Party Planning from Checklist to Clean Up

Party planning can be something that makes people very excited or very nervous. Planning a good gathering for an important occasion can put the planners under tremendous pressure and it can make the planning even more difficult to do. Creating a party planning checklist can help to keep track of the smallest details. While making your own list is fine, there are some professional party planning websites that have checklists already done for you. 

A checklist is only one of the party planning tools that can help make the gathering go smoothly. Other party planning tools can be spreadsheets or ledgers to keep track of the budget for the party, ideas for party themes and even apps or online invitations and announcements to send guest. Finding tools to help plan the gathering might be easy to do, but making sure that you need the tools is important. If you are planning a birthday celebration for your grandmother, you may not need the social media tools. Sometimes the systems that are designed to help you be organized actually make it harder because you are busy learning the systems and not getting to your party planning.

Once you have your party planning checklist ready to go, you can complete the tasks on the list and scratch them out as you go. Besides using a checklist, finding out other time-saving or organizational party planning tips can make your event go even better. Making some of the food items prior to the party can save time and frustration if something should go wrong on the day. Getting ideas for easy-to-prepare meals or appetizers that are made and refrigerated or frozen beforehand can be a lifesaver and a timesaver. The key to making this work is in the understanding of how long to thaw a meal or whether it can be heated in a microwave or a conventional oven. The trick is to stagger the cooking times so that everything is ready at the time you wish it to be done. Making notes on your checklist about preparation and cooking time can be a good way to make the party day meal prep a snap.

However, some people work better by having others help them get ready or to be responsible for a certain aspect of the party, like the drink counter or stirring the meatballs to make sure they don't get funky in the slow cooker. Being organized with the aspects of the party or event can give you a better idea of what you can ask people to be in charge of for you. Most people are happy to help out, but they also look for direction because it is your party, so make sure you clue in your helpers as to what you want to have happen with their part.

One tip that might get overlooked in the planning portion of the party is the cleanup. Making sure there are adequate trash receptacles around to make it easy for your guests to clean up after themselves. Also, cooking with disposable pans can make cleaning the kitchen easier.  If you choose to use real dishes, plan multiple loads for the dishwasher.

Party planning tips can be as easy as mentioning how to dust in record time before guests come, an ideal location to set up the drink area, or can detail a theme from decoration to food to party favors. Party planning is designed to make the event a success for all involved. The better the planning, the better chance you as the host has of enjoying your party along with your guests.