My ultimate party planning guide

It’s no secret that I love to plan a party, and I do tend to go overboard! For as long as I can remember it’s been my favourite way to express my creativity. With Sophia’s 6th birthday on the horizon, I am in the midst of party planning and, after over a year of no parties at all, I’m more excited than ever! I thought it might be fun to share my top tips for throwing a fun party with ease and enjoyment.

MY PARTY PLANNING PROCESS

I feel like the planning of parties can often get stressful, which is such a shame when the whole point is to create a fun opportunity to celebrate with friends and family. In light of that my first tips is:

1/ ENJOY YOURSELF

Remember it’s supposed to be fun. If you love party planning, lean into it and enjoy but remember it doesn’t have to be perfect. If it’s not your thing, just go low key and don’t put pressure on yourself. As long as there is yummy food and drink, let’s be honest everything else is a bonus.

2/ MAKE A PLAN

The very first thing I will always do is decide on a guest list. For me this is the most important part of any gathering and the whole reason for the event. From there you can decide on a location, date and time. Finally, this is the stage at which I would pick a theme for the event. This is completely optional of course, and can be anything from a simple colour palette or style to a full-blown theme. Once you’ve got a plan you can get your invitations out, be they text message or printed invite.

3/ MENU

The food you serve is a key element of any party and one that can take a lot of time. Of course, if you are having the party catered this will be less time intensive but, as I would usually make the food myself, I find that getting the menu planned early means you can ensure the food/ingredients arrive on time and that you’ve allowed enough time for cooking and baking on the day/ the day before. I would include any cake plans at this point.

4/ ENTERTAINMENT AND STYLING

Entertainment could be as simple as putting together a playlist (or choosing one from Spotify). With children’s parties it’s usually a good idea to plan some simple entertainment, be that traditional party games or a craft to table. If you want something a bit different there are loads of companies you can hire large scale games from (think giant Jenga/chess), as well as companies that make crafting kits for parties. Styling is definitely an optional one, but it’s probably my favourite element of planning a party. The reason for this, is that I find it can be the small details that make an event extra special. From decorations, to table settings, styling gives the party a character all its own.

5/ TIMINGS

This one is something I didn’t always do, but I have learnt it makes such a difference to the event. Putting together a plan for the day with timings for when everything needs to be done and how long it will take (my advice is be realistic) is so worth it! It means you won’t be running around like a headless chicken 3 minutes for before guests are due to arrive (this has been me so many times). Hosting a party whilst feeling stressed is not ideal because it’s the opposite of the energy you want to create. A simple list of tasks and when they need to happen means that you know when it will all get done, and you can delegate. Hope this guide provides some helpful tips from my many many years of throwing parties. I’m currently gathering ideas for Sophia’s party and I’ll share my inspiration for the party in a blog post soon. Image credit: 100 Layer Cake