Welcome to the Friday 5!
Every Friday I will highlight 5 things I am currently loving. This can be anything from habits that are currently serving me, clothes, apps, people I am currently loving, podcasts, food, mom hacks and everything in between!
We host a crawfish boil every year on Memorial Day weekend and it has become one of my favorite weekends of the year. This will be our fifth annual party and I get better at planning it every year. So, I thought I would share some of my party planning tips:
Organization is Key
Because this is an annual party, I keep a file on my computer with a ridiculous amount of notes. I keep a spreadsheet with the names and addresses of everyone we invite and also use it to track the RSVPs. Obviously, this helps me determine the amount of food and drinks we need as well. I also keep notes of what we have done in the past, what worked and what didn’t work. As much as I would like to think I remember from year to year whether I had enough beer or too much food left over, I just don’t. So I keep a list of how much beer I buy and how much is left over. What food I have, did it get eaten? How many chairs did I put under the tent, was it the right amount of seating? You name it, I keep track of it. I do this by tracking everything I buy prior to the party and then by tracking what is left over the day after the party. For example, one year I bought two huge containers of potato salad, thought that would be a great side for a hot day by the pool. I don’t think anyone had one bite, literally had all of it left at the end of the day. So, that’s in the file, so I know don’t buy potato salad. It will go to waste. But the tray of 100 finger sandwiches, that’s perfect. Almost none left over.
Slowly Gathering What I Need
Because of this spreadsheet, I also know how much paper products I have left over from the year before when all the party supplies go in the attic. I use the same style paper plates and red plastic silverware every year. So, in late April or early May, I pull up my spreadsheet and see what I need to start grabbing. There is nothing worse than needing 4 more red table clothes, going to Party City the week of the party only to realize they don’t make that one anymore or they are completely out of stock. If you start gathering these things slowly leading up to the party, it gives you ample time to order online or shift the whole look of the party if you can’t find what you are looking for. This also keeps you from losing your mind the week of the party running all over town grabbing everything you need. I start a staging area in our guest bedroom a few weeks before the party and just start throwing everything I will need in there as I get it. This can also help to spread the cost of the event over a few weeks or months if you plan it correctly.
Party Rentals
Did you know you can rent just about anything? It’s literally mind blowing to me the things you can rent from a party rental company. We have slowly gathered enough folding tables for this party over the years, but the first few years I rented tables, chairs and even trash cans. Because we do this annually, it is more efficient for us to own some of this stuff, but some of it, we just don’t have the room to store during the year. So renting is the perfect solution. We rent chairs every year and this year we are renting small bistro tables as well to add a few more spots to eat in the backyard. When we had our Halloween party last year, I even rented glasses for the bar. Martini glasses, rocks glasses, wine glasses and water goblets. It was perfect. Everything matched and I didn’t have to worry about having enough wine glasses for 25 people. Check out your local party rental stores, it was much more affordable to rent these items than I thought it would be.
It’s All In The Details
This is probably my favorite part. Putting together all the little details. I collect mason jars like it’s my job, because I love to use them for stuff like this. They are perfect for setting our utensils, flowers or just for décor. Obviously, everyone’s style is different and this may not be what you want to use, but try to think about the little details when setting everything out for the party. I love using trays to keep everything together and it makes setting up even easier when you can carry everything on a tray rather than one thing at a time. Think about adding just little touches to the things you can, like the added string around the mason jar or having a color scheme that goes throughout without having a cheesy “theme.” This is what makes putting a party together so fun for me, adding the details that make my guests feel at home and welcome in our home.
Fresh Flowers
Fresh flowers make all the difference. If you don’t do anything else, adding fresh flowers to your home for a party (or just every day) bring a warmth that nothing else does. This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or be professionally done to have an impact. I normally buy several bouquets from my local grocery store and put them together the day before the party. To keep it simple, which is my go to style with flowers, I try to buy all one color of flowers, typically white. Sometimes I add some green flowers as fillers, depending on what’s in stock at the grocery. Again, I use mason jars because I love the look of them and they have a small neck which makes arranging the flowers easier for me. I love just a full white bouquet tightly in the jar. You can make this as simple or as elaborate as you want. One year I just did baby’s breath in mason jars on all the tables outside and I thought it looked amazing. Simple, inexpensive and classic!
I hope you found something helpful or inspiring in this week’s Friday Five! I’ll have 5 new favorites to share with you next week, have an awesome weekend!
