Event Planning Tips

Here are the steps I use when planning an event. We will explore all these tips and ideas in great detail, but this is just a quick reference guide.

  1. Guest List: Keep the number of people to what you are comfortable with. If you have never had more than 10 people over for a party, don’t invite 30. If you have a studio apartment that only fits 6 people at a time, don’t invite 20. Sometimes you need to reduce your typical numbers for various reasons, and that’s ok. Not inviting someone from last year’s list doesn’t mean you don’t like them; you may have a different set of constraints from one year to the next. Be open and honest about it!
  2. Theme and Decor: Depending on the type of party you are hosting, you may not have a theme for it, and that is fine. Some questions to ask yourself are: What colors are you going to decorate with? How many tablecloths will you need? Do you need to rent/borrow more tables and chairs?
  3. Food and Drink: Keep it simple! Don’t try a new recipe the day of the party as that will only cause more stress! If you are not comfortable cooking for a lot of people, try just preparing the main course and side dishes and buy the already prepared appetizers and desserts. Additionally, your guests may ask to contribute to the party in some way. If you’re strapped for time, or still trying to get through planning your first big event, you may be well served by agreeing to have them participate in making the event a success.
  4. Venue: Are you going to have the party at home or rent out a space? If you are having it at home you will need to plan for cleaning time as well as cooking. Also, if having it at home, how many kids are coming? You will need to plan activities or rent a bounce house to keep them entertained. And by entertained, I mean VERY far away from my stove, out of the kitchen, etc. Please do not get burned by my stove, nor spill my wine.
  5. Invitations: You can send them out by mail or online. For most events you can send the invitations out a month or two in advance. This is probably the first and most important list as it drives the rest of your lists. Facebook’s Events pages make it easy to track numbers. Now if only everyone would actually respond before an hour prior to the event’s start time…

My biggest tip I can offer you is to MAKE LISTS! I have many lists for each event and every time something is completed I get the satisfaction of marking it off my list. My food list includes cook times for each item and what time they need to go in the oven or crockpot so I can prioritize the menu.