Throwing a Party

First, let me apologize for not posting sooner. This is a crazy time of year for me. I've been super busy with real estate, my day job and planning a surprise birthday party for my wife. Which brings me a post about what to do (and not to do) when throwing a surprise party.

Like everything else, I love to plan every detail. I am a firm believer in "you never plan to fail, only fail to plan". Here are some quick general steps to planning a party on the sly:

• Don't tell ANYBODY about the surprise party until you send the invitations out (preferably 2 weeks before the party date). Some people have a hard time keeping secrets, while others may accidentally slip up.
• I prefer sending out old school paper invitations, just make sure you do not include a return address if the surprise party is for a person in your house. This way they do not see any invitations that were returned in the mail. Check out Vista Print. They have some of the best prices on invitations, business cards, postcards, etc. on the web. Just make sure people RSVP to your private email address or work phone number (if appropriate) so don't have to dodge calls on your cell phone. If you want to send invitations electronically, check out Evite. This lets you organize RSVPs very easily and it is a fun and efficient way to send invitations.
• Invite long lost friends. No surprise party is complete without surprise guests. Go ahead and find a childhood friend or somebody the party person hasn't seen in awhile and invite them.
• Pick a theme. No matter what type of surprise party you are throwing (birthday, anniversary, promotion, etc.), pick a theme and carry that theme through ad nauseum. My wife is 100% Italian, so the theme was a night in Italy. All of the food, wine, decorations and even the bottled water (Acqua Panna) and soda (San Pellegrino) were Italian or made in Italy. I will post more on the food and drink later.
• Keep it simple. In order to maintain the element of surprise, a lot of shopping, decorating and preparation must be done at the last minute. Nothing is worse than spending the entire party cooking and cleaning. To avoid this, keep the food and decorations very simple. Don't be afraid to buy prepared or frozen food. Otherwise choose food that cooks very quickly. For decorating, flowers and balloons are quick and easy and add a special touch.
• To be the ultimate host, read the morning paper's headlines. When hosting or attending the party, pick 4 or 5 current events that you can discuss with your guests. It makes the conversation go easily. Also, refresh your memory on what is going on in your guest's lives. They may have new jobs, moved recently or had a loved one pass. By asking your guests about things that are important to them, you are guaranteed to have satisfied guests.
• Introductions. In a mixed crowd, make it a point to introduce at least 5 people to other guests they may not know. If you are having a sit down dinner party, I like mixing up the seating arrangement to seat people who may not know each other by each other.
• Play some games. Even though you aren't 10 years old anymore, try playing some games or competitions with your guests. One great idea is to get a bag of corks and paint one of them red (or any other color). Guests reach in and draw a cork. If they pull out the painted cork, they get a bottle of wine. Another great game is get a plastic trashcan with a lid. Cut a hole in the lid large enough to fit an arm through. Line the trashcan with a trash bag and fill it up with ice and a large variety of different drinks. When somebody gets thirsty, they reach in to get their drink and are "stuck" with whatever they pull out. It is really fun if you put all kinds of beverages that people don't drink on a regular basis(Yoohoo, 40 ounces of malt liquor, Capri Suns, etc.).
• Don't be over zealous about cleaning your house before the party. Let's face it, your house is going to be trashed during the party. Save your energy for cleaning after the party. Just make sure valuables are stowed away, your house is straightened and the bathrooms have plenty of toilet paper. Forget about vacuuming and mopping the floors beforehand because nobody will ever notice.

Here are some other quick tips: Turn on all of your lights or light a bunch of candles. Blast your air conditioner. Secure any pets. Put a plunger and air freshner in the bathroom. Re-arrange any furniture to improve seating and the flow of people. Place food in different areas around the house to prevent traffic jams at the table. Pre-wrap the napkins and utensils for guests if serving buffet style. Place trashcans everywhere with extra bags nearby. Get more ice than you think you will need. Don't be shy about asking your guests to leave when you are ready for the party to end (just tell them you have to be up early and have a night of clean up ahead of you).

In the coming days, I am going to go through in detail the surprise birthday party I planned for my wife, including menu items. In the meantime, please post some comments on things you liked/disliked about parties you have attended or hosted in the past. Take care.