Party planner checklist
Now you have a better idea of what’s happening, who is coming and the talent, you can begin putting together a schedule for the party itself. This gives you a cushion in case you can’t find the perfect table setting or for if you need custom printing or engraving. If you need party favours, swag bags, table centres and other goodies, buy them in plenty of time for the party. If you’re recruiting cold, the sooner you do this the better as it will give you time to refine candidates and train them wherever necessary. If you need staff to help with the party, now is a good time to begin hiring.
The more important a guest is in terms of their organisation, the more notice they will need for scheduling. There is no ‘perfect’ time to send invitations but a month or so before is often good. This gives the supplier enough time to plan and for you to find another supplier should anything happen. If you’re having the party catered, now is a good time to finalize staffing, food orders, cakes, drinks and everything else that’s being catered. Now you’re closer to the date, you have some more steps to take in your party planning. The earlier you start, the more time you have to get the attention you’re looking for. Some parties will require no marketing while others may require a lot. The more important they are, or the higher they are in an organisation, the more notice they’ll need for scheduling. You’ll need numbers for catering and budgeting but the type of guest is also important. Knowing the number of guests and what type of guest they are ahead of time can be incredibly useful. Whether it’s a band, guest speaker, comedian, magician or something else, you’ll need to get in there fast as they are also busy. The talent should be booked as far in advance as possible, like the venue. You may be given a fixed budget to work within or be left to generate the budget through sponsorship or ticketing.
Some birthday parties offer a lot of creative thinking to come up with something amazing, which can be great fun! Set the budgetīudgeting isn’t the most interesting element of party planning but it’s one of the most important. Some parties will obviously have a set theme but others will offer more freedom in determining the theme. Things are incredibly busy right now with waiting lists stretching into months and years. If you’re choosing the venue, the earlier you book it, the better. This will be the birthday, sweet 16, christening, wedding, corporate anniversary or whatever. Party planning will usually have the date and time dictated to them by the stakeholder. There are some key planning tasks you’ll need to take care of as soon as you’re handed the event to plan.