Kathleen Callanan
Recycled-Paper-Crafts.com
Thursday, 2:15 p.m.

I have a saying that goes "When it comes to having an event, it only takes two people to make it a success -- me to plan it and you to attend it!". The key to your success is in the planning and, of course, getting at least one person to attend.

Planning a successful party, requires 10 basic elements to be considered. Five are people functions and five concern the logistics for the party:

• Selecting the Theme -- Party Ideas for the Occassion


• Selecting the Date and Time


• Determining the Guest List


• Securing the Location


• Selecting Foods and Beverages


• Having an Invitations Coordinator


• Having a Setup Crew


• Identifing Moderator


• Having a Cleanup Crew


• Having a Thank You Coordinator

You can fill all five of the people roles when your guest list is small, but you will be grateful for the additional assistance as the number grows.

1. SELECTING THE THEME

The first logistic element of importance is the theme or the reason for having the party. Themes can be for retirement, baby shower, graduation, new job and more.

Three of the most common party themes are a) Birthdays, b) Weddings and c) Anniversaries. Each has its own objective and I believe we celebrate them with slightly different perspectives and attitudes. Therefore, each will have its own flavor and format, its own style of decorations, its own type of foods and its own type of party games or program content.

• A Birthday Party celebrates an achievement in life along the path of longevity, marked by personal perseverance and stamina.


• A Wedding Party celebrates an expectation of life to come, of a change in state from blessed singleness to holy wedlock.


• An Anniversary Party celebrate the successful accomplishment of another year of fidelity and growing old together, of complementing one another's personallity.

Make the Party Idea fit the theme of the event. In the later sections I will give you paper-craft ideas for making your own party decorations, invitations, table settings and thank you notes using your own PC and printer.

Birthdays for the Young
Your Birthday Party will celebrate an achievement in life along the path of longevity, marked by personal perseverance and stamina. Life's journey is unfolding in a real-time drama before our eyes. Birthdays for children lead them closer to entering kindergarten, eighth grade, high school or even college. These are milestone events along the path to becoming young adults, teenagers or even adults. The joys and special features of the birthday can be captured in the party decorations and overall theme.

When we are about to enter school, the party decorations and party invitations can reflect that theme. Graduation can be represented by mortarboard hats and scrolled diplomas. My expertise does not lie with the young, but with the Not-so-Young!

Birthdays for the Not-So-Young
Birthdays for adults lead them into middle age, retirement, starting on Social Security, reaching the golden years of 70, 80, 90 or even the century mark. There is great interest in party planning for the 40th birthday, 50th birthday and 60th birthday, according to stats provided by Overture.com.

The 50th birthday mark is frequently regarded as the "Over-Hill-Birthday". Everything runs downhill after you reach 50 years of life. Lots of black crepe paper decorations. "Woe is Me" type greeting cards abound. When my neice's husband turned 50, she threw him a surprise birthday party at the house for family and friends. It really couldn't be a true surprise party because he lived in the house, too, and preparations were necessary. It was quiet, low key -- an outdoor barbeque around their pool and their beautiful flower gardens -- no board games, no card games and no planned entertainment was necessary, just good, old-fashioned conversation that Mom calls "chin music". We exchanged cards, but in general there were no gifts. Lots of solid, sensible conversation filled the air. A great time was had by all.

Surprise parties are still OK for the 50's and under crowd, but I believe the older crowd needs more warning with the ability to make preparations. At 90 years plus now, Mom certainly needs to know what's going on long before it happens so she doesn't get rattled. We usually discuss daily plans at least three days in advance so she can fix them in her internal schedule and be prepared. When more than one or two things happen in a single day, she is pushed hard to manage her physical stamina. But she is still going and going and is truly remarkable. By giving her the heads-up, she can better handle the excitement and enjoy the outting.

I personally think turning 65 and my 65th birthday was more traumatic for me than turning 60 years old. Suddenly, my retirement medical insurance was pulled back and I had to take out a supplemental insurance. I was put on Medicare whether I liked it or not. It also marked the 10th anniversary of my retirement from the aerospace industry and the active workforce. My 65th birthday party was ideal, though, just a quiet gathering with close family members and dinner at a nice restuarant. No fuss, no muss!

Birthdays are a time to reflect on how the world has changed and how our lives have been influenced by those changes. We can use birthdays to measure how far we have come in fulfilling our dreams and hopes since the last celebration. They also help us to see ourselves in relationship to the rest of the world around us. Are we healthy? Are we wealthy? Are we wise? Are we happy? Are we holy? Are we humble? Birthdays allow us to ask these questions of ourselves and the answers need to be celebrated.

Ebook now available with complete instructions for making your own lacquer-like napkin rings for party favors at the head table.

Weddings
Weddings celebrate an expectation of life to come, of a change in state from blessed singleness to holy wedlock. The focus of our attention is on the joy the new couple will have as they proceed on a journey together. The future is their's to capture and to tame! There is a special excitement surrounding this event not celebrated in a birthday or an anniversary.

First marriages are always special because the parties are just starting out along the new vocation and are willing to explore life together. These days there are many second or third marriages occuring. These couples have already been through the excitement of the married life and now a seeking the long-term companionship that marriage has always promised. They are a bit more gun-shy, but just as excited about their new life together as the first married. Whether the first marriage ended in divorce or in death, the terrifying thought is now in the back of the mind: "Will it happen again?".

Mom has been married twice and widowed twice, once after 45 years and next after 9 years. She says, "To me marriage is lot like a baseball game: three strikes and you're out! Well, this chick ain't going out!". She has now settled into her new life as a widow once more and is satisfied at age 91 to live the rest of her days as a holy widow.

I remember her second wedding and reception well. Both she and Virgil were 75 years old at the time. Virgil's son, Dick, was the best man and my older sister, Patti-Ann, was the matron of honor. One hundred twenty five family and friends attended the wedding and the reception dinner that followed. After a wonderful hot meal in the Church Hall, Dick and his wife drove the wedding couple to their hotel in nearby Grayling, MI 24 miles west of Kalkaska. The grandchildren had filled the car with balloons during the dinner and the newly weds had to pop a significant number of balloons just to get into the car. They had fun with the pin, but the noise was deafening! They remarked to me later how embrassed they felt driving the 24 miles with the horn blarring and the cans rattling against the pavement that we tied to the back bumper. It was more of a feeling of foolishness rather than a feeling of stark embarassment. But they knew the grandchildren were trying to give them a good time, so they accepted the prank in stride.

The quiet honeymoon night was spent in the same hotel as the grandchildren, so it wasn't really that quiet for a couple accustomed to lights out at 9 pm. The next morning the family and a few friends gathered at a local restuarant for breakfast and more celebration. From there, the families all went their separate ways across the state. There were nine years of happiness for this couple before God called Virgil home to Himself.

Anniversaries
Anniversaries celebrate the successful accomplishment of another year of fidelity and growing old together, of complementing one another's personallity. It is a mark of distinction to reach the 10, 25, 35, 50, 60 year anniversaries and above. The focus of our attention is one of amazement that time has passed so quickly and so pleasantly, of all the things that have been accomplished by the couple in those years and perhaps, how all of that would not have been possible if they had remained single.

When my sister, Patti-Ann, had been married for 50 years, we organized a Saturday afternoon informal party for them at the Clubhouse of our manufactured home community in Florida. A 50th wedding anniversary was especially significant to us because our own parents only managed to survive 45 years before death overtook our Dad.

We decided to keep it simple and constrained to the afternoon hours of 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm. No formal meal was planned because it was scheduled for after lunch and before dinner. Only ice cream and cake and iced tea and coffee were served. Bowls of munchies were set on each table. We knew how many tables to set up because we asked for RSVP in the invitations. The invitations suggested that everyone BYOB if they so desired. Many did just that and were quite satisfied.

For the entertainment, we had a Moderator who called us all to order and introduced the celebrated couple. One guest, a talented and published poet, composed two poems especially for the event and read them aloud. This was followed by several testimonials and a few words by the honorees. Next, we set some chairs in front of the band for a reception line and asked everyone to pass through. Before returning to their seats, they picked up a serving of ice cream and cake from the service window.

As the reception line was finishing, control of the event was given to the band leader, Gus, a close friend and fellow resident of our community. With his 5 piece band and other performers, he spread his magic on the happy couple and the audience. The afternoon culminated with the sweet, smooth rythyms of the big band sound music of the days gone by and folks dancing away the day.

We decided to decorate the tables with white plastic table covers purchased in rolls from the local restuarant supply store. They were taped to the underside of the tables, giving a very neat looking effect. Bowls of munchies were set on each of the tables alongside of two table-tent signs bearing a photo of the couple, "50th Wedding Anniversary" and the date, just to make sure everyone knew what was happening. These table-tents became prized possessions at the end of the day and were snatched as "party favors". The flatware was wrapped in a paper napkin and secured with a paper napkin ring band commemorating the day.

All of the invitations, table-tents, posters and bands for the flatware-napkin pack were made using the PC and the MS Paint program in combination with MS Word. About 70 family and friends attended the event. I forgot to enlist a cleanup crew beforehand, so I was on the end of broom for awhile until I was rescued!

Have the THEME of the event clearly in mind early in the planning and you will experience greater continuity in the flow that follows.

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2. SELECTING THE DATE AND TIME

This is the second logistic element of importance for party planning, whether it is a birthday party, an anniversary party, wedding party or retirement party.

* Avoid Double Booking with local events and annual family gatherings.
Nothing is more disappointing than to discover three months into the party planning cycle that the date selected conflicts with a football bowl game or a massive city celebration or an annual family gathering. And, of course, about one-third of the guests are dire-hard football fans with some holding tickets for the bowl game already. About 10% of the guests are already involved in the city celebration activities. And other 5 - 10% have already booked hotels in other communities for family reunions.

* Lock in a Lunch or Dinner food selection by chosing the appropriate time of day.
The type of meal served will be influenced by the time of day for the event. Late morning through mid-afternoon lends itself to serving a lunch type menu, whereas mid-afternoon to early evening suggests a dinner would be more appropriate. Keep in mind the time of day will influence the food and beverage selection.

* Be considerate of out of state guests.

Be considerate for those who might be travelling from out of state. If at all possible, schedule it at a time when they can easily attend. But most of all, when selecting your date and time, try to anticipate possible schedule conflicts.

3. DETERMINING THE GUEST LIST

This third logistic element can sneak up on you!

Take charge of the Guest List, add to it and go with it!
Don't listen when people say, "Oh, I'll just call a few friends." That is a receipe for disaster. Get their list and then, add to it as the situation dictates. I remember my widowed mother, Grace, ( then 75 years old) saying those words as she was preparing to marry a widower friend. She figured there would be about 25 people attending the wedding and the reception. I knew that number was wrong because we had more than 40 immediate family members when you counted all the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. By the time I finished the guest list, we sent out 140 invitations and hosted 125 guests at the reception. If I had listened to her and not planned, we would have all been very embarassed by our lack of foresight.

Take charge of the Guest List, add to it and go with it! The size of the guest list will influence your decision on the party facilities and perhaps, whether to have it early or late in the day.

4. BOOKING THE LOCATION

This fourth logistic element is one every one needs to think about early in the planning.

It's never too early to be looking for the proper facility for your party. We booked the wedding hall nine months in advance and were fortunate it was not already booked. You may have to pay a deposit to hold the room, but generally speaking, do not pay for the room until the time of the event. If you intend to serve alcoholic beverages, be sure your contract allows it.

Recently I have been required to pay for insurance coverage at about $100 when hosting the event on Church property. The insurance was my responsibility because the party was not a Church function, but a private party by a member of the Church. It surprised me, but now I know to expect such a fee, payable before hand.

When setting the contract time, allow at least two hours for setting up and 2 hours for cleaning up afterward. I recommend negotiating a setup time on the previous day, if at all possible. Just a few hours will do it and then, you will be fresh on the day of the actual event.

Possible locations for your party could be your own home or that of your friends, a Church Hall, a Community Hall, a Condominium or Housing Complex center, VFW or Knights of Columbus or American Legion facilities or the local Senior Center if appropriate. With a young crowd, you could use the picnic area at the local state park. The outdoor setting is not a good choice for the Not-so-Young because many of them need a controlled environment and comfortable chairs for their aching backs.

Book early and look for upfront liability insurance fees. The larger the guest list, the earlier you need to book because of the availablity of rooms your size.

5. SELECTING FOODS AND BEVERAGES

This fifth logistic element is sometimes left to chance.

How many is a good number? A good rule of thumb is to plan for 7% more people attending than reply positively to the RSVP. For a group of 93, I plan for 100. For a group of 50, I plan for 55. At the last minute you will have phone calls from those who can't come due to illness or accident or family situation. Likewise, guests will walk in the door who failed to respond, yes or no. Then, there will those who said their group would be four people, but they show up with six or seven.

Beverages
Our selection of the Church hall imposed a non-alcoholic beverage restriction on us. If you intend to serve alcoholic beverages, check that before signing your contract. Depending on your kitchen facilities, you could serve hot coffee and hot/iced tea. Remember to have sugar substitute sweetner available for those who are on a sugar restricted diet. It is always good to have plain water and ice available as an alternate. We also found the Country Time powdered lemonade excellent for a luncheon menu. The Church Hall kitchen had a couple of McDonald's Restuarant 5 gallon drink dispensers that were just perfect for lemonade. Other types of beverages include ice-cream/soda punch and canned soda. Remember that many people today suffer from diabetis and as a result, cannot drink soda unless it is sugarfree or diet soda. Also, many folks now have a very low tolerance to caffeine. Your soda selection needs to include some caffeine free diet products.

If you live in a state like MI, you will be paying bottle deposits on all soda, so you'll need to recover all the bottles and cans, before they are crushed, to get your bottle refund! Don't forget to put out a special container so your guests can separate the trash from the bottles and cans. Those dimes add up quickly.

Food
You have several options when planning the food and you will probably make your decision based on the number of guests.

• Cook it yourself


• Have everyone bring a covered dish


• Have it catered.

We have tried them all and when the crowd numbers around 75 - 100, I definitely prefer the third option of having it catered. There is much less stress and strain because you have added 3 - 8 people, temporarily, to your "staff".

At Mom's 80th birthday party we hosted the event for about 75 family and friends in the afternoon in the yard. We asked everyone to bring a covered dish and we provided plates of meats, cheese and breads from the deli section of our local market, condiments and the sheet type birthday cake. We made it a buffet type service and folks came in one door and out another to pick up their food. Even though we tried to determine who was bringing what, in the end, it was a little bit of this and a dab of that. Everyone had enough to eat, but it was not well coordinated.

For her 85th birthday party we selected the Church Hall and served about 80 family and friends a cold luncheon. We ordered deli sandwiches and veggie plates from the Market deli and shuttled them to the Church, ourselves. On each table we placed a veggie plate, a platter of sandwiches, a bowl of pretzels and a bowl of chips. Each place had a mint candy and nut cup. Dessert was a slice of sheet type birthday cake. We used paper plates, cups, napkins and plastic flatwear. Decorations were all done on the PC in MS Paint and MS Word. Paper napkin rings, posters, invitations-- all done by a technique I call "paper crafts".

Most recently for her 90th birthday party we again selected the Church Hall serving 95 guests, only this time, we had a hot luncheon catered by our local full service family restuarant, G's Pizzeria & Deli. They served lasagna, five varieties of pizza, bread sticks, Italian salad, fresh fruit platters and bowls of "Goldfish" on every table and birthday cake for desert. The guests went through the Buffet Line as many times as they desired, but the drinks were served by the wait staff directly to the table. This was the best solution by far because the wait staff acted as the Clean Up crew and removed all the food and drink from the premises.

We added a new touch using Paper Crafts to this party. Mom is a great scrapbook maker. In fact, she has over 43 books of photos, clippings, cards and other memorabilia. So, we decided to make a template for an 8 1/2" x 11", do-it-yourself birthday greeting and provide boxes of crayons and colored pencils on all the tables. Everyone cooperated in the project and she ended up with over 60 sheets of personalized artwork and greetings done while we were waiting for the food to be served! The cost of this was just pennies for the paper and the crayons and colored pencils were later donated to the Church's summer Bible Study program.

Ebook now available with complete instructions for making your own lacquer-like napkin rings for party favors at the head table.

6. HAVING AN INVITATIONS COORDINATOR

This is the first of the people tasks you should consider.

Find someone to coordinate the invitations and you will have more time to do the main planning. Invitations with RSVP cards are really helpful. It not only helps to know how many will be attending, but who will be attending. Place cards and table seating can be easily accomplished by using the RSVP responses. My experience tells me that invitations should go out about 3 - 5 weeks in advance with the RSVP due within two weeks of receiving the invitation. Ideally, all arrangements need to be in place 7 -10 days in advance of the party.

For Mom's wedding, I purchased formal invitations that took about 3 1/2 hours of deciding on the proper wording and style , but for the birthday parties, my PC and printer did a fine job. If you have the time and the equipment, I recommend printing your own invitations. Always include a map, directions and information about accomodations for the out-of-town guests. Hotel and motel information immediately clues them into the fact that your own home is already full--something you will truly appreciate later.

7. HAVING A SETUP CREW

This second group of people tasks is lots of fun and it is the one folks enjoy doing the most!

Let the head of your setup crew decide whether to use cloth tablecovers, paper table covers or placemats. Almost as important as the choice of foods is "how things look"! The use of Paper Crafts can greatly enhance the eye-appeal of your party. Treat the Guests at the head table to lacquer-like handmade napkin rings and use paper bands made with your PC specifically for the event can be placed around the flatware wrapped in the paper napkin for the other guests.

This crew should decide how many people will be seated at a table and can coordinate the printing of table tent name cards for each guest and pre-seat the guests, especially when the group exceeds 25 guests. Prepare both a seating list by table number and a list by alphabetical names. In the heat of the confusion, it will be easy to find their pre-assigned tables through the use of both lists and you can easily see how you can rearrange the seating at the last minute to accommodate an unexpected circumstance.

From the RSVP responses the guest list has already been made, so it is just a matter of grouping folks together who share common interests. Try to have all the tables in close proximity with the head table so everyone feels they have a front row seat. For a senior age birthday party, the head table can include all those who are of the same age. That way the honors are being shared by all who have acheived the stature of longevity. But be careful not to separate folks from their families or their group.

The Setup Crew will be responsible for actually decorating the tables, arranging the tables, setting out the plates and flatware, putting any food trays on the tables at the appropriate times and supporting the theme with all that they do. Usually they will visit the location prior to the event to be sure everything will be available. Setting up for the party can be done the day before or at least two hours just preceeding the event. This group will also remove all decorations at the end of the party and replace the furniture to its original position.

8. IDENTIFY MODERATOR

The third people task is one for the "showman" or "entertainer" in your group. It can be a family member or someone who is known to most of the guests.

The Moderator for the event will be in charge of the program and will decide the order of business for the day. This person will be the visible leader during the event, the greeter at the door, the glad-hander as we call it. He or she carries on the program while you are completing the logistical tasks. If your room is large, you will need to have a sound system available so this moderator can wax eloquently! My sister, Patti-Ann, did an excellent job of this function at our 90th birthday party. Looking for ideas for the program? They are on the way.

9. HAVING A CLEAN UP CREW

For me this fourth people function has been the most critical one to perform.

There is little energy left in the psyche for cleaning up at the end of the party after all the preparations. It is best to have a crew of three or four persons committed to the task before the event begins. They can set up the trash baskets and see that all food containers are properly disposed. If there are dishes or pots to be washed, this crew will do that. Be sure to set out the trash, sweep the floors, mop when necessary, rearrange the room like you found it, and have the kitchen spotless. This will assure you will be given the OK to rent that space again in the future.

10. HAVING A THANK YOU COORDINATOR

Finally, the fifth people task is here.

During the event the Thank You Coordinator keeps track of all the gifts received by the honoree so proper thank you notes can be sent. Following the event on the next day, thank you notes should be sent to all those who worked on the team. Thank you notes should also be sent to any dignitaries and out-of-town guests. Any benefactors of the events who made donations should also be personally thanked by the Coordinator on behalf of the honoree. Thank you notes signed by the honoree should be sent to all who may have given gifts. Since these are personal, the Coordinator can address the envelopes and provide the cards, but let the honoree add their personal greetings and signature.

Ebook now available with complete instructions for making your own lacquer-like napkin rings for party favors at the head table.

If you follow these 10 basic elements for a successful party:

• Selecting the Theme


• Selecting the Date and Time


• Determing Guest List


• Booking the Location


• Selecting Foods and Beverages


• Having an Invitations Coordinator


• Having a Setup Crew


• Identifing Moderator


• Having a Cleanup Crew


• Having a Thank You Coordinator

and using some of the paper crafts ideas, you will be amazed at your success and skill.

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