Published by Programme B
PARTY PLANNING TIPS
There are a few things that could leave you refreshed and full of good feelings, one of which is going to a cool party. What’s even cooler than that? Throwing that awesome party yourself. Not everyone can pull off throwing a party, and those who do, usually dread the nightmare they’ll have to go through to get everything right.
But throwing a party should as much fun for you as it is for your guests! Otherwise, why would you go through such stress for nothing? With the right planning, such as looking up cheap bachelorette party ideas, or ideas for whatever party you’re planning, you can actually get to enjoy it just like everyone else. You’ll even be looking forward to planning your next party!
Party Planning Tips for a Stress-Free Experience
To eliminate as much stress as possible, here are some party planning tips to keep in mind:
Pre-Party Preparations
Procrastination is the enemy of perfection. Every time you tell yourself “I’ll do that tomorrow”, you’re taking away precious time from tomorrow’s tasks! Imagine that you’ve started to prepare for your party two months or 4 weeks earlier. You’ve created a timeline for everything you’ll be doing, and you have a clear vision of what you’ll buy, when you’ll buy it, and the time needed for every task. Also, if you order party items such as cakes, buffets, balloons, chair covers and linens, and other decorations in advance, you will not have to worry about having to pay a premium for last-minute orders.
The Guest List
What’s the second most important thing (after food and drinks) at a party? The guests, of course. When it comes to creating your guest list, try to fast-forward to the party day, and check out how engaged your guests can be together. Do they fit together? Are there some extroverts to start conversations, once you’ve reached your conclusions, try to send the invites as early as 2 weeks before the party? If you are gathering together long-lost family members or hosting a class reunion, you may need to conduct a people search to get contact details for your guests. If this is the case, remember to give yourself plenty of time to complete your search and send out those invites.
The Foods and Drinks
The most important part of the night! The guest list will give you an idea about how many people will be at the party, so you’ll know how much food and drinks you need to get ready. Some people like to make it an open buffet where guests can just serve themselves, which takes away a lot of the hassle from you.
As for the portion controls, you’ll have a much greater edge if you can estimate the number of plates that a lasagna pan can supply, or if you know how many bottles of wine you might need. According to the article “How Many Glasses in a Bottle of Wine”, a standard serving of wine is 5 ounces. A standard bottle of wine contains 750 ml. So, determining the number of servings per bottle requires calculating how many ounces are in 750 ml. 5 oz is approximately 150 ml, so 750 divided by 150 gives us about five servings of wine per bottle. That way, you can make arrangements to have a couple of extras just in case, and you’ll never fall short. Another pro tip in food preparations is that you might be tempted to cook everything yourself, but you don’t have to! It’s quite enough to add in a couple of your signature plates, and you can order the rest.
On the other hand, you can save so much time and effort preparing food and drinks by trying or taking advantage of unlimited or bottomless brunch in a cool party venue. You can book restaurant tables for your guests and enjoy several menu courses and unlimited alcohol. Depending on the restaurant, you’ll usually have two hours to indulge in unlimited beer, wine, or cocktails and feast upon brunch food at a set price.
Getting Your Playlist Ready
No great night ever started without music playing in the background. It’s true, check out all of the movies! While no one so far has created the perfect playlist that suits the taste of all of the audience, you can try it. It’s also a good idea to leave an open space for some of your guests in case they want to share their own music. One song per person and you can tell them in advance to choose their songs wisely!
Or perhaps, if you’re renting an event venue and they have a karaoke or video machine, much better. After running the playlist, everybody can enter the songs they want to sing in different genres, including pop, rock, and mellow music. This can be a fantastic way to bond with your guests and discover the best singers in the group. Don’t forget to take photos and videos for social media uploading and sharing with your guests after the fun party.
Entertainment
Getting your games ready is the best way you can end the night, and that way you’ll make sure that your guests will leave in their highest spirits. Whether you choose to download drinking games, get cards, boards, twisters, or create your own games, it’s something you need to prepare beforehand!
You can check out online resources to prepare the coolest games for your party. You could also watch video tutorials on how to host fun games to get acquainted with the rules of the game you’re planning to play during the party. Moreover, you can also hire some entertainers, such as a solo singer or a band, to hype the crowd and have a memorable party for everyone to remember. If your party is adults only, you could even hire a stripper, like from Charlottemalestrippers.com, to spice things up!
Create a Checklist for Your Party
At the end of the day, it all comes down to planning and taking everything into consideration. The best way to do that is by creating a checklist of all of your tasks, where you specify the time and duration of each one of the tasks. You should also ask yourself whether you’ll need outside help or if you can do it yourself. Once your checklist is ready, you’ll know exactly who you’ll invite, when you’ll send the invites, the food and drink preparations, and the playlist of the day, and you’ll get all forms of entertainment ready. It’s a time for a night no one will forget!