Whether you’ve taken a new job in party planning or are looking to simplify your family’s gatherings, this guide to party planning tips will help make the experience less stressful.

Parties involve many moving pieces. Whether you’re making food or collaborating with a catering company, ensuring that your guests are well-fed is crucial, yet complex. From food to entertainment, learn how to throw an outstanding party while keeping your sanity. 

Stress-free Party Planning Tips

If you’ve ever planned a party, you know how quickly things can go from idyllic to complete meltdown. Sometimes it’s a sudden catering change, others it’s a massive increase to the guest list at the last minute. Regardless, you can manage the stress that comes with party planning with ease by following these party-planning tips.

1. Start Early

The sooner you get started with planning your event, the less last-minute stress you’ll experience. Plus, you can get your invitations out in a more reasonable timeframe if you start early. 

Ideally, you want invitations to go out four to six weeks in advance of your event if you’re hosting a formal gathering. Casual parties should send out invites two to three weeks in advance.

Start planning your décor and menu to set the tone for your celebration and to ensure you have plenty of time to assemble your materials. 

2. Communicate Clearly on the Invite

Start with a guest list that is the right size based on your venue. That ensures you don’t face stress about what to do if the list suddenly gets out of hand when more people say yes to coming than you anticipated.

Then set clear expectations on the invitation. Outline the important details, including when, where and how formal. Include a dress code to put your guests’ minds at ease that they are showing up in the right attire.

Include an RSVP deadline so you don’t suddenly get last-minute registrants. If you have access to email addresses, send follow-up messages to invitees you haven’t heard from in the days leading up to the deadline.

If you have many people you haven’t heard from leading up to the deadline, pad your numbers with the venue by a little bit. That way you have room for some unexpected guests just in case.

3. Build a Budget

Party planners should discuss budgets with their clients at the onset of event planning. That way they have a better understanding of a realistic event for the money. As part of the budgeting process, make sure you’re discussing the guest list. A $1,000 birthday party for 10 guests will look very different than a $1,000 birthday party for 100 guests. 

The venue and menu are the items that will matter most when it comes to the budget. Events with lower budgets lend themselves to food bars, such as pasta or tacos far more than a fancy sit-down menu. 

4. Build a To-do List

Include dates from now until the event date detailing what you must accomplish each week leading up to the event. Breaking down the party planning into tasks will help you see how things are shaping up in the weeks leading up to your event. 

Some items you might include on your list include: 

• Order the cake
• Complete rental forms for necessary items or entertainers
• Make your party favor list
• Purchase food and beverage supplies
• Send invitations
• Create signage
• Prep tables and chairs
• Acquire tablecloths, centerpieces and décor
• Set a budget
• Book entertainment
• Collaborate on the guest list
• Build your menu
• Follow-up on RSVPs
• Post about your event to social media and create a custom hashtag
• Confirm guest counts based on your venue or catering contract requirements
• Prep the event space the day before or hours before the event
• Review the weather forecast and make contingency plans, as needed

5. Set Expectations for Your Role

Party planners do the bulk of the work when it comes to planning celebrations. But there are still many tasks they don’t or can’t complete on behalf of their clients. Set expectations for what you’ll do and what the host is in charge of doing. Your client might not have experience working with a party planner, which can make for blurry lines and unclear expectations.

If you work on a team, delegate responsibilities accordingly and be clear about who is doing what to make sure even the small details don’t get overlooked.

6. Build a Simple Menu

Some party planners want to go all out for the menu. And while that can have a “wow” factor, it also complicates the planning process. It can also mean more waste and expense if you have a large contingency of no-shows.

Overwhelming your guests with too many options is also not a great idea. Only offer various plate options if you have the bandwidth to manage that. If you’re serving buffet-style food, keep it to one or two main courses and two to three sides and a salad. 

7. Have Fun

Party planning is a fun business to be in. Remember that gatherings should be a place for family, friends or colleagues to reconnect, celebrate or get to know one another better. Throughout your years as a party planner, you’ll host everything from engagement parties to work anniversaries. Remember to keep the reason for the gathering in mind and let that fuel your enthusiasm for the complex process of planning your event. 

Add little touches that will surprise and delight your party guests where the budget allows for it. Look for inspiration on social media for the latest trends to stay up to date on your craft and the expectations your host might have for the event.

8. Order Materials in Advance

The sooner you order materials, the easier it will be to pack and prepare for your party. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to order décor and party essentials only to realize they are out of stock or backordered.

Consider your color scheme and order a tablecloth in the right shade to match that scheme. SoNice Party helps make it simple with table cover rolls. Cover many tables with 100 feet of covering. With 21 colors available, you’ll find a fitting shade to match your celebration. Or stock rolls of black and white to quickly and affordably cover tables at various events.

Browse the large selection of centerpieces and find one that fits your theme. Keep your party favors looking on point with boxes or bags that match the theme.

Purchase wholesale balloons to instantly transform any venue into a party. You’ll find everything from one-color latex balloons to foil balloons that mark any occasion.

Consider building a balloon garland using the matte colors balloon garland. It comes in many colors and styles to match just about any party theme.

Once you set your menu, consider what cups, plates and cutlery you’ll need. SoNice Party offers attractive styles that will look great at all party types to make them useful to have on hand for party planners and event venues.  

Get all that and more when you sign up for a wholesale account today. You’ll find great bulk prices backed by world-class customer service. 

Further reading:

• Back-to-School Party Essentials Wholesale at SoNice Party
• Themed Party Packs – Ready-to-use packages for popular themes
• Event Planning Essentials: Must-Have Party Supplies