5 Tips to Throw a Successful Party

72 hours isn’t my favorite timeline to design, plan and execute an event, but in a pinch I can do it; especially when the person asking is my mother.  I received her distress call on Wednesday when after talking with my sister she came to the daunting realization that she had 20 teenagers sleeping over at her house that weekend but other than a start and end time they were sorely lacking in party plans. She wondered would I, could I help? Even more importantly was it even possible to pull this party off at this late notice? Of course, I was capable of helping Mom.  I plan parties for a living, remember. Would I help?…anything for family especially her and my baby sister.  Was it possible to throw a killer party on such short notice?…challenge accepted.

Give yourself enough time to plan the party. 

I usually start planning about six weeks prior to the date of the party. That gives me enough time to make a guest list, pick a theme, and shop for items needed for the party. Time is definitely your friend when you are planning a party.  

In this case, I had 72 hours before a mob of 16 year olds arrived for my sister’s party. Time was not my friend, but remember, anything is possible with a little determination and caffeine.

Stay organized. 

This is the number one trick of any professional planner. It’s especially important if we don’t always get the ideal lead time as mentioned above. Staying organized will save you time and help alleviate unneeded stress. I highly recommend using a three ring binder with sections for planning. It will allow you to quickly access information, menus, timelines ect.

I think of my event files or binders as a traveling office. It’s my life line while planning any event. It contains all details, budgets, bids, color schemes, themes and menu selections are all available at a moment’s notice. The binder approach allowed me to book a DJ and plan the menu over the phone while on my lunch breaks at my day job rather than trying to do everything when I got home from work.

Create a budget. 

You can’t successfully plan an event until you know your resources. Take the time to figure out your total budget and then decide how to allocate the funds toward different aspects of the event.

Let me be honest, while my parents and I wanted to create a memorable event for my sister we made sure to set a budget. It’s easy to get caught up in spending money on items you really don’t need. I find that setting a budget also helps you be aware of discounts you might otherwise ignore.

Pick a theme or central focus. 

It’s easy to loose focus when planning an event. Remember guests can easily be over or underwhelmed by décor or activities. Decide what the focus of the event is and use everything around it create the atmosphere. You do this by allowing each piece to create an excitement and cohesion towards the main event.

For this party we focused on my sisters favorite Television show Dr. Who; the BBC’s long running sci-fi series. I  incorporated elements from the show for our decor such as the Doctors love of bow ties, the color blue and his time traveling phone booth (tardis) to name a few.  The event was designed around the surprise black light dance party we had planned for the girls later in the evening. I hired a DJ to come set-up a simple set light display and sound system in the living room. While he was setting up the girls were running around the neighborhood park on a scavenger hunt finding clues and fun party favors(glow sticks, glow in the dark bubbles, etc) that would lead them back to the house for the dance party. Earlier in the day they had also decorated t-shirts what they didn’t know was the paint would glow in the dark. Allowing them to wear them later that night during the party under the black light. The point was to build the activities of the day around the real surprise or focus of the event.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. 

I have a tendency to freak out when things aren’t “perfect.” Rarely do things turn out exactly like we plan. There will be problems to solve and ways to improve but it’s important to remember to relax and go with the flow. Perfect or not it’s your event and you should enjoy it!

A perfect example would be the shirts the girls decorated earlier in the day. The directions said the paint would take 4 hours to dry but I didn’t take into account that some girls would pile the paint on their shirts…and I do mean pile. This doubled the standard drying time from 4 hours to 8 hours. Suffice to say, we pulled out the extra white shirts and the girls just wore the undecorated version during the dance party and took their shirts home as party favors.

A few late nights and a full weekend of chaperoning and hosting a giggling crowd of teenage girls, I’m happy to announce we managed to wow a crowd of teenagers while staying within the budget and make my sisters birthday extra special. I’m off to crawl into bed and enjoy blessed silence and a full nights sleep.

Happy Planning,

Erin