Most people at some point in their lives throw some sort of party. It was easier when you were younger; your parents went out of town, you’d invite a bunch of friends over, everyone would bring their own drinks. Boom, it’s a party. If you had really nice friends throwing the party, maybe they would supply chips. If not, you’d send out for pizza.
Being a responsible adult makes things a little more complicated when it comes to throwing a party. Now, there is a right and a wrong way of doing things and the level of expectations of your party guests goes up. But, this is not a problem because you can find out all there is to know about throwing a party right here.
The first thing you need to do is to decide what kind of party you are throwing. Is it a holiday party, a graduation party, a birthday party, etc. Is it going to be a surprise party? These are fairly obvious questions and ones you most likely have already decided. A couple more obvious questions are; what is the main age group of the guests that will be attending the party and how many people are you planning to invite. This will determine a great deal of the decisions you need to make for the party.
In determining the age group of the guests will help you decide if you need activities to keep your quests busy. For instance, if you are planning to invite a lot of kids, it is a good idea to supply something that they can do or play with. Determining how many guests you are planning on inviting helps you to determine how many party supplies you will need to supply. What is your budget for the party?
It is fairly obvious that the way to invite people to your party is through invitations. There are several different kinds of invitations. There are cards that you can mail or hand out to predetermined guests. There is also word of mouth. Spread the news about the party you are planning by simply telling those who are invited. You can also email your guests or send out an online invitation. The online invitations are growing in popularity. It is a website call evite. You simply sign up for a free account and you can design and send an invitation to the list of people’s email addresses that you provide. The thing that is so great about this site is that it will keep track of how many people have RSVP’d and who is coming, the amount of people who are coming, who has viewed the invitation but not RSVP’d yet, and who is not coming. Guests can also write a little message when they RSVP.
Where is your party going to be held is another important decision? Is it going to be outside? If so, is there adequate shade for hot days or shelter for bad weather? Is this party going to be thrown at your house or at a venue that you will rent? How much room are you going to need for those that are planning to attend? The plus about having the party at a venue is that you can cut out the cleaning and setting up for the party. When a party is thrown at home, a lot of time and effort will go into preparing your home for the party, serving food and running around while the party is underway. Don’t forget cleaning up after the party is over. While a venue is more expensive, it cuts out a lot of responsibility for the host and allows them to enjoy themselves more.
Figuring out how much food you are going to need is probably the most difficult thing about throwing a party. What kind of food are you going to serve, is this going to be a buffet or a sit down dinner, are you going to make everything yourself or have it catered. These are all important questions. Offering food is a party must! People expect to go to a party to eat. It is the first question other people ask about the party; ‘How was the party? How was the food?’ It is the thing that will determine most of your budget and should have the most thought put into it.
There is so much that goes into a party we have just touched on a few of the basics. There is a lot more to learn to learn before you can call yourself an expert but, with the information above, you can definitely get the ball rolling.
Saturday 27 February 2010
Planning a Graduation Party
Maybe they are growing into a big kid and just graduated from pre-school. Maybe they have said their last goodbyes to getting an hour of recess everyday and are graduating from elementary school. Maybe they are leavening the funny hair and awkward stages and graduating high school. Or maybe they are starting their life in the world and graduating from collage. Whatever stage of life they are in, they deserve to have a graduation party to celebrate their many hours of commitment and hard work.
Graduation party planning is typically not any different then regular party planning. In deciding to throw a graduation party, you do have to put a lot of thought into the guest list. When the child is younger it is easier to figure out who to invite. As the child gets older, this part can get kind of tricky. Have the person you are throwing the party for involved in this aspect. Although, if you are planning to have a surprise graduation party figuring out the guest list can get all the more complicated. You are going to need a few people to help you with the guest list. The last thing that you would want to do is leave out someone. Maybe you are part of their family. So you might need to recruit a friend from school to give you the names of the guests that your guest of honor will appreciate having at their party. Plus, the opposite it true; a school friend would be able to let you know who to avoid inviting. Maybe the person you are throwing the party for is married. In that case you may also need someone that is in the guest of honor’s spouse’s family. The guest of honor might be involved in clubs or very close with the neighbors in which case you would need to investigate these areas also. Once you finally have the guest list finalized, you can finally send out the invitations. The thing that should be most prominent about the invitation is the fact that it is a surprise graduation party. The number one way that a surprise party gets ruined is that someone will slip and give the guest of honor a clue that there is something going on.
Choosing decorations for any type of graduation party is only hard because they have so many to choose from. These days they make so many different kinds of party supplies you will have an easy time finding ones specifically for graduation. You can also decorate using the colors of the school that the person is graduating from. Make sure that you include the year in the decorations. Look into getting a cake that is in the shape of the graduating year. For a more unique approach, choose an interesting theme rather then just graduation. Throw your grad a luau, a masquerade ball, or even a flash back party. Why not celebrate the years of hard work by flashing back into a specific year?
Your grad needs to let loose. No more teachers, no more books, no more tests. Allow them to leave that pressure behind and start a new faze of their life with a party that will give them the time of their lives.
Graduation party planning is typically not any different then regular party planning. In deciding to throw a graduation party, you do have to put a lot of thought into the guest list. When the child is younger it is easier to figure out who to invite. As the child gets older, this part can get kind of tricky. Have the person you are throwing the party for involved in this aspect. Although, if you are planning to have a surprise graduation party figuring out the guest list can get all the more complicated. You are going to need a few people to help you with the guest list. The last thing that you would want to do is leave out someone. Maybe you are part of their family. So you might need to recruit a friend from school to give you the names of the guests that your guest of honor will appreciate having at their party. Plus, the opposite it true; a school friend would be able to let you know who to avoid inviting. Maybe the person you are throwing the party for is married. In that case you may also need someone that is in the guest of honor’s spouse’s family. The guest of honor might be involved in clubs or very close with the neighbors in which case you would need to investigate these areas also. Once you finally have the guest list finalized, you can finally send out the invitations. The thing that should be most prominent about the invitation is the fact that it is a surprise graduation party. The number one way that a surprise party gets ruined is that someone will slip and give the guest of honor a clue that there is something going on.
Choosing decorations for any type of graduation party is only hard because they have so many to choose from. These days they make so many different kinds of party supplies you will have an easy time finding ones specifically for graduation. You can also decorate using the colors of the school that the person is graduating from. Make sure that you include the year in the decorations. Look into getting a cake that is in the shape of the graduating year. For a more unique approach, choose an interesting theme rather then just graduation. Throw your grad a luau, a masquerade ball, or even a flash back party. Why not celebrate the years of hard work by flashing back into a specific year?
Your grad needs to let loose. No more teachers, no more books, no more tests. Allow them to leave that pressure behind and start a new faze of their life with a party that will give them the time of their lives.
Party Planning Checklist
Planning a party involves a lot of work and effort on the part of the host. The best thing that you can do for yourself is to write out a checklist of all the things that need to be accomplished and when you need to do them.
First things at the top of your checklist should be to create a budget for your party. By creating a budget first you can figure out how many people you can invite which leads into the next section of your checklist. The next set of things on your checklist will be in reference to the guests. Some things on your checklist should include making a list of people to invite, buying invitations, writing out invitations and sending out invitations. Give yourself a date of when to send the invitations out by. You should send out your invitations a minimum of three weeks before the date of the party. Guests should then be given two weeks to RSVP if they will be attending or not. You can create a second checklist with a list of the people you invited in order to keep track who will be attending.
Next on your checklist should be in reference to the place where the party is to be held. If you are not sure where your party is going to be held and if you have it in your budget to hire an outside vender, you will need to do a little research. Place on your checklist calling venders to get price quotes. You will need to figure out if they will supply the food and how much it will all cost. You can then determine if you would like to have the party at your home and hire a caterer. You will need to place on your checklist, get quotes from caterers. Or you might want to make all the food yourself in which case you will need to place on your checklist to investigate how much supplies and food will cost you. Once this is determined, you will need to add a place on the checklist to book the vender or caterer and further down the list place a checklist that will remind you to confirm with them closer to the party date.
Other things on your checklist may include buying party supplies like plates, napkins, utensils, cups, drinks and food. You also will have to determine if you are going to grant your guests with party favors when the night is through in which case you will need to add researching, buying and preparing the favors to your checklist. You may have to also add researching and hiring rentals like tables, chairs or a tent if it is so required to your checklist.
The exact things that are on your checklist are greatly varied from party host to party host. But it is clear that creating a party planning checklist is a wonderful way to stay organized, get everything done in the proper amount of time and the ability to give the best party you can.
First things at the top of your checklist should be to create a budget for your party. By creating a budget first you can figure out how many people you can invite which leads into the next section of your checklist. The next set of things on your checklist will be in reference to the guests. Some things on your checklist should include making a list of people to invite, buying invitations, writing out invitations and sending out invitations. Give yourself a date of when to send the invitations out by. You should send out your invitations a minimum of three weeks before the date of the party. Guests should then be given two weeks to RSVP if they will be attending or not. You can create a second checklist with a list of the people you invited in order to keep track who will be attending.
Next on your checklist should be in reference to the place where the party is to be held. If you are not sure where your party is going to be held and if you have it in your budget to hire an outside vender, you will need to do a little research. Place on your checklist calling venders to get price quotes. You will need to figure out if they will supply the food and how much it will all cost. You can then determine if you would like to have the party at your home and hire a caterer. You will need to place on your checklist, get quotes from caterers. Or you might want to make all the food yourself in which case you will need to place on your checklist to investigate how much supplies and food will cost you. Once this is determined, you will need to add a place on the checklist to book the vender or caterer and further down the list place a checklist that will remind you to confirm with them closer to the party date.
Other things on your checklist may include buying party supplies like plates, napkins, utensils, cups, drinks and food. You also will have to determine if you are going to grant your guests with party favors when the night is through in which case you will need to add researching, buying and preparing the favors to your checklist. You may have to also add researching and hiring rentals like tables, chairs or a tent if it is so required to your checklist.
The exact things that are on your checklist are greatly varied from party host to party host. But it is clear that creating a party planning checklist is a wonderful way to stay organized, get everything done in the proper amount of time and the ability to give the best party you can.
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