Every good party should start with good planning. By arranging the date and location of your party beforehand, you start the planning process by giving yourself a timeframe, which is always important when it comes to meeting goals.
Booking the party venue is also important as soon as possible, although you might want to do your research on this beforehand, as some venues will be booked for months in advance, and if many of your guests are unable to make the date provided, you could lose money by changing the date of the party to better accommodate everyone.
The Party theme is a simple enough idea. Do you want to offer a particular theme for your party and if so what? Popular themes for summer parties are Hawaiian and luau parties, pool parties, or even a simple barbeque. But, if you want to go a little beyond that and throw a different theme like The Dinner Detective mystery (where of course, a hilarious murder would be solved) or something of that sort, you can go ahead and do that as well. However, if you are going down this route, you might want to convey the details to the guests beforehand. This would allow your guests to get an understanding of what to expect when arriving.
Here, Mike James – working with UK-based venue-sourcing specialists Function Fixers – provides a comprehensive run-down of summer party planning!
Guest List and Invitations
Give yourself a guest limit and strictly adhere to it. When organising a party, you have to be aware of how many guests you can manage, particularly if it is for a teenage birthday or a children’s party. Consider the relationships between guests. Sometimes a smaller party is better off than a larger party if you happen to have friends or relative who don’t get along.
Once you have finalised a guest list, choose some beautiful invitations and send them out well ahead of time. People are procrastinators so it is better to remind someone of an event earlier rather than later. Make sure you ask them to RSVP so that you can get an idea of the attendance numbers. This can be done via text, email or even by returning a yes/no slip from the invitation.
Dress Code
Summer Parties are often more ‘casual’ than parties in any other season, as the weather is hot and can be stifling in a lot of clothes. Shorts and summer dresses are normally in abundance, so you’ll want to bear this in mind if implementing a dress code. You are not going to be very popular if you enforce a black tie event in the heat of summer! Be reasonable, or at least provide a cool alternative if the weather is hot.
A more quirky idea of a dress code is to play along with the party ‘theme’. If the theme is a beach party, for example, swimwear, sailor outfits or pirates’ outfits should be encouraged. Most people relish the opportunity to wear a costume, so including it in your invitation will be a great incentive!
Accommodation
If your party venue is off the beaten path, it is important to be aware of the local bed and breakfasts or hotel accommodation provided. Many villages will have small guest houses where tourists can stay, although some venues will provide a small amount of accommodation on special occasions. Make sure to scout the area out before booking.
Travel
In a similar vein to accommodation, some of your guests may be traveling to and from the event. Taking note of the local bus schedules and train schedules will really help your guests, or making a call to any local taxi companies to see whether or not they will travel to your venue location. Or better still, you could visit a site to buy party bus rental detroit like Dream Limousines (and alike) to look for the perfect party bus, so that your guests can come in partying and you save up on excess cost! As they say, preparation is key!
Weather Forecast
Summer parties have that extra bit of charm when the sun is out and the weather is bright and breezy. However you have to be careful just in case you run into a pit fall of having booked an outdoor venue with no possible shelter should the weather turn bad. Venues with outdoor spaces or rural venues often make a good choice for summer parties, as you have the choice of being inside and outside and often doubles the venue space, making it ideal for larger parties.
Catering and Catering Staff
Should you have a buffet or a set menu? Nibbles and snacks throughout the day or a single meal? Depending on the style of summer party you want to throw, this can make all the difference. More formal parties benefit from having a single meal in which guests sit down, are served, and enjoy quiet chatter together. However for more casual parties, a buffet or a food table can go down just as well, as guests are free to nibble as they choose and can still dance or converse.
Similarly, the choice of your food may be affected by the theme of the party. For example, if you are hosting a luau, you’ll want to consider some traditional Hawaiian dishes in order to continue the Hawaiian theme. It is also important to decide whether or not you need catering staff, or if you can handle all the catering yourself or with friends. Most venues will not allow you to bring your own food, so in many events you will need to include catering staff.
Beverages
The drinks you provide at a party are equally as important as the food. You need a variety of different drinks whether this is soda or alcoholic beverages, you need to make sure that everyone is comfortable and happy whilst they are at your party. The great thing is you can get things like booze delivery Denver or lots of other places to get your drinks delivered right to your door and ready for your party, and this saves you carting around a heavy bunch of bottles in the supermarket, to the car, to the house! You can also get lots of deals on large packs of soda for people who don’t want to have alcohol and this will save you a lot of money! I recommend getting cans because these are easier to pour and carry around.
Dietary Requirements
When writing out your invitations, make sure to include a note about any guest dietary requirements to be attached with the RSVP. As the host you are responsible for the wellbeing of your guests and that includes making sure that there are no risky foods on the table. People with dietary limitations are normally forthcoming about it, but you can never be too careful.
Taking Inventory
Make sure you have enough glasses, plates and cutlery to accommodate your guest list! Once you have a confirmed number from the invitation RSVP’s, start buying your supplies. It is always better to have too many plates or knives than too few, so try going for a few more over your expected guest count, just in case a plate or a glass gets broken throughout the evening.
Safety Measures
As with hosting any event, you should always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Make sure to familiarise yourself with the venues fire emergency procedure and to give your guests a quick rundown on what to do in an emergency. Take note of where the fire extinguishers are and whether or not disabled access will be an issue in evacuating people in the event of a fire.
Appointed First Aider
Likewise it is also important to have a licensed or a qualified first aider on site just in case of any trouble. It doesn’t have to be yourself, perhaps a good friend or someone with at least minimal medical experience. Being over prepared is always preferable to a situation where someone is choking and there is nobody around to help. It is up to you to take care of your guests.
Entertainment
Summer parties can have a whole host of games, particularly for themed parties. If you are carrying on the beach theme, you can have water fights, bobbing for apples or even pi ata smashing, whereas if you’re going for the Hawaiian theme, a limbo stick is always great fun. Try to cater your entertainment to your audience, as obviously nobody is going to want to partake in a limbo if your guests are all over 70!
Music
Like with entertainment, it is important to choose music that suits the tone of the party. You don’t want screamo music playing while guests file in for the luau. Hiring a DJ can sometimes be expensive, but they all have their own set, some will take requests and at the end of the day they do know what they’re doing. You can also get in touch with the venue manager to find out about speakers located around the venue, and even perhaps blast some tunes through your iPod if you fancy.
Decorations and Finishing Touches
This is where the theme of your party really shines. The sky is the limit with decorations and finishing touches, so that means palm trees, fake sand, surf boards, coconut shy’s and more for your beach party Hawaiian theme. Go wild! Just make sure to double check with the venue manager if there are any strange decorations you want to try out. For example it is always better to check with the venue before hiring in any petting zoos, as they require a bit of a clean-up at the end of the party.
Greeting Your Guests
While making sure that all the food and preparations are in order and lining up all the little napkins to the cutlery, it can be disheartening for guests to turn up (whether it is early, on time or a little late) and have to wait around without their host to greet them. Try to make sure that you have done all your little ‘tweaks’ around fifteen minutes before guests are due to arrive. That way you will be able to greet them as they arrive, setting the tone for the rest of the party.
The dress code also comes into account here. If you have set a costume theme, greeting your guests in a hilarious costume immediately puts them in a good mood and provides a topic of conversation. Don’t wait around by the door all evening for stragglers though! If some guests are more than 45 minutes late, just leave them to it and greet them when you see them.
Having Fun!
Last but certainly not least. Remember to try and have fun yourself. It is important to stay on top of things when planning and hosting a stunning party but you shouldn’t let that detract from your own sense of enjoyment. You can easily put your feet up and enjoy the atmosphere for ten minutes, just try not to go overboard. Everything in moderation.
Congratulations! You have now managed to plan and host a successful summer party!
