This week will be all about parties on our blog; hip hip hooray!! We love, love planning and throwing parties. And if your spring/summer looks anything like ours, there are a lot of parties to plan. (We have 11 birthdays in our family within two months! And then there’s Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations, showers…shew!). And although we do love putting on a great party, it can be a lot of work (and to be honest, sometimes a little stressful!), so I thought I’d share a few tips and things that I do when planning and prepping for a party.
- Pick your theme. Having a theme doesn’t mean every single thing will be matchy-match and over the top. It will give you direction and inspiration for everything, from designing/picking the invites to what foods to serve. A themed party can still be a simple party.
- Decide how many people are coming. You need to know how many people are coming before you start doing any serious planning so you can be realistic with your plans. (Deciding that you want every guest to sip out of hollowed out coconuts, and then realizing you want 150 people at your party can be a bit of a let down…or really pricey).
- Start browsing the internet. There are thousands of parties posted online. Look at the pictures, get ideas, be inspired. I like to use Pinterest, Google and party websites when I’m searching. Have some place that you are keeping track of the pictures/things that you really like. It can be a notebook, a Word document, a board on Pinterest (Pinterest’s secret boards are the best…now you can plan a party for you BFF without her seeing!). Just make sure you have the website marked where you saw the idea, chances are good you will need to reference it again.
- Start getting specific. I make up a document with categories for decor ideas, menu ideas (further divided into appetizer, dessert, drink, etc.), games, favors. There used to be an “inspiration” category where I put in all the websites that inspired me – but then Pinterest secret boards were invented!
- Plan your party for in-between meal times; that way, you don’t have to serve a meal. It’s a lot easier to serve some appetizers and desserts. (Plus they’re always the best foods at the party!).
- Plan ahead! You’ll want to have plenty of time to shop for supplies – some of the best deals are online, and paying for overnight shipping isn’t going to be pretty on your budget.
- Be creative with your decor, you don’t want to spend money on an item you’ll only use once if you don’t have to. Look around your house for things you can use, ask family & friends if they have an item you can borrow. Also – check your local thrift stores, they might just have that perfect item.
- Give yourself a break. You may have a lot of really good ideas, but you won’t always be able to get them all done. I always have a few things on my list that I wanted to have at the party, but that don’t happen. You’re the only one that will notice. Once it’s party time, forget anything that didn’t get done or go exactly as planned and just enjoy the party!
And when the last guests have left, all the cake plates have been washed cleaned, sit back, kick your feet up and look through all the photos. So worth it, right? 🙂
Do you have any good tips to share for throwing parties? We’re always looking for good tips to help us out during our party planning madness! Be sure to stay tuned this week for party recipes, crafts, traditions and more!
Party on, party animals! Manda
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