Planning A Party? Make Sure You Avoid Making These 15 Mistakes
Parties once consisted of a bit of food and drink, some balloons, party hats, and music that played throughout the event from a hi-fi system! Nowadays, parties are quite involved and require a lot of thought, organisation, and investment.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re planning a birthday party, a housewarming, or just fancy having some fun with your friends in the height of summer. If you’re planning a party soon, the last thing you want to do is make it memorable for the wrong reasons.
That’s why it makes sense to avoid making these common party planning mistakes to ensure everything goes as expected:
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1. Doing Everything Yourself
One of the worst things you can do is handle all aspects of party planning, organisation, and management yourself. It doesn’t matter whether your party will have ten or 100 guests – it’s still too much work for a sole organiser!
If someone offers to help you organise your party, make sure you accept that offer. But, if no one comes forward to lend a hand, ask your nearest and dearest for some assistance.
Of course, if all else fails, you could always pay a party planning company to take care of it all for you!
2. Choosing The Wrong Venue
Whether you’re planning a party at your home or elsewhere, you will always need to put some thought and consideration into the venue. A sad fact about party planning is that many people often forget to consider things like logistics and aesthetics when selecting a venue. Square Meal has some fantastic venues for parties. Whether you need a large venue for something like an engagement party or something more intimate for a celebration like a baby shower, you should be able to find the right location for your party.
For example, it makes sense to choose a venue that’s central to most guests and is easy for commuting by car or other means of transportation. Also, choosing an idyllic location will help make any party memorable.
3. Not Thinking Properly About Catering
Let’s face it: there’s no point having a party if there isn’t anything to eat or drink! There is only so much talking and dancing guests can do before they become hungry and thirsty, and that’s why it’s essential you’ve got the catering sorted out.
When organising your party’s catering, you must check if any of your guests have food allergies or intolerances, as they could potentially be life-threatening for them.
Also, some of your guests may have other dietary requirements, such as only having a plant-based diet.
4. Forgetting To Record The Event
Whatever the occasion for your party, you’re bound to want a permanent photographic and video record of it for sentimental reasons. Sure, you and your guests might take an odd photo or two during the event.
But how can you guarantee that will happen? It can make sense to hire someone like Booths By Lux to take care of your photographic and video needs. Alternatively, designate a family member or friend to be the photographer or videographer for the event.
5. Not Having Backup Plans For Outdoor Parties
Outdoor parties are great because everyone can enjoy themselves without feeling like they are stuck indoors. They’re brilliant ideas for the summer months, where a natural breeze helps keep everyone cool.
Unfortunately, the nature of Britain’s unpredictable weather can mean that even a forecasted sunny day can soon become wet and miserable.
That’s why it’s a good idea to have a backup plan, such as the ability to transfer into an indoor area or even a large marquee set up outdoors that can provide shelter where necessary.
6. Leaving Everything Until The Last Minute
Do you live your life on the edge of your seat – never quite planning in advance for things but used to adapting to changing situations or emergencies at a moment’s notice? If so, it’s something you should probably avoid if you get tasked with organising a party!
A better idea is to plan all aspects of your party well in advance so that you can deal with any issues in plenty of time. Otherwise, you could spend the whole time feeling stressed out on the big day or evening instead of enjoying yourself!
7. Forgetting To Send Out Invitations
The sad truth about human beings is that everyone can’t read the thoughts of other people. Your guests won’t know that you’re inviting them to a party unless you tell them! That’s why it’s crucial you devote some time to writing and issuing invitations to everyone.
Your invitations could be traditional ones written on paper and handed to invitees in envelopes, or they could be SMS or online messages, including via social media platforms.
Irrespective of how you tell people you’re inviting them to a party, the main thing is you let them know in a way that doesn’t require them to master the art of telepathy!
8. Inviting Random People
You only want to invite specific individuals to your party. With that in mind, don’t extend your party invitations to random people that you probably don’t even know!
You’re taking the time to organise this party, and you’re likely footing the bill for the venue, catering, and possibly transport to the venue. Ensure that the only people attending your party are individuals you’ve invited.
After all: the last thing you want is random people to crash your party and potentially cause problems for you and your legitimately invited guests!
9. Planning Too Many Activities
Many people that organise parties will usually have some entertainment or activities for guests to enjoy while they’re at the venue.
For example, you might have a karaoke machine set up for people to use, or if you’re organising a children’s party, you may have an entertainer present.
Whatever you consider for your party, don’t go overboard with the range of activities available. The reason why is simple: people will spend most of their time eating or socialising with others.
10. Not Being A Sociable Host
You’ve gone to the trouble of organising and managing a fantastic party, and everyone seems to be having a good time. As the host of your party, you must make every effort to socialise with all the people you’ve invited to the venue.
Don’t spend most of your time hiding away from everyone! Think of your party guests as an orchestra and yourself as the conductor. Your job is to introduce people, decide when certain things happen (such as activities or eating), and so forth.
11. Forgetting To Have Fun
It’s not much of a party if you and your guests look as though someone slapped you all on the face with a wet kipper! The whole point of having a party is to celebrate – and that means you should be having just as much fun as your guests!
If you’re someone that stresses out about everything, it might be best to have someone else organise the finer details of your party, so all you need to do is turn up, look like a million pounds, and spend your time chatting with everyone you’ve invited.
12. Failing To Disclose Dress Codes
As you can appreciate, when someone gets invited to a party, they will want to know if there’s a dress code. That’s especially the case if they get invited to a specific venue such as a nightclub.
Do the right thing and let your guests know on their invitations if there’s a dress code. That way, you won’t risk any of your friends or family members from getting blocked from entering a venue’s premises due to the clothing they are wearing.
13. Forgetting To Give Guests Plenty Of Notice
Have you noticed how people inviting others to events like parties often give invitees several weeks’ notice? The reason for that is to allow people to ensure they can clear their schedules for that date.
For example, some people may need at least a month to book some time off from work, whereas others might be quite busy and need the time to schedule such an event in their diaries. Don’t be someone who only gives people a week’s notice for a party!
14. Spending Too Much Money
It’s no secret that you’ll need to spend some money whenever you organise a party. For example, you’ll need to pay for things like drinks, food, venue hire, and entertainment in some cases.
If you’re someone that spares no expense to ensure everyone has a good time, you’ll likely make yourself broke due to overspending.
It’s possible to organise a party without spending an insane amount of money. What’s more, it won’t make your party feel “cheap” by being savvy with your cash.
15. Spending Too Little Money
Last but not least, while it’s crucial you don’t overspend on your party, you should also be mindful that you’re not spending too little on it! While some people may have a tight budget, you should always spend a reasonable amount on things for your party.
For instance, no one expects you to serve champagne for everyone, but serving everyone glasses of water doesn’t really put invitees in the party mood!
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