Your Surprise Party Checklist – How to Plan a Surprise Party
Plan a surprise party with this checklist!
It’s a lot of fun to plan a surprise party for a friend or family member, but it can also be a little frustrating if you don’t have a step-by-step guide to follow. You might forget to invite someone or perhaps you won’t have the right type of equipment for the event.
We’d like to help you get started on throwing a successful shindig, so our staff has put together our own surprise party planning checklist. Follow these tips and the guest of honor will love every minute of their celebration!
Make a Proper Guest List
The first thing you want to do for your surprise party planning checklist is to make a list of close friends and family who you’d like to invite. You might also want to invite co-workers, but this can sometimes be a little tricky if you’re not too familiar with the people they work with. To make sure this is done properly, you might want to get in contact with their other work friends and ask for help.
Find the Perfect Venue
The next thing you want to do is find the perfect venue for the party location. You might want to have it at your home or at the home of a friend or family member, but holding it at a person’s favorite venue such as a restaurant or entertainment venue is a good idea, as well. Just keep in mind that if you hold the event outdoors in a park or backyard, you’ll need to account for the Florida sun and other elements.
Send Out Covert Invites
Now that you have the basics all figured out, it’s time to send out some covert invites. We say covert because it’s a surprise party! You’ll need to make sure the person isn’t tipped off. In your invites – both digital and physical – make sure that it’s 100% clear that this is a surprise party, so you can hopefully avoid spoiling the whole thing.
Be Careful with “Loose Lips”
Most of us have some kind of story involving a surprise party where a family member or friend with “loose lips” spoiled the whole thing. If this is something you’re concerned about, then you may want to either not invite this person or wait until closer to the party to inform them. This may prove to be a bit inconvenient for them, but will protect the element of surprise.
Make It a Tented Event
Holding a surprise party outside is a great idea, but the Florida sun can sometimes make guests uncomfortable. This is why tent rental is such a popular thing in our great state. You can also rent tent accessories such as sidewalls for more privacy and fans or air conditioning units to keep everyone nice and cool.
Get the Party Catered
If you want the shindig to be extra special and not have to do so much work, you should consider getting it catered. There are many places in the area where you can get food and drinks brought to your location for a reasonable price. A fun idea that’s become very popular in recent years is to hire a food truck or two for an event.
Make it a “Partial” Potluck
Another great choice for food and drinks is to hold a partial potluck. This will allow people to bring their favorite dishes, whether it’s part of a main course, a side dish, or dessert. You can also rent catering equipment so that you can serve everything without asking people to bring their own stuff. If you go this route, just make sure that you keep track of what everyone is bringing.
Bring Their Favorite Music
Music livens up every party, so you should consider making a playlist that your guest of honor will enjoy. If you don’t have any high-quality audio equipment, you should consider renting something that has a smart phone hookup. Another great option is to rent a dance floor just in case friends or family members want to get their groove on.
Rent Some Fun Items
Many people rent tables, chairs, dinnerware, and tableware for events, but there are so many fun items that you can rent to spice up a surprise party. You can start by renting a few concessions such as popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, or snow cones. If kids will be at the party, you may also want to rent oversized outdoor games such as checkers, chess, Jenga, or Connect Four.
Contact Elite Events & Rentals for Help With Renting the Items and Supplies You Need for Your Party
Elite Events & Rentals is the premier supplier of event rental equipment in Tampa. If you have any questions about our party rental services or need help creating a surprise party planning checklist, reach out by calling (727) 791-7082 today and schedule a free consultation to learn more about our party rental items.