Your Budget

It's a good habit to create a budget for your party. A budget is an itemized summary of estimated or intended expenditures for a given period along with proposals for financing them. It includes every cost for your party including venue, transportation, supplies, decorations, food, entertainment, etc.
First you need to choose an amount you feel comfortable spending on your party.
Next you create a detailed budget with exact amounts for each item and where you can get them.

SAMPLE BUDGET:

Murder Mystery Party
budget: $100

• 8 Plates..................................$1..........Dollar Tree
• 8 Cups....................................$1..........Dollar Tree
• 16 Napkins............................$1..........Dollar Tree
• 4 2-liter Bottles of Soda......$4..........Albertsons
• Caution Tape........................$3..........50% off Card Shop
• etc. etc. etc.

Selecting a General Date

Step 1: Selecting a general date for your party.

When selecting a date for your party, it's important to consider why you're having the party in the first place...duh. If you're having a Christmas party, you may want to have it in the month of December; a birthday party will probably be around your birthday. A BBQ, probably during summer. Even if you're just having a house party or kegger, you'd probably schedule it for a weekend so the guests can sleep in in the morning.
At this point in the planning process you don't have to have the exact date and time in your head. Ask around to potential invitees for their opinions.

Party Planning in a Nutshell

Basic Steps to Planning your Party - I will post individual blogs going into depth for each topic, but for those of you who need a quick reference of what to do, here it is.

1. Select a general date for your party. This could be around a holiday, birthday, event, etc.
2. Determine your budget.
3. Set your number of invitees.
4. Secure a location.
5. Select the exact date and time.
6. Creative part. Theme, activites, menu, prizes, etc.
7. Send out save-the-dates and invitations.
8. Purchase supplies.
9. Set up.

Here's the layout I use when planning my parties:

TITLE/THEME: ____________________________

BUDGET: $___________

DATE: _______________________ TIME: _______

PLACE: ___________________________________

INVITEES:

__________ __________ __________ __________

__________ __________ __________ __________

TO DO:

____________________ _____________________

____________________ _____________________

____________________ _____________________

MENU:

____________________ _____________________

____________________ _____________________

____________________ _____________________

____________________ _____________________

SUPPLIES:

__________ __________ __________ __________

__________ __________ __________ __________

__________ __________ __________ __________

Flowerpot Cakes

I made these for my beach-themed graduation party a couple years ago.

Flowerpot Cakes -

What you'll need:

• 8 medium-sized flower pots (they should be able to fit into a cupcake pan)
• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 1 box of vanilla or banana pudding
• parchment paper
• Nilla wafers, crushed
• Sea shells

Instructions:

1. Wash flower pots and seashells thoroughly.
2. Follow cupcake instruction on cake mix box. Set flowerpots on a cookie sheet. Cut out 8 small circles of parchment paper to cover the holes in the bottom of the flower pots.
3. Fill each flower pot half way with cake batter. (There will probably be some left over, use the rest for a whole cake or just regular cupcakes.
4. Cook based on cake mix instructions.
5. After cooling, fill the rest of the flower pot with pudding. Top with crushed Nilla wafers and seashells.
6. Serve!

Variations:

• For a more beachy look, use metal buckets (in the same size).
• Use chocolate, oreos, gummy worms, and silk flowers for a garden theme.

Invitations and Etiquette

Inviters and invitees both have some basic courtesies owed to each other. If these rules are followed, one of the most stressful areas of event planning will be smooth and simple.

To the Inviter:

• Give your guests a reasonable amount of time to decide whether or not they can go by sending "save the dates" a month in advance.
• To those who reply with a "yes", hand them a proper invitation two weeks before the selected party date.

Save the Date---a simple email or slip of paper that says what the party is for and the date and time. If your party requires a certain amount of guests, don't include the location to ensure that all guests RSVP and don't just decide to show up at your door the day of.

For Example:

Vanessa and Jenny's First Annual Murder Mystery Party!
October 23, 2009 at 6:00pm
RSVP @ 555-1234
Please RSVP for more info!

Invitation---includes date, time, place, "to bring", who it's for, and what it is.

For example:

Vanessa and Jenny's First Annual Murder Mystery Party

Date: October 23, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Place: 5555 N. Fake St.

Admission is $5 per person, which includes a full dinner and 3-4 hours of entertainment.
Come dressed as your chosen character!

To the Invitee:

• When invited, reply to the host/hostess within three of receiving it (even just to say you haven't decided yet). Within one week of receiving it, reply with your final decision.
• If you cannot go, tell the inviter. Don't tell them you'll try to come, they need a definite answer.
• Never ever reply saying you will be there and then don't show up. If you know you won't be able to go ahead of time, let them know so they don't spend unnecessary money or end up waiting for you.

Make Your Own - Pastry Platter

Make Your Own Pastry Platter!

I learned this a while back on a show about yard sales, but I put in my own little twist that makes it very unique.
This is an inexpensive and creative way to showcase your sweets and snacks at your next event.

Here's what you will need:

-An assortment of plates and cups in the party's theme colors
-Super glue
-Objects (to be explained later)

Step 1.
Design your platter. Line up different plates with different cups to find a look you like best.

Step 2.
Apply super glue to the bottom of the cup and attatch it to the plate selected to be on the bottom.

Step 3.
Fill the cup (optional). Based on your theme, fill the clear cups with a related object. For example, my "Forever Young" party will have round, clear glasses filled with gumballs. The examples in the pictures are for a cabaret party using a feather boa and beads. For an ocean themed party, fill it with sand and seashells or give it the look of a fishbowl by filling it with fishbowl rocks and aquarium plants.

Step 4.
Once filled, apply super glue to the rim of the cup and attatch it to the bottom of the top plate.

Step 5.
After letting the glue dry (and making sure the dishes are clean) garnish with cupcakes, cookies, crackers with a cheese dip in the middle, etc.

TADA! Beautiful DIY party decor.

(Ignore the giraffe print carpet.) My pastry platter will be used with my purple and black themed cabaret party with a purple floral table cloth, crystal vases, and little plastic glass slippers.

Ice Breakers

You're inviting your boy friend, Jenny and her brother, Brenna and her boy friend, Sean and his friend, his friend and his girl friend. Do you all feel comfortable with each other? Starting off your party with an ice breaker is a great way to ensure guest interaction throughout the night.

Children are less likely to need ice breakers at parties because they can jump right in and have fun without feeling like they are being judged. On the other hand, adults and older kids don't want to embarrass themselves on a first impression. So, forget those rediculously embarrassing "get to know each other" games they make you play on the first day of school (you know, sitting on random peoples' laps and having to go around the circle introducing everyone who introduced themselves before you, things like that) These games and activities will let your guests get comfortable with each other without looking like idiots.

Packaged Games:
Any packaged game in general is good for breaking the ice. They require minimal thought and everyone's in the same boat. My personal reccomendations are -

• Party Jenga - each block has a simple question that all guests will have fun answering.
• Any trivia game - people love asking each other triva questions! Even if you just leave some cards around, people will pick them up and read them to each other on habit.
• Would You Rather? - I have this game in book form and it never gets old! Once again, it's filled with questions

Activities:
If you want to do ice breaker activities, make sure that no one is the center of attention if they don't want to be.

• Break your party into teams of three or more (you don't want an akward duo) and give them a teamwork assignment (I just read this about building a hat out of an assortment of balloons, but you can also do a dress out of trashbags and tape "runway show style", or a cooking contest if time and space allows, a scavenger hunt, etc, etc.)
• Mad Libs- Always fun! Make your own, find them online, or buy a book. No matter which way you do it, guests will have fun interacting in such a simple way.

I'll admit there are people out there who love those embarrassing activites I mentioned above, but for the populace who absolutely HATE things like that, show them some compassion.
-Don't make them mingle with guests, collecting names and information. If you want return guests to your parties, make sure they're comfortable and not forced to do anything!
-Don't make your guests do stupid things (unless they're willing) like pass a lifesaver around a circle using only your mouth and toothpics! (yes, that will totally break the ice, and it's a fun game for people who really know each other, but don't do it if you know someone won't be comfortable with it)