Top Party Planning Tips & Ideas for 2016

Our 2016 Top Party Planning Tips & Ideas will ensure you pull off your next party with ease and style. Let’s jump in!

Get Organized

Find a good time to sit down with a notebook and pen to start the planning process. Consider…

• Where will the event be hosted?
• Who’s invited?
• What’s your budget?
• Will it be casual? Informal? Semi-formal?
• What type of vibe do you want to create?

Now is the time to register for event management services like Sendomatic. Sendo makes it super easy to create custom invitations, communicate with recipients, manage responses, sell tickets, accept donations and more. You can learn all about how Sendomatic can make your event planning process easier.

Create a Theme

Every great party starts with a great theme. Once you have the theme, everything else falls into place – decorations, invitations, games, drinks and food. Stick with your theme from beginning to the end. It starts with the very first time your guest gets wind of your event, the invitation. Make the theme and the feel of the party apparent from the get-go. Even if you pick a theme you don’t know much about, research! Do Google searches and bring up images about your theme. Get inspired with the dress, customs and anything else about your theme and implement it into your master plan. There is nothing like a party with a strong theme.

Delegate

The best and most relaxed party planners don’t do it all themselves – They quietly delegate. Ask friends to do simple tasks that you know they won’t mind helping with. My friend Shibani loves to make her Indian Mango Mousse and did it gladly for our wedding. People enjoy contributing to events. It makes them feel important and special. Anything you can ask someone to help with is one less task you need to do for the big day.

Hire a Food Truck

Local, exotic and delicious, you can hire a food truck in most areas of the world. And, the best part, it’s easy, inexpensive and fun for guests! Food trucks come in many creative flavors: Beyond the Border (Mexican), Easy Creole (Creole), Jeepsilog (Filipino), Curry Up Now (Indian). With Food Truck website’s like The Roaming Hunter you can find and hire a food truck that fits your party theme.

Food truck hiring tips:

• Make sure you have a large, flat area for the truck.
• Most trucks need access to a power outlet, ask the company if one is needed.
• Have some seating near the trucks. Picnic tables or high standing tables. Pretty them up with some of your natural foliage bouquets.
• Most trucks bring paper plates, napkins and utensils. So you don’t need to provide!
• Have a couple of large garbage cans near the eating area.

The Signature Drink

Having a signature drink that goes with your party theme adds a special touch that guests are sure to remember. Not only are these cocktails yummy, they give guests something to talk about. If your guests enjoy your drink, they’ll want to know what’s in it so they can make it at home. Display the contents of your signature drink on a chalkboard or print it out and place it inside a photo frame with matting.

Seasonal Foliage Arrangements

Save money and get creative with what you have growing in your own backyard and neighborhood! I love the changes of seasons and the different blooms and foliage that each season brings. Create beautiful tablescapes and floral arrangements using what’s available to you. Don’t be afraid to ask your neighbor for a few of her flowers. They will probably be honored you asked!

Project a Silent Movie

My Epson projector gets used at most every event I throw! Think of your theme and project a movie, video or photo show on a wall, the ceiling or other surface. Turn the sound off and all you see is the images, like a piece of art. Play Woodstock at your sixties party, have rock videos playing at your eighties party, have a photo collage projecting at your high school reunion. Get creative! My daughters 6th Polar Bear themed birthday is on Saturday, we’ll be projecting a animal documentary on an angled barn ceiling.

Don’t Forget the Kids

If you’re going to have children at your party, be sure to accommodate them. Have an activity table with crafts, party favors and inexpensive toys they can take home. Include kid-friendly foods and beverages on your party menu.

As our culture and technology evolves, so does party planning. I’d love it if you’d share some of YOUR party planning tips in the comments!