on decor: of course, how much money do you want to spend, how do I want people to perceive my party, how much is too much, what can I make beforehand? What is the reality of what I’m actually able to do versus what I am dreaming and envisioning? Decorations can end up being very exhausting if we go overboard.
If you can’t go all out on both food and decorations both, choose one category and do it really well. If food is your thing, then just get some simple flowers to decorate. If decor does it for you, then choose simple pre-made snacks for your guests. The most important thing is to have a plan!
One Week Out
Do you have your shopping done? Don’t procrastinate here! What can you prepare and stick in the fridge or freezer? Do you need to enlist some help? Do you need to deep clean your house? Do all of the big things this week. You want the day of the party to have the least amount of stress possible! Help yourself out by being overly prepared.
Send out a reminder email or text. With e-vites, this is simple and non-confrontational. It’s just a quick note where your guests don’t even have to respond. The reminder should have the time and the address so they don’t have to go digging through texts or emails to find it.
Day Before
Set out your decorations. Even your food serving trays. Set everything up exactly how you want it to look. This is your chance to rearrange and move furniture and do all the things that you do not want to worry about tomorrow. Remember, our goal here is to make your life easier! After everything is set up, do another clean sweep of your house. We’re talking 30 minutes max, just a walk through to make sure there is nothing you have to do the day of. Get a good night sleep and get ready for tomorrow!
Party Day!
Wake up early. Breathe. Take some time alone to envision your party. Now envision the worst case scenario. Think about having a quick back up solution in case said scenario is a reality. Give yourself a pep talk and tell yourself that even if that worst case scenario happens, you still will have thrown an incredible party. You’ve prepared in the best way you know how and are ready for any hiccups. Enjoy some time alone in the calm before the storm. Once you’ve gathered yourself mentally and emotionally, it’s time to get to work! Get food prepped, cooked and in the serving dishes. Shoot for having food ready thirty minutes before guests are supposed to arrive. Clean your kitchen! We all know that guests gather in the kitchen. I can promise you, the last thing they want to see is a chaotic, dirty work space. Put a new trash bag in the can. Clean off your counter tops. An easy trick is to have an empty dishwasher the morning of so you can hide dirty pots and pans. If it’s not too loud, run the dishwasher while your party is happening so that when guests leave, you are one step ahead of the cleaning game.
Preparation and organization are your best friends in party planning. Procrastination will always give you the short end of the stick. What are some of your favorite planning tips? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!
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