Surprise Party Planning Tips:

Surprise party planning can be a need for many occasions such as a birthday, wedding anniversary, graduation, retirement, etc.  Before doing surprise party planning, you need to investigate if the guest of honour would really like the party as a surprise and would appreciate the efforts involved. Whatever plans you make for the surprise party, just make sure that they are made in secret without the guest of honour having even a hint of an idea about the party.

Planning any event can be pretty stressful, so throwing a surprise party can be a little bit trickier, with the added fact that you and all the guests have to keep the party secret. Here are some tips to help make organising the party easier:

Guest List:

Writing a guest list should be one of the first things you decide to do. As you are throwing a surprise party, inviting people that the surprise guest has not seen for some time is often done. If you have not got the contact details for these people asking someone who may know them.  If you know that someone will not be able to keep the surprise party a secret, then it is best to treat them as you would the surprise guest and not let them know what you are planning, just telling them the date they need to keep free. Just one person leaking the event will ruin the surprise, so be careful who you tell.

Date:

Deciding on when the party is to be thrown is very important as you will need to ensure that the surprise guest and everyone else are able to attend on this date. You will need to come up with a cover up story on why you want the surprise guest to book time in their diary. Weekends or bank holidays are usually the best days to hold an event as more people will be able to attend.

Budget:

The next thing that you need to think about is planning a budget and finances. Consider what venue you would choose, if you would need to pay rent for the venue, decoration charges, music and entertainment, food and drinks, party decorations, etc. If you fall short of the required finances, you can ask for a contribution from close relatives or friends of the guest of honour.

Venue:

Once a date has been decided a venue will need to be booked, you will need to choose a suitable venue that will accommodate your needs and budget. Make sure the venue is accessible for everyone who is attending, for example is it easy enough to find, and there are enough car parking spaces, etc.

There are so many venues that can cater for surprise parties, but the most popular choices are:

House party – If you are planning a party on a budget or want a more personal touch then this is a good option. You can tell the surprise guest that they are invited to yours for a meal.

Function Room – Most bars, hotels, clubs etc have a function room which they hire out. Prices tend to vary and can be based on per hour, set room, per person etc. There are many functions rooms that are free to hire. Do a search on the internet, look in your local phone book, ask around.

Restaurant – If you do not want to plan a party but still want a surprise celebration then booking space in a restaurant can be ideal. Many restaurants have separate rooms for large bookings.

Whichever venue you choose, you should ensure that the cars of the invitees are not seen parked, so as to not let the guest of honour realise what is going on.

Invitations:

You then need to send out the party invitations in secret; either verbally, or through email, post, phone or Facebook. One of the most important points to remember is to let the guests know that it is actually a 'surprise' party. Here is a sample wording for surprise Birthday Party Invitations:

Surprise! Surprise!
Help us celebrate
(name of the person)'s (age)th Birthday
on (day). (month) (date)th
Complete Address
Names of the hosts

Decorations:

Helium balloons are a fantastic are inexpensive way to decorate any venue.  Check out www.thepartypeople.ie for great ideas and products to transform any room.

You then need to order the food and beverages, arrange music, dancing or some other activities, etc. Keep in mind that all these things are supposed to be done in secret.

Final Arrangements:

Tell all the guests to arrive at the party earlier than the surprise guest, an hour is usually a good time, this way people who never turn up on time will have some leeway before the surprise guest arrives.

It is advised to get someone to arrive with the surprise guest so they do not have an idea what is going on and if anything goes wrong at the other end, for example, you are running late, the food has not arrived etc and you need the guest to arrive later than planned you can contact the other person and let them know.

This list above simply helps to ensure that all the necessary things have been crossed off your to-do list.  Most importantly, you need to make sure that:

• The date is all set;
• All guests have been invited and are aware of the party as a surprise party;
• The party food and beverage order has been arranged / confirmed;
• Decorations have been ordered for the party;
• The venue is booked, confirmed, and decorated;
• Order a cake and delegate someone reliable to pick it up;
• The time party has to start; and
• Another thing to consider must be the time the guest of honour is to be brought to the venue.

Tips for Organising a Child's Birthday Party

Birthday parties are a great way to provide entertainment and fun for children. They are also ideal for bringing friends and family together. If you plan to organise a party for your child, you need to consider many factors in order for the event to be memorable and exciting. Below are some useful planning ideas and tips which might help you out in your planning efforts.

Leave plenty of time

Make sure you plan the party a good 2 weeks in advance, as their will be a lot of organizing to do, for example write the guest list; order supplies and decorations; plan the menu; and choose which games to play.

Take into account the ages of the children

Before planning the party an important consideration to take into account is the ages of the children as some parties will be more appropriate for some age groups than others.  You do not want to have to deal with bored teenagers or confused little kids!

Make a checklist

Before you do anything, sit down and make a check list of what you need for the party and in what quantity. This will help you keep track of what you have ordered or bought and what you still need to get. If you do this you won’t have any nasty surprises on the day, like forgetting the cake.

Budget

Once you have decided all the things you need for the party, perhaps you should think about drawing up a budget. This will help you keep control of your spending, as costs for kid’s parties can start to spiral out of control if not kept in check.

Keep up to date

Decide a theme for the occasion. It is best to choose a theme based in the interests of your child, be it their favourite cartoon character or television show. Ask your children who they like at the moment, as kid’s tastes can change all the time.

The themed party

Once you have your finger on the pulse regarding which children’s films, cartoons or programmes are “in at the moment” you can set about basing the party on their favoured subject.

You can go all the way and have decorations, fancy dress outfits, and music based on the chosen theme.  Other party themes which are popular with kids are:

Treasure hunt: Get into the swing of things by having costumes, jewellery, treasure maps and puzzles. This kind of party is great fun for children and can keep them occupied for hours. You can let your imagination go wild, basically, with this kind of party anything related to pirate stories or Treasure Island goes.

Magic parties: This is always good fun at kid’s parties. Hire a magician for the afternoon, and hey presto the magic can begin. Kids are usually fascinated by magic and marvel at how the rabbit managed to fit inside the hat, or at the magician retrieving all those handkerchiefs out of his sleeve. You could even hire the magician so they give the children an insight into the tricks of the trade.

Fancy dress: Why not have a fancy dress party, either get the children to come to the party in their own fancy dress outfits, and let the children have fun dressing up.

We can all remember all those hours of fun we had dressing up. This type a party is timeless. Obviously caution will have to be taken, dependant on the ages of the children as the older ones may find this kind of party “uncool”.

You can be as imaginative as you like with this, it doesn’t just have to be fun for the kids, and you can enjoy yourselves too.

Invitations

Create/buy unique invitations and be sure to send them 1-2 weeks before the party.

Cake & Decorations

Look for a custom birthday cake or consider cake decorations that fit with the theme.

Buy decorations and party supplies (from The Party People). We sell a great range of affordable decorations like balloons, plates, cups and tablecloths.   Helium balloons are an inexpensive way to add an instant party feel, and can be purchased in all different shapes, sizes and themes.

Entertainment

Furthermore, make it a point to choose games and entertainment that can keep children busy and engaged. You can go for traditional games or board games. Providing music is also great to get the children dancing and singing while enjoying the event.

Depending on the time of year, hiring a bouncy castle can provide hours of entertainment for the kids and precious peaceful moments for you.  Just make sure that the bouncy castle is supervised at all times. 

Menu

Plan the menu for your party. Be creative with the food, serve sweets, fruit snacks and finger foods.

Have party bags

A nice touch at a party is to give the kids party favours when they leave. They don’t have to be anything too expensive, just a nice memento for them to take away. If you are having a themed party, the favours can correspond with that theme, for example if you’re having a pirate party you can give the kids a bag of gold coins each.

Most importantly - have fun and enjoy the day!