Birthday parties are like personal holidays people get to enjoy once a year. It’s a special day you look forward to all year round. Some can’t wait for the gifts, whereas others like the gatherings.
Whatever the case may be, planning a fun birthday party can be slightly challenging. It depends on the scale of the party, your budget, the number of people you expect to come, etc.
However, planning a birthday party is just as fun as the party itself. You get to work out all the kinks ahead of time so nothing surprises you when the big day comes.
In order to have a successful birthday party, there are several steps you need to follow. Stick to the steps below and your birthday party will be an instant success.
Plan ahead
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Whether you’re planning for yourself or someone else, every single detail of any (birthday) party can be planned ahead. The advantage of planning ahead lets you take any variable into account so you don’t have any hiccups on the day of the party.
You can’t really predict the things that might happen, but you can take precautions and ensure that if some things do go wrong, you’re well equipped to solve them. With that in mind, two of the largest variables are weather and people.
So make sure you weather-proof the location and think hard about the seating arrangement. Make sure you know who’s talking to whom; otherwise, you might have drama on your hands.
Know your budget
Once you’ve dealt with all the variables, and there could be more than the two mentioned above, move onto the budget. Your budget will determine the tone of the party and if you don’t plan everything on time, you might go over your budget.
Planning parties tend to get out of control – especially if you don’t pay close attention to the budget. As soon as you know how big your budget is, take at least 15% out of it and label it as ‘contingency budget’. This way, if things do get out of hand, you’ll have a fallback.
Prioritize food and drinks
A large chunk of your budget will go on the food and drinks you plan to serve. As far as the drinks go, do your best to include a bit of everything. However, try not to go overboard because people like to bring drinks to parties, just in case the drink they prefer is not served.
When it comes to food, stay away from anything that needs to be served individually or cut into pieces. Serve food that’s easy to grab, eat and dispose of. The best way to go is with reliable catering services – they bring the food of your choice, serve small bite meals and take care of everything for you.
Invite on time
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Most people focus too much on the party itself that they often forget to send out the invites. Sure, if you’re at college and want to make a party of ten, two days ahead is plenty of time to plan because people don’t have much on their agenda.
However, if you’re planning a party of fifty and more, then you need to give people some time to make arrangements. Most of them work, have kids, need to commute, etc., so letting them know in advance will give them enough time to prepare.
The cake
You might think that as long you have enough food and drinks you’ll be good for the day, but the birthday cake is just as important. The easiest way to decide on the birthday cake is to go with the theme or the character of the person who’s celebrating.
Custom-made birthday cakes are a bit more expensive, but they let you decorate according to your wishes. After all, the birthday cake marks the moment everyone gathers around to honor the person on THEIR day of the year – it’s the crown jewel of the evening.
Planning a birthday party is a fun experience and you shouldn’t avoid it. If someone asks you to plan a birthday party for them or you just want to plan one for yourself, stick to the steps above and you’ll be just fine.
Mia Taylor is a lifestyle blogger from Sydney and writer for www.highstylife.com. She loves writing about her life experiences. Travelling and enjoying other cultures and their food with her husband is a big part of her life. She is always on the lookout for new trends in fashion and beauty, and considers herself an expert when it comes to lifestyle tips.
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