A lot of party planning anxiety, and anxiety in general for that matter, comes from poor planning. If you have your to-dos listed with respective deadlines, you can free up headspace to focus on the fun. Naturally, a checklist will vary depending on the type of party you are hosting. Long guest lists require more food and drink planning (for help, check out our online party plan tool) and RSVP management. Birthdays and showers involve themes, favors, activities and decor which can take time and cost money. Potlucks need a lot of organization. You get the idea.
But I’ve made an effort of outlining a generic checklist that you can customize to your needs. Take a look!
Up to 12 weeks before:
- Research a theme. If you’re having a themed party, start searching for inspirations. I often get lost in the theme searching process so if you’re like me, start this step even sooner.
10 weeks before:
- Set a date, time and locations for your party. If you have VIP guests, check in with them before you make a final decision. If it’s going to be a large party involving lots of preparation, consider taking a day off work the day before. This will reduce your anxiety and help you enjoy the party even more.
- Decide on the theme. Define your color palette and list everything you’ll need, from decor items to party favors. This will inform your crafting plans and/or your shopping list.
8 weeks before:
- Make your guest list and save the date. When we host parties at home we usually don’t invite a whole lot of people so you probably want to make sure that whoever you did choose to invite will be there. Also because the number of guests will influence many decisions.
- Craft decorations and other items. If you decide to make decorations and party favors on your own, start sooner rather than later. This is usually not a straight-forward process and requires reviews, tests, research. So don’t wait to begin.
- Contact any suppliers and providers. If you’re having a custom cake made, or hiring waiters and a barman, maybe even setting up an appointment with a cleaning service for the next day, get in their schedule asap. Popular providers sometimes have long waitlists. If a certain supplier is essential to your party, check their availability even before setting the final date.
6 weeks before:
- Send out invitations. Whether it’s a text message, a mailed card or an online event page, guests should have all the info around 1 month before. That gives them time to plan and increases the likelihood that everyone will be there.
- Get a playlist going. If music is an important part of your party, you should think about it a month before. If you already have a playlist ready, great, skip this step. Otherwise, either start testing out some playlists or stations on Spotify, or begin creating your own custom party playlist.
- Buy decor items and party favors. If decorations and favors are an important part of your party, this is when you visit your party supplies store to get everything you’ll need. That gives you enough time to test things out and make changes if necessary.
- Plan activities. If you are doing any type of activities like games, do your research and decide what they’ll be. You might need supplies for them so don’t wait too long to do it.
- Decide your menu. If you want to prepare something yourself that you’ve never made before, consider a trial run. And also think of beverages in your menu. If you want to add some flare to your party, it could be fun to have cocktail options, which would require extra ingredients and tools.
- Assign types of food for guests. If you’re hosting a potluck, it’s safer to have a high-level menu outlined and have guests sign up to bring specific dishes. This way you know what will be offered and avoid ending up with tons of dessert and no savory dishes.
- Define your budget. After you know what you want in terms of decor, menu and services, research costs and change your plans if necessary.
1 week before:
- Confirm guests. This is when you check in with any guests who haven’t RSVPed yet.
- Decide which serve ware you’ll use. List all the food items you’ll serve and make sure you know where you’ll serve each. Even if it’s peanuts in a bowl. If you’re going to borrow something, pick it up.
- Check your tableware. For a dinner party, make sure you have enough plates, utensils, glasses etc. Otherwise, either borrow or go with disposables, in which case put them in your shopping list.
- Buy any drinks and food left in your list. Unless you’re serving fresh fruit and veggies, you should have all your ingredients a week before. This way you have time to slowly prepare things throughout the week. For fresh and easily perishable items, ideally get them 1 to 2 days before.
Day before:
- Put up decorations and set up serve ware and tableware: I like to leave the cake table or the buffet table very close to ready. I position everything and decorate the day before so I only need to include food the day of.
- Test hardware. Check your speakers for batteries, your wifi, and test bluetooth connections if you plan on using any. Check that your camera or cell phone has enough batteries and that it has space to save your pictures.
- Vacuum the party area and get the bathroom ready: don’t forget to check for enough soap, a dry hand towel and extra toilet paper.
- Prepare any food you’ll serve that doesn’t need to be done real time. Some appetizers, desserts and even meal sides can be prepared in advance. Whatever you can do before the event, you should.
- Chill beverages and make lots of ice. Or get some at the store. If guests are bringing drinks, reserve a space for them, either in your fridge or a cooler.
- Get some cash. If you have suppliers present, you might need to tip them. Remember to have some cash in hand for that.
Day of:
- Pick up or have delivered any food you decided to order, including cake. I like to schedule pick ups and deliveries a couple hours before the party. And have a plan B in case any of those fail.
- Set up food on the table depending on its freshness needs. Perishable items should be served at the last possible minute, perhaps even after some guests arrive.
- Get your trash cans labeled and visible.
- Don’t forget, you also need to get ready yourself. Make sure you’ll have time to take shower, put your feet up a little bit and feel good about yourself before it starts. I hate it when I spend the whole morning doing a bunch of things and when the party starts I’d barely had time to breathe. Remember to enjoy it!
Day after:
- Clean up.
- Upload pictures and share the album with guests.
- Send thank you messages, if applicable.
- Rest. 🙂
Hopefully this will help you feel confident in the planning process so you can focus on the fun. For a list of tips on how to deal with 10 stressful party planning activities check out my other post.
For other basic party planning guides check these out: