The Ultimate Party Planner

Your loved one is celebrating a birthday, your best friend is getting married, your co-worker is having a baby, or your parents have reached a milestone anniversary. Whatever the reason, you have decided to throw a party. Your initial reaction is excitement. A house filled to the brim with friends eating, drinking and making merry, but then reality hits. You have to plan, organize, and and host this function and whether there are five or fifty-five guests the thought of all the work involved can be overwhelming and may make you regret opening your mouth and saying " we can have the party at my house". Trying to live up to the standards of Martha and pulling off the perfect function can seem impossible at times, and a very pricey undertaking, but don't worry, putting together a memorable party within a reasonable budget is a goal easier to reach then you would expect.

Once you have decided to host a party, pull out your personal organizer and set the date. Weekends are usually best as most people are able to attend, but keep in mind during peak party seasons, such as Christmas, you may have to plan on holding your party well before, or even after the holiday so as many guest as possible can attend. Keep in mind your work schedule. If you can plan it around your holidays, or take a couple of days off before the party date, you will have more time to dedicate to party matters. A good party doesn't have to be expensive but it does take time to prepare so you can make your party the event of the season.

If you can, recruit some friends or family members to help you host. Fellow bridesmaids in a wedding party can be a great help in throwing a shower for the bride, or co-workers may be interested in pitching in for a fellow employee's baby shower. Talk to siblings or cousins when planning parties for parents, and if you are just throwing a gathering at your home start preparing your 'honey-do' list for your significant other. Some guys are great at party planning, but for the most part they are not genetically programmed to think about decor and party favours. They can however, in most cases, follow direction and do any heavy work or running errands.

Think about a theme for your party. Themes make decorating, setting menus, and deciding on drink selections all a little easier. A theme allows you to be in a "zone" for your party so you can narrow down the types of food to serve and the variety of beverages available at the bar. You will find that this will lessen your overall prep-time and make you life much easier.

Always remember, you want to enjoy your party along with your guests. You don't want to spend your time stressing about details and complaining about everything that has gone wrong. You want your guests to remember their wonderful host and your fabulous event.

So you've set the date, rounded up some help, and picked a theme for your function. Now you need to inform your guests that they are lucky enough to be invited to the party of the year! Your invitations should reflect the "feel" of the party. They set the tone and give your guests an idea of what to expect. The style of your invite will let them know if the event is formal, semi-formal, business related, or casual. Whether you purchase your invitations or make them yourself, they should contain the same basic information.

I always ask myself the same four questions whenever I am putting together my invites, and I make sure the information on them answers the questions completely.

1. What are your inviting your guests too? A party of course! But what kind of party? Cocktails, a barbeque, a reception, a specific event.

2. Why are you hosting a party? (Are your nuts?) Indicate who the party is to honour. A birthday, wedding or baby shower, anniversary party or formal reception, Supperbowl or Oscar celebration.

3. When is the party, so we can all put it into our planner, blackberry or on the calender. Make sure to include date and time. In some cases you will want to put a start and end time just incase you get those guest who just don't know when to leave.

4. Where is the party taking place? Your house, a hall or community centre. It is nice to include a map with the invitation for any out of town guests that may not be familiar with the area.

Hand-made invites are my favourite because I can really suite them to the theme of my function. A dump truck that has moving wheels and a bucket that dumps to reveal the party info underneath is great for a little boy's birthday. A garden gate with fairies peaking out suites a little girl's fairy princess party. My latest is a wedding shower with a beach cabana theme. The invites are done in shades of tropical blue card stock with raffia tied through holes punched in the top. There is a stamp in chocolate brown of a sand dollar and the invite information is printed on sandy marbled bond paper and rough torn around the edges before being attached to the card stock. The wording is as follows:

Cocktails in the Cabana

A Wedding Shower Honouring (Bride's Name)

Sunday August 16,2009
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Address of Event
RSVP to (phone number or e-mail)
by (date to RSVP by)

Hosted by: (Lists name of host(s), especially if it is being held
at one of the hosts` homes, but there is more than
one person hosting)

Not everyone seems to know what RSVP means, so be prepared to do some phoning around the week before to confirm if people are attending so you can have definate numbers to be able to plan amounts of food and drinks.

Another option in our tech-savy world is e-mail invites or group invitations over Facebook or Twitter. This is okay for very casual events but I still prefer the òld-fashioned style of sending out invites. It`s nice to get mail once in a while that is something other than a bill!

Your RSVP's are coming back and people are looking forward to your little soiree. You look around your house and think 'where do I go from here?'. Start with the basics. Make sure your house is clean and your kitchen is organized for easier access. In the bathroom put out some nice handsoap, towels and hand cream, and don't forget to have the toliet paper stocked up and some extra within reach of the facilities so your guest don't have to seek you out to replenish the stock. If need be, re-arrange some of your furniture to allow for a more inviting space that lends itself easily to conversation.

Using the theme of your party, look for simple decorations that will set the atmosphere but not overwhelm your space. The Dollar Stores can be a gold-mine when it comes to inexpensive, yet fun decorations. Candles in colours that match your theme are great for late afternoon or early evening parties. They also give an initmate feel to a gathering and everyone and everything looks beautiful when lit buy soft candle light.

Flowers are another easy way to warm up a space and sometimes the more simple the arrangement, the more striking it is. For a wedding shower with a picnic theme I filled small mason jars that are used for jams with simple white daisies, then placed them on tables I had covered with white table clothes and layered with blue and white checked gingham material. For a baby shower think blue and pink flowers in baby bottles with little booties, kid's blocks, or rattles tied in a bouquet to accent the flowers. Like I said earlier, pick a theme and stick with it. This is the easiest way to create a party that will really be a hit with your guests.

Now for the meat and potatoes of party planning (pun intended!). What do you feed your guests and what do you offer at the bar? Again I defer to the theme. Plan foods that are easy to serve and that can be prepared before the party so you don't spend your time in the kitchen while your guests are enjoying themselves. Picking foods that accent your theme will really add to the overall ambiance of the party. Some really great discoveries I have made lately have made my functions even more successfull.

Consider hiring someone to tend bar or serve food for you. This allows you to mix and mingle, to be the utlimate 'hostess with the mostess'. If this doesn't work for you financially then set everything up before hand in a self-serve style and make sure all of your bar supplies and food stuffs are well organized so guests aren't looking for you to ask where things are located. Set food up in more than one space. This encourages guests to mix and mingle more, as people tend to gather around the food table.

Look into renting your glasses, plates, utensils, and serving pieces instead of using plastic or disposible. Not only is this more environmentally friendly, but I always like food better off of "real" plates with nice utensils, and somehow wine looses some of it's sophistication when served in plastic. Renting your materials is surprisingly inexpensive and convienent. I recently rented everything I needed for a coctail party for less money than it would have cost me to buy paper and plastic products. The best part is, you don't even have to wash them. Most places just ask you to rinse them off and return them in their boxes, they take care of the serious wash and clean when you return them.

Keep your bar simple. A couple of favourite beers and wines, and maybe one or two signature drinks along with a non-alcoholic punch for your designated drivers/non-drinkers. For instance, at a tropical party I served two kinds of beers, a red and a white wine, a mango martini and a rum spritzer for the alcohol choices. For my punch, I just mixed up some tropical fruit juices and some gingerale to add sparkle.

I find with food that if you stick to six to eight great choices it will make your life much easier. Look for unique ways to serve things with everyday items you have around your house. Lazy Susans are a great way to display food. Place a clean, unique mirror on top and use it to display cheese and crackers, or veg and dip. Then your guest can just turn the food plate to retrieve what they want without reaching across the table. I always try to serve my food on white plates. Everything always looks so colourful and crisp on them, simple yet sophisticated.

For some types of functions, the dessert is the crowning glory. Whether a cake or the now trendy cupcakes, it really finishes off your celebration. Order from a reliable bakery or make it yourself. You may even choose to use it as a centerpiece for your buffet table. Displayed beautifully with flowers or candles, it can definately make a statement.

Guests always remember how well they enjoyed the food at a function, so make sure to spend the time to make your menu spectacular.

You've planned your party to perfection. Your inivitations went out and your responses came back. You've prepared your food, mixed your beverages, and opened your doors to welcome in your family, friends, and neighbours. Now your house is filled with laughter and conversations as people mix and mingle in your clean and beautifully decorated home. You are fielding compliments from all your guests and enjoying the efforts of all your hard work.
Hosting parties can be a very satisfying and relatively stress-free experience if you follow some simple steps to organize and prepare for success. Now all that is left is the clean-up,but that's another story!