Do you remember how easy it was to throw a party when you were young? Parents were gone for the weekend. A couple of quick phone calls to some friends, and Boom! A Party was born. Every once in a while it got out of hand as word spread and everyone in town decided to join in. But for the most part it was pretty simple. Friends brought food, drink, and music.
But, as you got older, party giving became a bit more complicated. Rules and etiquette reared their heads and your guests now arrived with more expectations than just having a blast. But, fear not! Everything you always wanted to know about throwing a really great adult party is readily available.
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First things first. What kind of a party do you want to have. Do you have a theme in mind? Is it for a special occasion? Is it going to be small and intimate or larger and less intimate? Other obvious and simple questions center around such things as the main age group of your guests. Or will it be multi-generational? Answers to question like these will help you as you make some of the initial basic decisions about your party.
Age groups are a fairly strong influence in determining the activities for your party. Obviously if you've got a bunch of little kids involved it's going to be a different party than if most everyone there is a senior citizen. The size of your party is also pretty important as well because it's going to have a major impact on your budget as well as the amount of party supplies you'll need to have on hand.
Inviting people can be a lot of fun as there are a number of different ways it can be done. Personal phone calls, formal invitations via mail, electronic invitations, etc. As the world becomes more and more dependent on electronics, a very clever website has evolved. www.evite.com is a really cool way to send invitations (all types) and get RSVP's that can be personalized as well. Using a free service like evite will also help your guests as well. They can see who else has been invited, who has responded, and if they've made any comments or not. All in all a pretty cool and clever device.
Location, Location, Location. It's been the standard for real estate for years but it's equally important for parties. Indoors or outdoors. A private home or a rented location. Does the size of the location match the number of invited guests? If outdoors, do you have contingency plan if the weather turns sour? Home parties usually involve quite a bit of preparation with cooking and cleaning before the party and then even more after the party with the clean up. Outside venues usually eliminate most of the prep work as well as service and cleanup after wards.
Food is probably the next big decision for you to deal with. You should consider whether you want to have a buffet or a sit down dinner. Will you do the cooking or will you have it catered? Decisions about food are probably the most important ones you'll have to make regarding your party. When people talk about your party they tend to ask "how was the food?" pretty early in their conversations. People expect to be fed and they want the food to be good. And...food is probably going to be the biggest budget item and therefore should probably have the most thought put into it.
Obviously, party giving has many facets. I've just covered some of the basics and there is quite a bit more we can learn before we can consider ourselves as expert party planners. But, I think we've covered the basics that should be enough to get you started on the way to having a successful party.
Introduction to Party Planning
Bob Cotto is a party planning expert. For more great information on party planning [http://www.parties4idiots.com/introduction-to-party-planning/], visit [http://www.parties4idiots.com/].
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