Have you always had the desire to plan an amazing party or event? That’s good because planning a great party takes some creativity and skill. And let’s face it, everyone knows having that one friend that can plan a killer party is a great friend to have.
Party planning is as much about creativity as it is about being organised. It’s not something everyone, or even most people, can do well. Yet everyone loves the idea of attending an amazing, well planned party or event. Do you want to be the person who has a reputation for planning the type of party that everyone else wants to attend?
If so, here are some killer party planning tips to help your parties stand out from the rest. Be it a house party with a murder mystery theme or a Shoreditch Friday night that you want to liven up, these tips will make your parties the best around.
1. Try Something Unique
Something fresh or new has a good chance of being a hit. Everyone has a lot of the same in their lives so the idea of something different is very appealing. You can be the person that gives it to them with your event.
Consider exposing you guests to new things. You can both educate and entertain with your event. For example, I spent three years abroad. When I got back home, I threw a welcome-home party. The theme of the party? It was a travel theme, of course!
For the meal, I prepared a variety of dishes, all from the different countries that I visited during my time away. I decorated with different maps that showed where I had been and included details about each place.
The guests loved being exposed to new food dishes they may never have tried otherwise and they got to hear the unique stories of my travels.
2. It Must Have a Theme
Whether you can provide something new with your party or not, make sure it has some type of theme. If not, it’s just another party. First, with a theme, it helps get your creative juices flowing and gives you a place to star with regard to your meals, decorations, music and anything else you might be including.
A theme also gets your guests excited as to what it will be like. They know it will be different, they just don’t know how yet so they’ll be curious and looking forward to seeing what you’ve done. Anything can be a theme so don’t limit yourself. Even within the theme of murder mystery, there are many different ways you could implement that idea. There are also things like decades, escape rooms or even simply ugly sweaters!
One time, I was able to attend a Prohibition themed party. This meant dressing like it’s the 1920s. The party had an authentic 20’s band and even appropriately dressed dancers from the era. With a Prohibition theme, this meant liquor and beer tastings of course.
3. Make It Inspiring
Everyone wants to be inspired. By keeping this idea of inspiration as you plan your theme, you’ll come up with new and fun ideas that will have guests really looking forward to attending your party.
Part of inspiring them is something mentioned with regard to finding something new and using a theme. But there are other ways to add inspiration as well, such as setting it up to have donations go to a favourite charity of your choice. Or maybe add some local flavour with a musician from the area.
4. Give Your Guests Choices
The death of any party, even with a great theme, is boredom. Be sure to have a variety of activities in which your guests can engage. A playlist of all the songs they’ve heard a million times isn’t going to make your party stand out or be talked about when it’s all over.
It’s also important that you don’t over-plan either. Your guests won’t be happy if you have everything planned to the minute. “Do this. Go here.” is not what people have in mind for a party.
There are a lot of different options you can choose within the old standby of games, dance floors, music and more. Within these topics, get creative. Remember, expose them to something new, whether it’s music or games. But it’s also important to have an area where people can get away from the activities and just socialise.
5. Diversify Your Guest List
One way to shake up a party and keep things fresh and interesting is to invite different guests. Sure, invite your closest friends but not only your closest friends.
Mix things up with people outside your tight-knit circle. Maybe invite those co-workers that you like, but never see outside of the job. What about people at the gym? Maybe people you talk to on almost a daily basis as part of your routine?
This gives new people a chance to interact and socialise that might not done so otherwise, in an environment that encourages conversation and fun. This will help with the whole idea of a party that feels new, fresh and unique.
6. Make Your Invitations Different, Too
Your invitations matter. Despite what a killer, fresh party you may have planned, if your invitations don’t show that, if they look like every other party invitation, people won’t expect different. That’s the opposite of what you want.
Put some thought and creativity into the invitations as well. It will payoff in a more successful party because you can use the invitations to get people excited, curios and intrigued. They’ll want to attend because they know by the different invitations that the party will be different, too!
Ordinary is not the way to go with party planning. If you want a hugely successful party, set yours apart from everyone else. Don’t plan the type of party that you yourself would not want to attend!