Summertime events are some of the best because they are so versatile. Events can be held indoors or outdoors — or both — and feature a variety of food and entertainment. Still, planning an event, whether a small get-together or a large-scale party, can get stressful. You want to be able to enjoy your event to the fullest, so planning is crucial to avoiding overwhelm. Try these techniques to help you understand your event better and save yourself some stress.
Make a Budget
Before any event, you should create a budget to ensure that it doesn’t take too much of your personal funds. Budgets are essential in every area of life, not just parties and events, but quite a few households don’t rely on them. Since budgets help you stick to a spending limit and save for big goals, creating one for the purposes of your event can help you know exactly how much you’re spending in each category. You’ll likely save yourself plenty of stress once you know how much you should expect to pay for every facet of your event.
Stick to a Theme
When planning an event, you may be drawn to several decorations or items you don’t need. Setting a theme for your event will keep you on track and help you avoid buying things you don’t need that you may only use once.
For example, if the event you’re planning is a child’s birthday and you want an animal theme, you won’t be purchasing carnival-themed items. A theme makes it easy to stick to your budget, allowing you to think twice before buying something. Plus, it can be fun for your guests to see how they can best adhere to the theme.
Create a Checklist
A checklist can help you stay on track. You can list items you need to buy, stuff you should make and things that need to be completed. This checklist can help you from the very beginning of planning to the very end of your event. You may find it practical to color-code your list so that you know what needs to be done at what time. Eventually, you should have an organized checklist that can keep you on track without worrying about forgetting something major.
Plan an Easy Menu
Food is often one of the greatest costs of an event, and if you don’t choose the right items for your menu, it can eat away at a significant portion of your budget. Consider adding foods to the menu that you know are a hit with everyone and that you can easily make yourself, such as macaroni and cheese. Still, making everything by yourself and running the event might wear you thin.
There is no better way to ensure that your event is a special one than to go with catering, and it takes so much of the effort off of you. By working with a caterer, you may pay more money upfront, but you’ll ensure that your guests have delicious food without you having to worry about making it yourself. That way, you can focus on running your event instead of food preparation.
Use a Venue You Know
The more hands you have in the event, the more difficult it will be to keep everyone on the same page. If you want to have a completely stress-free event, it’s better to rely on someone you know. Going with a venue that you’ve never worked with before might present some issues, as you don’t know their communication style and their policies by heart. By using a venue that you’ve worked with before — or even one that you own — you’ll know exactly what to expect.
Keep Open Communication With Guests
Your guests may ask several of the same questions, and when you’re bombarded with all of them at once, you may start to feel overwhelmed. The best thing to do in this situation is to create a page or website for your event with all of the info included.
You can also include a “Frequently Asked Questions” page that can tell your guests how to dress, whether children are welcome, what to expect on the menu and more. That way, whenever someone starts to ask you a question you’ve already covered several times, you can refer them to your event’s page or website.
Ask for Help
Many things often stand in the way of people asking for help, such as thinking that they are selfish or worrying about appearing weak or incompetent. Asking for help doesn’t have to be a bad thing, nor must it mean that you’re in over your head with planning. It just means that you would benefit from an extra set of hands, and your event will run smoothly for it. Enlist loved ones who ask if you need help to actually help. Don’t brush off their offers — you never know how much stress you can alleviate by adding an extra pair of hands.
Create the Best Event of the Summer
No matter the size of your event, you can leave an impact on your guests’ minds by having a well-planned party that rivals even professional planners. Sit down and map out everything you need for your event, from beginning to end. Budgets and checklists will help you go far in party planning, and they will ensure that your event performs to the level you know that it can. Whether planning a birthday party or a small-scale wedding, you can manage to rid yourself of most stress related to the event by planning ahead.
