3 Simple Steps to Party Planning

I decided to take a break from all of the seriousness of parenting and life and write a fun post this week - planning parties!  Of course, I have some experience with this, and I have the benefit of having my own personal warehouse stocked of supplies, which makes party-planning much easier for me.  But getting into this business has really helped me fine tune the important items in planning a party.

1.  Select a theme - This is so often overlooked, but it really makes the planning easier.  Once you have a theme, you can easily select food, drinks, decorations, etc.  This applies to all parties.  If it's a 30th birthday, pick a theme.  If it's a Christmas party, pick a Christmas-related theme.  The other thing a theme does besides tie your party together, is the theme makes your party memorable.  For example, we have a Kentucky de Mayo (Kentucky Derby/Cinco de Mayo) party every year.  Not many other people do that.  So our friends remember we host the Kentucky de Mayo party, and they look forward to it and the party gets bigger and bigger and more fun every year!

2.  Choose two things you really want to go big with - Maybe it's food.  Maybe it's drinks.  Maybe it's decor.  Maybe it's an activity or a band.  These things will focus your efforts, and they will wow your friends.  That way the other things can be a little mediocre, require far less effort, and no one will care.

• For example, with our Kentucky de Mayo party (since I started that example), we focus on food and entertainment.  My husband is a great cook, so he makes an awesome urban taco spread (also so easy to serve).  And I make yummy bourbon balls.  And we have lots and lots of margaritas and mint julips.  If we did nothing else, people would love the party just for that!
• We also make sure it's easy for everyone to watch the Derby and do some light-hearted betting.  We have TVs inside and outside.  And we encourage everyone when they come in to put $5 in the bowl and draw a horse's name.  The winner wins the pot.  That way everyone stays for the last race, and they have a vested interest in the race that wins.

3.  Go simple but consistent with your decor - It's really tough to decorate for the Derby and Cinco de Mayo, so I just focus on the Derby.  Way easier - and frankly, prettier.  I do all white paper table cloths (cover every surface) with red satin table runners (looks fancy).  Lots of vases of red flowers!  And some pretty white and silver plastic disposable dishes.  It looks super fancy, but requires little work.  And it's all disposable and ready to be tossed in the trash at the end of the evening.

We do other things to keep the kids happy of course.  But instead of having pony rides, we have a pony pinata - see?  Keep the other stuff simple.

Here's to planning your next party!  And of course, if you need some help, I know someone in the biz:).