Remember parties?? Kind of? Wahhh!! But, it feels like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and parties will be a thing again. In hopes of that being true, I whipped up this party planning checklist.
The Party Planning Checklist
I don’t know about you, but when I’m in party planning mode, I have notes everywhere. I’ll start a list, and run out of space. Or misplace it, and start over. Eventually I have six or seven pieces of paper with different ideas and plans.
I’ll have a menu list, a decorations list, a shopping list, and a list of things I need to gather from around the house or borrow from a friend. The one constant thing that I’ve noticed is that I never have all my lists in the same place at the same time.
It would be nice to have it all on one sheet. I realized that I what I really needed was a party planning checklist!
Off I went to The Google, to see what I could find for inspiration. Maybe I was looking in all the wrong places, but everything I found was more of a timeline. You know, the “Three weeks from the party date, do this. The day of the party do this” kind of things.
That wasn’t what I wanted at all. I needed a party planning checklist to organize all my checklists. Kinda meta.
So, I decided to create my own party planning checklist. A generic list, that would work for everything from a weekend pool party to a special birthday celebration or a graduation party. Something that would hold all the information I needed to keep track of, in one place.
Here’s what I came up with, and I’m sharing it with y’all today, just because.
But wait! There’s more! (Doesn’t everyone love to say that??)
While I was in checklist making mode, I created another printable to help me stay organized. I never know how much food and drinks to plan for. Running out of refreshments at a party can be so embarrassing!
Story time! I once went to a party, where the host was rather frugal, shall we say. He calculated the exact number of pieces of pizza that would be needed and ordered just that amount.
But, he miscalculated! There wasn’t enough pizza for everyone. Not even close! Discretely, the adults gave all the slices to the kids, and the party broke up soon after. We left the party and went straight to the closest drive-thru. Oy.
The morale of the story is: Don’t be that guy! Be generous with your party guests. Throwing a party is not the time to be stingy.
This Food and Drink Calculator printable can help you make some pre-planning estimates. In most respects, these are minimums. Obviously, you’ll have to round up in some cases. Beer doesn’t come in 15 packs for example, so buy three six packs.
You’ll also want to adjust the numbers based on a few factors. More food will be needed for a big barbecue, than a small birthday party. An afternoon-into-the-night party will need a lot more provisions than a party with a clear start and stop time, like a birthday party. Same goes for a pool party vs. a book club party.
Keep your guests in mind too. Big eaters or big drinkers will need to have lots more. Lots more. My party planning philosophy is to plan on having leftovers. That way, I know that no one will leave my party wanting more.
Ready to get both checklists? Download the printable below, mix up a double Lemon Cake Cocktail, and start planning.