Today I am joining in on Top Ten Tuesday.
This weekend I am honored to host a House Party for World Vision. I thought that today would be a great day to share some party planning tips:
1. Invite more people than you expect to come. Things come up, other parties are happening, and people are busy. If you want 6-8 people to come invite at least 15 people.
2. Plan a menu. For my party I am having an international potluck, so that takes pressure off me to make lots of food. However, I am still going to make a few dishes myself. Since I am having an international potluck, I am going to make each dish from a different area (I’m thinking about making Asian Pot Stickers,, and I haven’t decided on any other dishes yet). I am also going to have some punch to drink.
3. Set the mood. For this party, I will be receiving some things to decorate my house. I am also going to make a play list of some international music to listen to.
4. Give introductions. I am inviting people from church, from the seminary, and other people I have met. Since some of them don’t know each other, I thought that it was important to make sure to introduce everyone.
5. Eat soon. Since I am having a potluck, the food will be coming ready and warm. We don’t want it to get cold!
6. Play games. I love to play games! So, we are going to play several games to get to know each other better!
7. Have a clear purpose. I am hosting this party through House Party for World Vision. The purpose is to share about World Vision and the work they are doing around the world.
8. Have fun! Even though I have a clear purpose to educate my guests about World Vision, we are still going to have fun!!!
9. What’s the takeaway? I love having favors, and giving them away! House Party is sending us a party pack that has some takeaway for the guests!
10. Don’t go too long. This goes with the first tip a little, people have lives, they have families, they have other things to do. Keep these things in mind when your party is starting to go on and on and on…
Do you have any tips to share? Please share below!!!
I love having party favors! And it’s way more fun to make them for adults than kids – a mix CD is much nicer than a bag full of plastic junky toys, if you ask me! ;)
I love that your party has a purpose!
Great list! I love hosting parties, but I’ve struggled in the “clear purpose” area. It’s always awkward when people are standing around thinking, “So…what now?” I think that establishing an end time is important, too. It’s good to be flexible, but even better to let people know things are winding down.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by World Vision USA, Marcaisse Dangervil, Marcaisse Dangervil, Lindsey Talerico, Ashley Wells and others. Ashley Wells said: I'm having a @WorldVisionUSA #houseparty on Sat. Did you catch my #party #planning #tips I shared? http://bit.ly/bTkNEm #toptentues [...]
[...] had a party this weekend at my house, and I was completely unprepared and stressed! Then I lashed out against [...]
Hi Wells,
Great post! It is a nice experience from your insight and thank you for your great tips for party planning, You’ve made some good points there. I did a search on party planning and found most people are agree with your points.