5 Tips For Planning Your Next Party

 

 

I recently celebrated my 30th birthday with lots of great food and far too much champagne. However there are many reasons why you might be having a party. Birthdays, anniversaries or graduations to name just a few.

Many of us don’t even need a reason, do we? Hostessing events is one of my favorite things to do, despite being a bit of an introvert. What is your favorite type of event to plan and later execute? I like all kinds, but those directly related to food are probably my favorite.

Next weekend I am excited to host one of my most fun events to date (keep an eye on my Instagram for the announcement and to score yourself 1 of 20 exclusive invites) and here are my tips for throwing a fun, and stylish party.

 

Planning

First things first; you need to plan unless you are looking to wing it and I don’t think last minute parties have the same appeal. Now I have certainly planned events with only three weeks to go and somehow cultivated all types of beautiful trinkets and treats from sponsors for the gift bags and sparkly classic decoration (remember my Toast of The Town dinner party? Planned in less than 6 weeks!)

 What you don’t want to be doing is stressing that there wasn’t enough food or drinks to go around as you do want to be able to enjoy yourself in the midst of greeting and tending to guests.  

Think about the location, guest list, budget and theme. Everything else can be worked out once those four things are in place.

The next thing is to choose a time and date. It may be determined by the factors above, like the location. If you want a certain venue to have your party in, you can only book it when the room is available.

Once you have all of these more significant details hammered out, you can start working on invites. Will they be mailed out or a custom e-vite via Paperless Post?

 

Decorations

You may have chosen a specific theme to go with. This will dictate your decorations. One of my friends once had a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory party and so the decorations we all large candy bars and chocolate related. It was so fun. They had quite a few LED rope lights strung around the ballroom; it looked so fun!

There were all different colors and made the room look great. So I’d recommend getting the lighting just the way you like it beforehand, particularly if there will be dancing and party games.

 

Food

Think about what kind of food you will have, if any. If your party is going to be over lunchtime or when people would be having an evening meal, you should provide something to eat.

It doesn’t have to be too substantial but needs to be something, none the less. You could opt for some mini burgers and accompanying miniature baskets of fries for a more whimsical casual feel or a charcuterie board or massive amounts of varying tropical fruits.

For some crudites and canapes be more suited to the theme of your party? This all needs to be planned out. Think about having options or those with allergies or intolerances.

 

Drinks

Will there be alcohol at the party? If there will be, it can end up being a little costly. If people insist on bringing something, asking them to ‘bring a bottle’ puts the choice in their hands and allows them to select one within their budget.

 

Personal Touches

My favorite thing is to personalize the tablescape, place settings, drink stirrers, flower arrangements, name cards, gift bags, whatever I can. Put a little extra thought into the details and your guests will be sure to remember your event and your thoughtful gestures.

 

What are your top tips for throwing an awesome party? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

event planning