When preparing for party season, a lot of us think about the clothes we’ll wear to each individual party, how we’ll do our makeup and our hair – and then of course we sit at our office desks daydreaming about the food and hopefully there’s a buffet after the meal (if there is a meal). But we often forget about those who organise the parties and what if you’re the designated host this year? What then? Well I’ve got some suggestions and tips for anyone hosting parties this year.
I’ve been to some great parties over the years but I’ve also been to some pretty naff parties too. Also, we’ve all been to the parties where it all kicks off and someone has a fight or a heated exchange at least, and as the host I can only imagine how mortifying this is. At my party?! So it’s all about keeping your drunken guests happy and pleasant.
Since it’s already November most of you have probably gotten pretty far with the planning, you may have a few things booked already as well and the invitations are ready to be handed out. But there’s got to be a reason a lot of you are on this post: it’s because you left it til the last minute.
So first of all – make a checklist
What you need on the checklist is:
- Make a guest list
- Find a caterer
- Find a venue
- Create a playlist
Then go to Excel and create a spreadsheet
The most important part of planning anything is knowing your budget and keeping on top of your spends. This way you know how much you want to spend on each aspect of your party, and this also means that if you have a tight budget it’s an excuse to get crafty in some areas.
Then ask your attendees what they’d like
The best way to get the perfect party hosted is by going around and asking your guests what they would like. At my yearly work do we always pitch in and tell the boss what we’d prefer to do, this year it’s a meal and a party at a popular venue, I won’t be going sadly since I didn’t know mine or Pedros situation when they were taking bookings.
You then want to start thinking about your venue and what you’re going to be presenting your guests with – you want them to be comfortable and excited about the party so take venue hunting seriously.
A lot of venues out there will be all decorated for Christmas so try to find a venue that has the decorations put out if that’s the vibe you’re going for. I also suggest having a look on Square Meal – they make meeting venues easy and if you honestly are a last minute party planner, then this is definitely where you need to be looking. The venue is probably the most important thing that you need to get cleared, so I’d start by writing your guest list and having an approximate amount of people that will be attending the venue, and then get searching for your venue. If people drop out or more people come, you can sort this out later.
Next you want to find a caterer, if you’re not going to be throwing the party at a restaurant or at least somewhere that has a restaurant as well as a dance floor, you can stick to searching on Square Meal since they also specialize in this, but also have a look around your local venues and see what deals you can get – as it’s very last minute though you want to keep all of your options open and be prepared to maybe drop a few ideas.
For invitations and all of that jazz, I wouldn’t wait around too much but I also wouldn’t cheap it out. I like to use Photoshop whenever I want to design anything like an invitation or a greeting card, it’s quick and easy and super effective too since it’s completely your personality. You can get them printed online and at least you’re guaranteed to not get let down by an over-worked independent Etsy store or you’re not handing out hand written invitations like you’re back in school.
Once everything is organised and you know what you’re doing – you can then move on to joining your friends and worrying about your outfits and makeup!
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