What to Consider When Hosting A Party
Hey hey!!
The warm weather came in hot this year! (No pun intended, well, maybe a little). With Memorial Day right around the corner and things opening back up again, I’m wondering if anyone is going to be hosting any cookouts, birthday parties, special events, or any type of get-togethers coming up this summer? I know I sure am.
I have hosted big parties in the past, and am now in the process of planning a few big special occasions that are coming up in my family. Now, I love hosting and planning, but some of the stress and time that goes into the whole process leading up to the day of? NOT SO MUCH!
I figured if I am feeling this way, then I’m sure others may feel this burden as well, and it may even deter you from even hosting a party at all. We definitely don’t want that. That’s why I have created THE ULTIMATE PARTY PLANNING TIMELINE AND CHECKLIST for you!
In the mean time, here are a few suggestions on what you should consider when you are throwing a party, no matter how big or small:
1. The “B” Word . . .
Can you guess what I’m about to say? BUDGET. Ugh, I get a bad taste in my mouth whenever I have to say it out loud. It is something I wish I didn’t have to worry about, but let’s face it, it is something very important to decide on when planning your party. When thinking about a budget, you need to have realistic goals and expectations for you and your family.
When deciding on your budget, don’t forget to account for things like: food, decorations, venue/location, entertainment, furniture/tables and chairs, paper goods/place settings, outsourcing, and gifts/favors. You may decide you want to break down your budget into categories and determine how much money you will spend on certain areas of the party. For instance, maybe decorations aren’t important. Maybe you are just having some people over and your backyard is already set up the way you like it. So if decorations aren’t important, is entertainment more important? Or food? Determine how much money would be allocated to each category. Give more money to the pieces of the party that are most important to you.
2. Timing
The timing of your party/event could make a difference on your wallet. If you notice that you may not have as much as you thought to spend on food or something else in general, then it’s probably best to avoid parties during common meal times. You could throw a morning brunch get-together, throw an afternoon party (after lunch time) and put an end time on the invitation that is before dinner so guests aren’t expecting to stay for dinner, or you could even have people over around 7/8pm for drinks and dessert type of thing.
Just think about when you get invited to a party. If you consider the timing, what are you expecting to be there as a guest?
On the flip side, if you have a party starting in the late afternoon, but don’t include an end time on your invitation, you better plan on some guests staying until the late hours of the night. So you will want to have food around dinner time and I also like to have either late night food/snacks on hand, or even just bring the food out from earlier as it gets later in the evening if people get hungry again.
3. Outsourcing
When I was talking about the budget (there’s that awful taste again . . . ) I mentioned outsourcing. When I talk about outsourcing, I am talking about giving tasks away to others that can do it for you so it can make your life easier. Everyone’s budget will be different, but again, it’s how you choose to spend that money that will be important.
For instance, you could pay to have groceries delivered to your house to make one less errand you have to run. Or, you could go a step further and hire a personal assistant (or even a professional organizer!) to actually do the grocery shopping for you, and come into your home and put everything away for you too. Talk about time saving!
If you are having a party at your home, you may consider hiring a cleaning company/person to do the house keeping before or after the party (or both). That would be one less task to have to worry about before the party.
Another example of outsourcing could be to even just hire a babysitter for a couple of hours (or however long you need) when it gets closer to the party so it will free you up to concentrate on prepping, cleaning, or whatever tasks you have to do before the party.
The point is, it is worth spending extra money sometimes and having other people do some of the tasks for you!
4. The Timeline
You should also take into account how much time you will have to plan the party in advance. I don’t know about you but I have these spur of the moment times when it’s Friday night and I’m like, I want to have some friends over tomorrow. Well, in that case, you know it isn’t going to be an extravagant thing. That’s when I say, burgers, dogs, sides, and a quick trip to the liquor store will do just fine.
There are other times when you know a big event is coming up or even just another time when you plan on having people over. In that case, you have some more wiggle room to plan and get things in order. You have to take into account how long you have until the event and how you are going to manage your time to get everything done in that time frame. Outsourcing, ordering food, having an event at a venue where they handle the food and you don’t have to worry about cleaning your house, all of these things could be things that you take into account when thinking about the deadline for the party.
BONUS:
You know how I love spoiling you guys. I have put together THE ULTIMATE PARTY PLANNING TIMELINE AND CHECKLIST. This awesome resource will help you break down tasks into each week leading up to the party so you aren’t running around doing it all last minute. It will also give you reminders and even some tips on some things that should get done before the party!
Don’t forget to grab your checklist, and let me know what you think!
CHEERS!