SoRaiseYourGlasses

Party Planning Guide 

This is intended as a simple guide and checklist to make sure that you have thought of all the essentials when planning a party, whether at home or elsewhere. It's not an exhaustive list as you'll always have requirements that are specific to you or your circumstances, but it might help as a starting point in the planning

• The Date - if it's a birthday or anniversary you want the party date to be as close as possible, but make sure that the people who are really important can attend on the date you choose, particularly the guest or guests of honour!! - ideally plan well in advance and for most people a weekend is the most appropriate time of the week.
• Budget - how much do you want, or can you afford to spend? This can be a limiting factor but it's well worth thinking about before anything else, as costs can run away with you as more people and more elaborate arrangements start to take hold.
• How many people will attend? - is it a small party or a large one - this will affect your choice of venue, your catering arrangements, your budget and the time it takes to organise and prepare, so make this a firm plan early on and try to stick to it - but it is important to think about who you want to invite right at the start, then you won't make arrangements that turn out to be inadequate for the number of people who are going to be there
• Where is the party to be held? - the venue is important - first it has to be suitable for the number of people you want to be there (not too small but also not too large) and second it has to be somewhere where the guest or guests of honour will feel comfortable. If you're going to use your home, or someone else's home, think carefully about the number of people, and the clearing up afterwards!!
• If it's at home you will need to think about space for everyone, sufficient tables for food and drink. sufficient chairs for people to sit down, and the space to put them out, crockery and cutlery (and you may well decide that it's best to use disposable party plates, napkins and cutlery, and sufficient glasses of the right types. Again disposable glasses can be very useful, and safer for such occasions.
• If it's at an outside venue just make sure you know what the venue are doing for you (catering, drinks, decorations, tableware etc.) and what you need to do yourself
• What's the occasion? - this might affect all sorts of things, depending on the guests of honour. Think about what they would like, and the style of occasion that most fits them and the occasion. Also, very important - if it's a surprise party make sure all those you mention it to know it's going to be a surprise - you don't want anyone letting the cat out of the bag before the event. Also, make sure your venue, caterers and anyone else you are using for the party know it's a surprise.
• Invitations - these can be formal or informal, but for an important party it's best to provide a formal invitation sent to each person or family that is attending - because you write both date and venue on the invitation, it is very difficult for it to slip anyone's memory - they've always got a reference. Also, it provides you with an opportunity to keep track of everyone who you've invited.  If you need a reply to confirm that your guests are coming, put an R.S.V.P. at the bottom and an address  to which they should reply. Keep track of replies to make sure you know the final numbers.
• If you are planning food it may well help to know whether people have special dietary requirements so you can provide food that everyone can eat. You may want to ask this on your invitations.
• Food - clearly there are lots of ways of doing this from self catering, through getting all your family and friends to supply one dish, through to outside caterers or getting the venue to organise catering. Whatever you choose to do, plan this well in advance as if you decide that you want to use outside caterers you may need to give them plenty of notice to be sure that you get the people you want. You also need to decide what type of food you want to offer - is it a finger buffet, a more substantial buffet or a sit down meal? Whichever it is, and however you decide to provide it make sure you know what food you want and plan it with the caterer or with those that are going to provide it - that way you'll get the right balance. How many starters, how many sweets etc? Don't forget that many people have special dietary requirements and you don't want your guests to go hungry.
• Drink - The important thing with drink is to decide what you are going to supply and whether more will then be available for your guests to buy should they wish to, and also to make sure that your guests know the arrangements. If you are at home, then it's important that you have enough of a variety of drinks, usually both alcoholic and soft drinks, to satisfy your guests. If you are at a venue where drinks can be purchased it's important to be clear what the arrangements are.
• Decorations - for a special occasion you may well want to obtain decorations for your home or for your chosen venue. These are readily available (and So Raise Your Glasses can help). Balloons (preferably helium filled) make great party decorations and you can get balloons decorated with most big birthday ages, wedding anniversaries etc, and in a variety of colours. You can also get banners (we provide personalised banners where you can choose exactly what you have on the banner), garlands, party poppers, table confetti, table centrepieces, streamers, sparklers, napkins, paper plates, tablecovers and much more
• Table Plan and Place Cards - you may want to decide where people are going to sit for their meal, and planning this in advance is really important to make sure that everyone sits close to people that they know, or will find pleasant company.
• Entertainment - if you want a disco, or a live band it's good, once again to book well in advance as these people do get booked up, particularly at busy times. There are many, many entertainers around, and the best route you can go is to ask around for recommendations as the quality can vary. If this isn't possible the internet is full of guides for different areas of entertainers - music, magicians, childrens entertainers and much more
• Transport - You may need to help some of your guests with their travel arrangements, or ensure parking close to the venue is available for the infirm. Best to get these established in advance
• Preparing the venue - if you are doing your own decorating or preparations at the venue check with them that you can get access when you need it in advance of the celebration