Making the Plan! Fall Wine Party Planning - Part 2

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Party Planning Part 2

You’ve decided on your theme and made your guest list. Now it’s time to get down to the details of your event. I really like this part – it’s so fun to pull all your ideas together and see them down on paper (or in a spreadsheet!) Having everything all spelled out in advance takes so much stress out of the process. Then you can really enjoy your party planning, and the party itself.

As we go along, you’ll see that the timeline isn’t always rigid. Depending on what you want for your party, the tasks may need to be done earlier or later, or in a slightly different order. This next category is a perfect example.

Entertainment/Games/Gifts

If you want something a little extra for your party, you can plan some entertainment or games. Or give your guests a little gift. Or etc. The reason this is right after choosing guests on the party planning list, is that sometimes you have to plan quite far in advance. For instance, I used to have a piano player at my holiday parties. I seriously had to call potential musicians the summer before because their holiday schedules filled up so fast! (Choosing a wedding venue is another one, but wedding planning, while basically the same at the core, is much more intricate and has its own set of considerations!)

Anyway, think about what you might like – there are a million different ways to add fun to your event. If you have a theme, you could have your entertainment reflect it in some way. Brainstorm a list then choose just one or two – you don’t want to overwhelm your guests. Or your own schedule!

Party helpers!

Logistics/Accommodation

Another thing to consider early on in your party planning is logistics.

Where will everyone park? (What if there are only a few parking spaces on your street and you’re inviting 100 guests? Maybe you want to look into a valet or remote parking with a shuttle.)
Are you inviting anyone who needs special accommodation? (What if you have 17 steps into your house and some of your guests use wheelchairs or walkers? Maybe you want to designate two strong people to look out for those folks and help them into the house.)
What about weather and roads? (Maybe there’s local road construction that doesn’t show up on a navigator. You might need to provide alternate directions in case of detours, or steep hills on wintery nights.)
Hotel suggestions for out of town guests.
Volunteers to take coats, help cook, decorate, or hand out champagne.

Stuff like that.

Decorations

Possibly my favorite part of party planning is decorating the house! (This should not actually surprise anyone!) Again, if you’re going to be doing something exotic around your theme, you might need to plan quite a ways in advance.

But even if it’s just going to be seasonal flowers and candles, you want to decide where you’re going to get those things and make sure they’ll be available.

One time all I wanted was white roses, which you can get anytime at any number of places. But the day before my party I couldn’t find them anywhere! The next time, I asked my florist to order me some, and I just strolled in on party morning and picked them up! Easy! You’ll also want to decide what vases, etc. you’re going to use, and where you’re going to put them.

Food & Beverages

Planning the food and drinks is another fun one! Refer to Party Planning – Part 1 re: keeping track of any food allergies your guests might have. As a precaution, I always like to label the dishes I serve so that people can be aware. I usually make a little more food than I think I’m going to need – I hate to run out. Here’s a good article about how much to serve.

On the other hand, don’t stress about this too much. I always say if we run out, we’ll order pizzas! Having a backup plan, of course, is good! Just like with the decorations, I plan out what food I’m going to serve, where I’m going to get it, and what dish or platter I’m going to use. It’s no fun to realize as you’re taking the appetizers out of the oven, that you don’t have a plate to put them on!

Calendar

As you’ve probably guessed, I have printables that I use for each of these categories. One of the more important is the calendar. After you’ve figured out the tasks you need to do in the above categories, spread them out among the remaining days in the calendar. Cleaning usually happens a couple days before, and decorating in the last day or so. I like to do my flower arrangements the morning of the party.

Next time I’ll share the calendar and some other party planning printables with you. In the meantime, you can get started by grabbing the Entertainment printables from the Members Library now! If you’re not a member yet, you can sign up when you get to that page.

Till then!