I woke up this morning thinking about serving coffee at my Royal Wedding Viewing Party. I know that’s weird. But, it did make me realize that imagining my party is a key part of my party planning process, and it’s something I haven’t thought to share with you before.
This is not the same as when I tell you to brainstorm ideas for your party planning process.
When I say “imagine your party,” what I mean is literally imagining guests walking through your front door, going through every step of the party, getting their favors and walking back out.
Why do I do this? Because it helps me realize what I’ve forgotten to plan for.
For instance, our Royal Wedding Viewing Party is an 8 a.m. brunch. I’ve invited six adults. We’re probably going to want coffee. I don’t want to be swapping out k-cups, making everyone individual cups of coffee from my one-cup Keurig. Instead, I need to dig out my Mr. Coffee, give it a good washing, and buy fresh coffee. That’s two to-dos added to my list, and I’m glad I thought about it a week before the party instead of the morning of the party.
Let’s walk through my Royal Wedding Viewing Party in our imaginations and I think you’ll get a feel for how to apply this technique to your own party.
1 – Guests arrive. My front porch planters are unplanted and they may have to stay that way at this point. I don’t have a door decoration planned, which would be fun, but I’m trying to be realistic about what I can accomplish because I’m coming down with a cold and it’s Mother’s Day this weekend.
2 – We’ll start taping coverage at 4 or 4:30 a.m. ET, depending on which network we’ll be watching. (Here’s a run-down of the TV coverage: http://people.com/royals/royal-wedding-how-to-watch/.) I think I’ll pick a network based on which presenters are the least annoying. I’ll have our pre-taped coverage already running as guests arrive.
3 – Thanks to my coffee imaginings, I’ll set up a self-serve coffee station in the kitchen with cups, cream and sugar available.
4 – We’re going to use my glass luncheon plate/cup sets, because they are great for balancing food on your lap, as you do at viewing parties (or bridal or baby showers). But, if I imagine the littler kids trying to manage those delicate plates, I worry for them. I think I’ll set up the kitchen table with a white table cloth and centerpiece, and let the kids eat there. So, centerpiece is a new item to add to my to-do list. Maybe I’ll run to Party City and pick up some Union Jack (gasp!) paper plates for them.
Also: this means my husband has nowhere to eat his cereal. This is a problem that must be dealt with in advance. Convince him he wants to go to Chick-fil-A for breakfast?
5 – Speaking of little kids, I was thinking of a Frappuccino bar for the tween girls, but I need to buy extra OJ and maybe small water bottles for the little ones. Add it to the grocery shopping list.
6 – Okay, so moms and kids have arrived. They’ve grabbed coffee. The buffet is ready to go. I think I want to take the leaves out of my table so the buffet looks fuller and the dining room is easier to circumnavigate. That’s a chore I can tackle this weekend. Also, note to self: have my girls dust the table and chair legs so I don’t have to bend over.
7 – Just in terms of traffic patterns, where do I want to set up desserts and the mimosa bar? Or maybe Pimm’s Royales – I still haven’t decided. I’m thinking the dining room sideboard, which isn’t ideal for traffic, but it helps a ton with setting everything up the night before. Oh, I need to pull out more silver serving pieces. These are the ones that don’t sit out every day, so I’m hoping the felt storage bags have kept them more tarnish-free than my daily silver.
8 – Speaking of the day/night before, now that I’ve settled on my menu, I need to create a cooking schedule for Friday. And, I have to remember to pick up flowers, the cake, and cookies on Friday. And I need napkins. Add them to the shopping list. And I need a “put it in the oven” schedule for Saturday morning. What time do I need to get up? Geesh.
9 – Back to my imaginary party day. I need to pull out my faux flower heads and tulle for fascinator making. Where will I set that up? We need a fascinator-making station and I should probably try to make an inspiration sample fascinator. I need to get my white bar cart back from the neighbors. Add it to the to-do list. Also: buy hair combs at the dollar store. Add it to my errands list. When will I run those errands?
10 – Signage: I have free Union Jack printables. I need to choose cute names for all the food, design, print and trim the printables. And signs for the Frappuccino, mimosa, and fascinator stations. And thank you tags. Yikes. I’m feeling very busy.
11 – Party favors. Once I set up the buffet, I’ll know if I can fit in party favors. I need to decide on packaging. The Union Jack ribbon I wanted to buy was marked-up sky high for the royal wedding, so I cancelled that plan.
12 – Make the felt ball bunting. The felt balls are sitting on the kitchen table, mocking me.
Okay. I think that’s it. I’m sure something else will occur to me as I’m setting up. But my imaginary tour of the party for sure helped me figure out what’s left to do. Would you try this technique when you’re planning your next party?
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