So You Think You Want to Have a Party?
So you've decided you want to have a party. Where to begin? What to eat? Whom to invite? What to drink? Where to have it?
Baby steps.
According to Lauren Conrad's book Celebrate, there are six essential questions to ask yourself:
What is the occasion?
Who is hosting?
What is the time and date of the event?
Where is the event taking place?
Who is on the guest list?
What is the budget?
Knowing the answers to these questions will help you determine the theme of your party and having a theme will set the entire mood and give you a clear reason for your event.
But how do you decide upon your theme? That's the easy part and the answer to question 1.
What's coming up on the calendar? Is it a just-because party, because we can do that! Do you have a not-so-little one graduating? Is it Cinco de Mayo? Is it Tax Day? Is someone expecting?
The themes are as endless as you want to make them. Just settle on something you're comfortable with and run with it.
The theme will guide everything else from the food, to the dress code, to the invites to the playlist. It's the "mom" to everything.
The best party I never threw was an Academy Awards-themed party. (Yes, I plan parties in my head, don't judge.) Knowing what the theme was helped me "plan" for everything else from the drinks to the invites to the canapés. And if I ever pick a year to go through with it, it's going to be a kick-ass party!
For this exercise, I'm going to go with something else, though.
The daughter has decided to spend the summer in Fayetteville (sob), but is coming home for at least one visit this summer - what a perfect time for an outdoor barbecue for her and her friends! I've been wanting to do some old school Kansas City BBQ for a while now, this will give me the perfect chance to roll it out!
Now that the occasion is decided, next week we'll address number 2 on the list, Who is hosting? Obvious? Maybe not ...
