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.