The perfect planning, from the invitation to the party

Let’s celebrate - a small checklist

Cooking and partying with friends or family members is fun and certainly one of the beautiful moments of life. Summer is particularly perfect for a barbecue in the garden. Or you simply meet at your home for a leisurely meal, nice conversation, and maybe a subsequent movie night. There are many occasions, even though you don’t really need a reason to meet good friends. We would like to provide you a checklist of points that you should not forget when preparing and hosting a home or garden party. This list is certainly not exhaustive, but it should help a bit in planning your next party and you can expand it with your personal important points.

Checklist

• What is the budget? Should guests possibly participate, such as with drinks, salads, etc?
• Who is invited and how many people can be accommodated? If you are celebrating in the garden, you can build a pavilion or a small tent. These are available in different sizes.
• Which date is best suitable for most of the guests? Remember to send the invitations in time.
• What is the occasion of the celebration? Is there a dress code or do I need matching decoration?
• Depending on the occasion and number of guests: Will you celebrate at your home, in the garden or do you need to rent a suitable location? A 90 - 95 m2 apartment should not be a problem for 20-25 guests. But this is of course at your discretion.
• How do I invite? (Email, social media, call, SMS, ...?)

• If you celebrate in the garden or the party may be a bit loud, the neighbors should be informed. Quiet time is mandated in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. according to the law in some countries. Perhaps the neighbors will be put in a good mood if they are invited to the party too?
• What will be the order of events (start, program, end)?
• Which drinks will be served? (Cocktails, beer, wine, brandy, non-alcoholic)
• What ingredients do you need for the cocktails? Which quantities do you need? If in doubt, better to get too much than too little.
• Who will support you in the execution? For example, when pouring the drinks?
• What food will be served, what ingredients do you need for that, and in what quantity? (Appetizers, main course, dessert, snacks, dips?)
• Will the food be prepared, cooked or grilled together or ordered?
• Kitchen rolls, garbage bags, trash cans, tissue, cleaning products, toilet paper, snacks, plastic cutlery, and napkins should be available in sufficient quantities.
• Will music play in the background? If yes, what type (depending on the target group) and who will handle it? But be warned, it is almost impossible to conform to the musical taste of all guests.
• Are there enough seats available? You won’t need to have a separate seat for everyone, otherwise the party may fall asleep eventually.
• Do you have bar tables?
• Decoration for the location?
• Do you have games available as a supporting program just in case? Is there room for a ping-pong table, a dartboard, or a foosball table?
• Celebrations often go into the night. Can you offer places to sleep? Are there any other accommodation nearby?