3
Reasons You Need To Make Lists While Planning Your Party
Most
of us hosts are obsessive list-makers (and proud of it, thank you very much!) In
fact, I have found that the better the host (or event planners), the more lists
they create. While there are a thousand apps for party planning, organizing, reminding,
etc, I have found that most of us hosts have one very major thing in common – a
penchant for a good, old-fashioned pen and paper list.
Your
hosting style will, of course, designate the way in which you keep your lists,
but chances are, if you’re like the rest of us, you’ll want a brand-new mini
notepad that fits in your purse or pocket to write down your ideas and plans.
More tech-savvy hosts may want to find the perfect smartphone app for
organizing their party. Whatever the medium, make sure you keep lists – menus,
guest lists, RSVPS, outstanding RSVPS and of course, a timeline for when
everything needs to be done for your party. But why are lists so important?
*1. A Sense of
Accomplishment – There is something very powerful about striking an item off
your to-do list! Accomplished items are tiny triumphs that will keep you
motivated.
*2. Brilliance Strikes
While You’re Doing Something Else – Ideas come at the most inconvenient times (like in the shower,
while driving, in the dentist’s chair). With your piece of paper and a pen at the
ready, you will be sure not to forget a moment of creative genius!
*3. Sleep Better Tonight – The act of writing
something down on a piece of paper clears it from your mind, and you will find
it easier to think, relax, sleep and be ultimately more productive.
The
irony is not lost on me – I know that I just gave you a list about why you
should make party planning lists. Party hosts and organizers are naturally
drawn to a great, well-organized list. (I even have an event planner friend who
makes rough copies of all of her lists, and then makes a “good copy” afterwards so it’s more visually
pleasing!) Experiment with your own lists and see how your own party hosting productivity
goes up, while your stress goes down.
Hosting a “Costume Casual”
Mystery Party
We
are often asked why some of our mysteries don’t specify how the suspects should
dress, and the simple answer is: “Not all of our mysteries have a pre-specified theme”. While some themes are obvious
(for example, A Flapper Murder at the 1920’s Speakeasy or The Masquerade
Murder), other mysteries are what we call “Costume Casual” mysteries.
But
what is a “Costume
Casual”
mystery! Here at Shot In the Dark Mysteries, our mandate is to make our hosts’ lives simpler, and make
throwing a party in general and a mystery in particular something that is easy
to do. We believe your party should bend to fit YOUR unique party, instead of
you have to change your party around a mystery. That’s why we have a selection of “Costume
Casual” mysteries
for you to choose from.
“Costume
Casual”
means that we will not specify exactly what a character will wear. So, for
example, where some mystery companies say, “Josephine wears a neon green skirt, a red
shirt, purple shoes and a hat with a feather sticking out of it,” we say something like, “Josephine has a penchant
for stiletto shoes,” or “Josephine is never seen without her smartphone, and is always texting.”
By
WHY would we do such a thing? There is always a method to our madness, and here
it is for “Costume
Casual”
mysteries so that YOU as the host can designate a theme, work our mystery into
something else you have in mind or tell your guess to just chill and come as
they are.
Here’s
an example: Let’s say you’re throwing The Birthday Party Murder Mystery Party, which is designed
specifically to fit into any party scenario. But, let’s say your birthday honoree
is a fan of… oh… The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and you wanted to throw a Rocky
Horror Picture Show-themed mystery for his birthday. Now you tell your guests
to dress for the theme YOU choose, not something we have pre-defined.
The
theme you can choose can be as simple as “Black and White”, “Formal”, “Cocktail”, “1960’s”, “70’s”, “80’s”,
“Luau”, “Ugly Sweater”… well you get the drift. The point is that these “Costume Casual” mysteries fit what YOU
want, not the other way around – even if what you want is just to have your
guests come as they are and do something fun.
Creating The Perfect
Guest List
One
of the factors that can make or break a party is the guest list. Certain guests
thrive in certain situations while shying away from others. When I put on a murder
mystery, I invite different people than I would for my grandfather’s 89th
birthday party. This is a simple comparison, but sometimes the lines blur between
pleasing everyone and throwing a crowd-pleasing party.
The
first thing to determine is the theme of your party. This will give you the
ability to decide which guests you’ll invite. Even if you feel like you don’t
want or won’t have a theme, you have a theme. A kegger is a theme. A cocktail
party is a theme, as is a holiday party, art show, dinner party, mystery party,
ugly sweater party, birthday party, cookie exchange… sometimes a theme is
obvious, and you may determine your theme automatically. Other times, you may
need to put some thought into it, but identifying your theme will make crafting
your guest list much, much easier. When throwing a Dungeons and Dragons night,
you probably won’t invite Aunt Mildred. Conversely, if you’re throwing a dignified
cocktail party, you may want to leave your friend who crushes beer cans on his
forehead off your list.
Here
is my disclaimer: Crafting a perfect guest list does not have to mean turning
your back on your friends, it just means that you are recognizing the unique
characteristics of those you hold dear (or maybe simply tolerate them at
gatherings) and are adjusting accordingly.
Okay
so you’ve got your theme, and you know who you WANT to have there; this part of
your guest list is easy to create. But then there are those other people – the ones
you don’t really want to invite, but might need to out of obligation, or simply
to avoid a rift in a group of friends or family. Let’s face it, sometimes as
gracious hosts, we have to invite people to our parties that we might not want
to. Like your wonderful friend’s weirdo new boyfriend. Or your aunt who
complains about her varicose veins to anyone who will listen. Or the in-laws
who insists on arguing politics, even when no one else wants to weigh in. Or
the co-worker who makes off-color or sexist comments. You may need to invite
them out of obligation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t “buffer them out.”
The
idea behind this is simple: happy, enthusiastic, fun-loving friends CAN “buffer out” Mr. Grumpy Pants sitting
cross-armed on the couch all night. You just need to “water them down” so to speak! The ratio I
recommend is 5 to 1. So, for every no-fun guest, try to invite 5 “good” guests to buffer out
their crankiness. (To watch the 60 Second Party Planning Video on this topic,
CLICK HERE) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – fantastic people =
fantastic party. Determine your theme, snag the good guests and “water down” the bad ones and your
party will be a hit!
Have Fun At Your Own
Party
The
number one question I get asked by potential mystery party hosts is: “Can I have fun and solve
the mystery too?”
My
answer, of course, is always, “Absolutely!” Immediately followed by one sentence that I think sums up my philosophy
on hosting a party: “I believe that after all the work a hosts puts in, they should
be able get in on the fun too!”
The
responses I get range from exuberance to downright relief. I’ll be honest, this
surprise makes me a bit said. The role of a party host is so important. I think
that many party hosts don’t get the thanks they deserve, and don’t even have fun
at their own parties! If we don’t have fun at our parties, what is the point of
having them?
Here’s
the thing: as much as sometimes we would like to think it, no one is ever going
to build us a giant statue in city square for sacrificing our own enjoyment and
time to throw an awesome party for our friends and family. So, why not make
your own enjoyment a priority as well as your guests? In the same way that
taking care of ourselves makes us better parents, friends and spouses, making
sure we enjoy our own parties with our guests makes us better hosts.
Have
you ever been to a party where the host is totally stressed, zipping all over
as though the world is going to end if her canapés aren’t on the table at the
right time? As a guest, what is your first inclination when you see your host
stressed out, sweating, running all over the place and not having a good time?
I think we all try to help her, right? And as much as we love to help our
friends, that sacrifices our enjoyment as guests. Not only that, but when a
host is consistently stressed out and not having any fun at their own party, it
leaves a bad taste in our mouths – something we remember the next time we
receive an invitation from them. When faced with the choice of two party
invitations on the same evening, which one will we be naturally inclined to
accept – the one from the host who enjoys herself, or the one from the host who
has no fun at all?
Yes,
when I put it that way, it seems simple and silly, doesn’t it? So, what can you
do to make sure you enjoy yourself at your party?
*Use
a party planning site or smartphone app to help you get organized
*Hire
a caterer
*Select
a Crisis Companion
*Hire
serving/waiting staff
*Plan
an activity you yourself enjoy
*Pre-pour
any drinks you can so you aren’t playing cocktail waitress all night
*Put
out a container of water with ice and cups next to the punch bowl
*Put
your Keurig or Tassimo coffee maker in the main area so guests can brew their
own coffee, tea and hot chocolate
*Serve
finger and buffet-style food
*Hire
a babysitter to watch all the children in another house or the basement
*When
people are arriving, keep your initial conversations near the door so you can
answer it easily
*Leave
extra toilet paper rolls in the bathroom so guests can replace it themselves if
needed
Anything
that cuts down on your party hosting duties will help increase your enjoyment,
so think of ways that you can complete hosting duties in advance to allow you
to be completely present during the party.
Another
thing I just HAVE to mention before I drop the subject of enjoying ourselves at
our own parties, LEAVE THE DISHES UNTIL THE NEXT DAY . They aren’t going
anywhere, but your guests are. Spend the time enjoying yourself, having fun
with your guests and making memories while everyone is together in the same
place. Years from now, you’ll remember how hard you laughed when your friend
told that joke – not how clean your kitchen was when you woke up the next
morning. Why don’t you come talk Party Hosting with us in the Party Lounge on
Facebook? It’s a brand new forum for all things party hosting!
The Easiest Pumpkins
EVER!
I
spotted these pumpkins earlier today as I dropped my oldest son off at daycare.
How hilarious are these guys? They are the easiest pumpkins to make, and
everyone (certainly every mom) can make them easily. And from all accounts, my
son’s daycare woman said the kids had more fun making these pumpkins than they
did making the ones they carved. Throw a few outside for Halloween night to delight
Trick or Treaters and put them around the house for your Halloween party.
Simple. Easy. Genius!
4 Secrets for Last Minute
Halloween Parties
For
many of us hosts, life is so busy that one day we see a yard haunt as we’re
driving down the street and realize that it’s October 24th. We check
the calendar, slip out a swear word and wonder if it’s too late to do something
fun for Halloween with friends. The answer is, it’s never too late. You just have
to get creative and make it really easy for your guests.
*1 Plan an activity
Of
course, I think an interactive murder mystery is the best, most versatile
activity (The
Getty Affair, for
example, doesn’t require complicated costumes, is a fun mystery and comes in 6-18
suspect versions) and is easy to slip into your party. But any easy activity
will make a party something fun and different without spending a lot of time
with preparation. One of the best parties I ever attended was a last-minute New
Year’s party. We were all displaced on New Year’s because our hosts had a
last-minute emergency and couldn’t throw their party. My friend pulled us all
together at her house and we played Simpsons Trivia. It was a blast, and so
simple. Throw in an easy and yet fun activity that will resonate with your
group of friends.
*2. Make it a potluck…
…
and theme it up. Have everyone bring a Halloween-themed dish and save yourself
the time of having to cook all sorts of food for your party. Assign each guest
to bring something – a ghoulish drink, a spooky app or a deadly dessert. We’ve
got some great recipes on our Pinterest boards for inspiration!
*3. Make costumes easy
The
easier a costume is, the more chances you have of getting people to your
last-minute Halloween party. Tell everyone that they must come in costume, but
it has to be something they already have in their house, so that no one feels
obligated to go out and spend time and money on a costume. Bed sheets ghost are
encouraged, togas divine and toilet paper mummies perfect. Often, this is more
fun, because opening the door and seeing what your friends came up with is far
more interesting than seeing what costumes they went out and purchased. The
perfect example: LMAFO’s Box Head – animal print pants optional.
*Dial
up your local radio station
In
most cities, at least one radio station will play Halloween-themed music on the
Hallo-weekend, and/or the evening of Halloween itself. Setting a spooky mood
with classic Halloween music could be as easy as turning on your radio!
Even
the most savvy, prepared host gets caught up and finds herself running behind
when organizing a party. With these tips, you can still throw a great Halloween
Party at the last minute that your guests will never forget, even though you’re
short on time!
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