12 Tips To Include In Your Party Planning Checklist

Entertaining people is always wrought with a bit of stress and anxiety.  Simply getting everything ready before the party is enough to make  most people pull out their hair.  And, the self-doubt and worry about last minute details is enough to send most people over the edge.  However, planning your party does not need to be this way.  Here are twelve time tested tips to help you plan the best party with the least possible pre-party stress.

Before you can start to build your timeline and shopping list, first you must decide on where your party or event will be held and how many people you will be inviting.  If you will be using an event location or a restaurant, you need to secure your space before moving along to do anything else, but if you are planning on having your party at your home, there are things that pertain to that as well.  Here are a dozen party planning strategies:
 

Tip #1 – The best thing you can do for yourself is to write down a master party planning checklist.  Get out a calendar and mark off some time to shop and clean your home (if that applies). 

No matter what the size of your event, if it is for children or adults, a wedding or a simple birthday party, you must have a master shopping list as well as a good timeline.  Simply use a pen and paper and decide on how long things will take you to do and start filling in your timeline.  And, while you are going through the process, this is the time to start a shopping list as well. 

Tip #2 – In addition to your timeline for the day of the party, you will also want to formulate a timeline for the two weeks or so leading up to the event.  Here you will need to block out time for cleaning, shopping, decorating, etc…  Enlist the help of your spouse or children in the process of cleaning and de-cluttering your home for the party.  While they may not do the “perfect” job that you would, you can always go back with a quick vacuum or dust cloth and finish up the job later.

Tip #3 – Once you have decided on the venue for your party, then you can start to build your party planning checklist.  To start building your timeline think about the things you will need to do before the party, such as send out your invitations.  If you will be having them custom printed you will need to allow extra time for the printing before you can mail them out to your guests.

Tip #4 – Now that you have your date and location secured, and you have ordered your invitations, if necessary, then it is time to think about what you will be doing at your party, what type of food and drinks will be on the menu, and how long you want the party to last.  Dedicate a single sheet of paper just to your party day and list everything you will need to do, in order, by time.  For example, preparing food before guests arrive would be at the top of the sheet of paper, while giving out party favors may be at the absolute bottom.

As you do each of the steps above, you will start to develop a good timeline and a great shopping and supplies list of things which you will need.  This will be a great help to you and can even help you to remember to pick up things that you might otherwise have forgotten. In addition, you will also start to see if there will be any conflicts in your timeline where you might need to move a few things around or enlist the help of others.

Tip #5 – Once you have your lists generated then it is time to stick to them and make sure everything gets done.  If you are finding that you have more work to do than time to do it in, it is perfectly acceptable to ask other people to help you with various parts of the event.  In fact, most people, you will find, would be happy to help you.
 
Tip #6 – Here's a tip that you may not have thought of while planning your party.  When your guests arrive they will need a place to hang their coats and place their purses.  One of the easiest things you can do is to clean out your entry-hall coat closet for them to use.  If you have a bunch of stuff in there, then you should either find it a new home or box it up until after your party is over. 

Tip #7 – When you shop, think about if you will want to send home leftovers with your guests.  If you will, then you should pick-up some inexpensive containers which you can send home food in and not have to worry about retrieving your plates or bowls at a later date.  Or... 

Tip #8 – It is also nice to plan for enough leftovers from your party that you will not have to cook or prepare food on the day after your party.  Let’s face it, the day after your party you will be exhausted, and by not having to cook you can relax and enjoy the day with your family. 

Tip #9 –  When you go to the store to purchase the non-perishables for your party, you can leave them in the grocery bags until the day before the party.  Rather than unpack everything and put it away in your cupboards where people might mistakenly eat it, you can simply leave everything in the bags and keep them in an out of the way place until the day before the party.  (I highly suggest looking at everything the day before and making sure you didn’t forget something at the store which is vital.  This will keep you from having to make emergency store runs on the day of your party when you have other things to do.)

Tip #10 –  If you are having an evening party near the Christmas holiday season, you might want to get together ahead of time with your friends and organize a cookie exchange.  By doing this you can have tons of different cookies to offer your guests, even though you only had to make one kind of them.
 
Tip #11 – If your guests will be drinking wine, it is a great idea to use some inexpensive wine glass charms.  This will allow your guests to always know which glass is theirs and keeps them from using too many other glasses.  Put the charms on before your party to save time when you are serving your guest’s drinks. 

Tip #12 – One of the best things you can do when planning your party is to ask other people to bring food or beverages.  Many times people ask what they can bring, and you should take them up on their offers.  Not only does this cut-down on the budget for your party, it also allows you to spend less time cooking and more time with your guests.

If you will be hosting a party or event, the best thing you can possibly do for yourself is to follow these tips, and others you hear from friends, and develop yourself a good timeline and shopping list, your own party planning checklist.  By writing things down, you will much more clearly see what you need to do and what you will have time to do yourself.