Party Planning tips and ideas

When it comes to party planning you'll find it may come as easy as pie to some and as hard as walking on water to others. So for all you party novices out there and for the party expert (as there is always something we forget) I have put together three different party plans to help you get you through you next party with your sanity intact.

Start planning:
When planing a party I have found it is a good idea to plan well in advance. Therefore you should plan your party a good 6 to 8 weeks before the event, that way it will give you plenty of time to arrange everything.

Choose a date:
Decide on a date. This will depend on what type of party you intend to have, i.e. a kids birthday party, adult birthday, summer party, bbq, Halloween party, anniversary, etc.

When choosing a date for a child or adult birthday it is best to try and have the party on or as close to the birthday date.

Other things to consider when choosing a date is the guests you intend to invite. Although this is not too easy to achieve, try and pick a date that you know or are ideal for your guests to attend.

Here's a calendar to help you chose your party date.

Adult and teenager parties are a little different as they are mostly at night. If your having a teen party it is always a go idea to set a cut off time for all to go home. Stick with this time and make it clear to all when it is going to finish. Unlike us old folk who tend to burn out at adult parties as pure exhaustion stops us from throwing shapes for 24 hours, teenagers have a lot more energy and would continue to party till the sun came up.

Helpers:
When planning a party it is always a go idea to have other people involved. Two heads are better than one and everyone has different ideas when it comes to parties.

If you are planning a birthday party for your child it is always a good idea to make sure you child is involved in the planning. Your idea of a fun birthday party may differ from your child’s ideas. And at the end of the day who is the party for you or your child.

And remember if you have adult or children helpers, a nice bouquet of flowers, small gift or a thank you card goes a long way.

Theme:
Decide on a party theme. I.e., dinner parties, fancy dress, BBQ, cowboy, pirate, etc. This has become quite popular lately and will add that extra bit of fun and laughter to your party.

Budget:
Set out a budget and how much you have to spend and stick with it. Parties don’t have to cost the earth. Unless you’re a big Hollywood star or a top businessperson, your guest will be happy with a few drinks, food to nibble on and good laugh.

And children are only interested in sweets, cake and soda as well as running and playing.

Food and drink:
Food and drink is a must, but unless it’s a dinner party it doesn’t have to be anything special or fancy.

Adults are happy with sandwiches, cocktail sausages, chicken wings and other finger food types. As for drink let them ring the doorbell with their nose (bring their own) LOL. Or supply it yourself, beer, ale, sprits, cocktails etc and don’t forget the soda for the drivers.

Teenagers go for pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets, popcorn, crisps and all the other junk food our doctors tell us to stay away from. (lol). Now with the drink you have to be careful. You may not be able to watch or keep you eye on them all the time. As you know teenagers don’t want you around at their party incase you embarrass them. So make it quite clear to all that no alcohol is allowed. If someone breaks the rules the party is over. You can get into serious trouble by allowing or supplying alcohol to teenagers, plus there is also the chance someone can get hurt or become ill. Spending hours in an emergency room waiting for your guest to be stomach pumped is not my idea of a fun party. There are plenty of different non-alcoholic cocktails, which can be made up to add a little color and take the grey out of just drinking soda at the party.

Children on the other hand go to parties for the sweets, cake, soda, sweets, cake, soda, and more sweets. Although it’s always a good idea to throw in some real food too, cocktail sausages and chicken nuggets, etc. with too much sweets they will be running up the walls in no time. When doing children’s party food, it’s a good idea to make it to suit the theme i.e. at a pirate theme party get the chocolate gold coins, and make jelly fish (jelly set in fish shape molds) etc. As for drinks, Pirates blood (cranberry juice or cherry soda) or make some non- alcoholic party cocktails this always goes down a treat.

And last but most important the cake, the centerpiece of the party. Get a cake that you know you guest will eat. If it’s a theme party get a cake to suit, i.e. (pirate theme) get a cake that looks like a pirate ship on the outside but with just sponge and cream inside. This is always a good bet and if there is none left to go with your cup of tea later that night; you’ll know you made the right choice. Oh and don’t forget the candles.

Number of guests:
Decide on how many guests to invite. Write out a list of people you intend to invite to the party. You can make the list as long or as short as possible, this is up to you. But remember the longer the list the more it can cost, and in such cases of a child’s birthday party or a teenager party the more people you invite the more you have to control and keep amused.

With children and teen parties it is possible and not uncommon that you don’t know your all guests personally. For example some guests may be school friends, or new friends of your child who have just moved to the area and who you just know by name. So it’s a good idea to get a list of parents names and phone numbers just in case they need to be contacted. It is also a good idea to give your name and phone number to the parents of those attending just in case they wish to contact you. This is also a good excuse to get to know whom your child hangs around with.

Home or away.
Is your party going to be at home or have you another venue in mind? If you have i.e. local hall, function room, bowling alley, or any other sporting / entertaining event or location, it is best to check now if these places are available for the date of your party. If the room or event is available then book it or even pre-book it now, don’t leave it till later or the next day / week as there may, and usually there is, someone else planning a party on that same date. So strike now while the iron is hot. If it is not available you may have to change dates or change your party theme. You may also want to check if the event or room can cater for the number of people you intend to invite. If not it’s best to start cutting numbers now rather than later.

Decorations:
Don’t go overboard with the decorations and there is no need to spend a fortune either. Keep it simple but colourful. Apart from the expense, too much can look tacky and at the end of the party most of it will end up in the bin anyway. Decorations can be bought anywhere from party shops to the Internet or just as easily made by yourself and your children / friends. You would be surpprise how much junk around you house can be turned into decorations. Old Christmas lights, tinsel, old sheets painted and torn into strips, different colour balloons, etc. Let your imagination run wild, it will build up the excitement and get you into the spirit of things.

Invitations:

Invitations can be bought, made or downloaded from the web.

Children especially love to make there own or even help in the making. Some of the invitations found here on this site, although put together by myself using graphic software, were designed by my own 8-year-old son. He told me what he wanted; graphics, colour writing and I put it all together. So if there is a creation streak within you have a go, you may surprise yourself.

Help yourself to the list of free invitations here on my site, just click the link below to access them.
And also, I say this to everyone, if there is something different in a invitation that your looking for and you cant find it, then give me a shout and as always I will do my best to help.

Music:
Music is a must at most parties. It can make or break the day. It is always a good idea to put together some mixed CD’s with a range of music to suit you guests and the theme of your party. There is nothing worst and this is from experience, to go to a party where everyone is the Disc Master. They’re playing half songs, songs that don’t suit the theme, old songs that don’t suit the young crowd, new songs that don’t suit the old crowd and songs that are impossible to dance too. All this adds up to a party disaster waiting to happen. If at all possible hire a DJ. A good DJ will scan the room look at the age group and play songs to suit. This way your guest can throw a few shapes on the dance floor till their hearts content.

Games:
I have put together some tips below to help you get through playing games and activities at your party. Hopefully this will help you survive the experience and you come out of it with out loosing too much hair in the process. LOL

1. Keep the games simple. Don’t play a game that has to many rules or instructions, this can become confusion and can cause to many arguments.

2. Set out the rules clearly so that everyone understands. Again this will help to stop any confusion or arguments. Or if possible play a game people know or have played before.

3. Play games to suit your guests and the age group, i.e.

Children of an age 3-5 like dancing / music games, musical chairs, musical statues etc.

(Click here for 3 – 5 year games)

6 – 10 year olds are a little more active so running and ball throwing games is a good bet.

(Click here for 6 – 10 year old games)

11 – 15 years well now were in to teens and pre teens. This is a different kettle of fish. Team games, messy games, wet and wild, flour throwing and dare I say it, boy versus girl games.

(Click here for a list of teen games)

4. If pairing up or making teams, keep all sides fair.

5. Don’t play too many games or your guests or the kids will get bored. Depending on the how long the party will last, 1-2 games is enough.

6. Don’t play games that take too long. One reason for this is in any elimination games, the people who are out will get bored waiting around.

7. If you are playing an elimination game and players are knocked out throughout the game, then as they are eliminated have some other activity for them to do or have them help out with the rest of the game. This will relieve any boredom and keep the party alive.

8. Prizes for all. Children can become very competitive and to loose can be disappointing to some. Also younger children don’t understand the concept of winning and loosing and might get upset when others get prizes and they don’t. To avoid this have prizes for all. Have a winning prize and smaller prizes for the rest. That way they will all feel like winners. Remember it’s not the winning, it’s the fun in trying to win.

9. It’s a good idea to test out your games before the party. This way you can tell if they’re going to be a success. Ask the kids on your block to try out the game or if your child has friends over see what they think. This can help in you final selection to suit the party theme.

10. Although you will only play one or two games at any party, it’s always good to have a good selection about 5. This is just in case something happens and the game you had in mind isn’t going to work out or may have to be abandoned. I.e. it’s an outdoor game and it starts to rain all of a sudden etc.

Memories:
Remember to charge up the video / digital camcorder and have your digital camera ready for the day in question to capture all those memories. If using a camcorder place it on a tripod and put it in a safe place where it can see everything and it is not going to get knocked over. Switch it on and leave it to record the whole day. If you intend to use your digital camera, may I suggest take as many pictures as your camera can hold. You can download them onto a Pc or CD and only print the ones you want. The amount of people I know who own digital cameras, which spend more time in their pockets, is unbelievable. It’s taken out, one or two pictures taken and put away again. They are not like the old cameras with only 28 pic per film, which are only used to take the odd picture. Give someone the job of cameraperson, you will be glad of it later when you look back at the pictures.

If you don’t own a camcorder or digital camera you could buy the disposable camera which are quite cheap now days. These take just as good a picture and are available at most camera shops. But remember take the pictures, there great for the memories.

If you have any questions or feel there is something I have missed out on then feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help in any way possible.

PS. One more finally note on having a party, and this is the most important thing that you must do when throwing a party.