Step-By-Step Guide to Plan a Successful Party + Printable Checklist

Are you planning a party? Want to be extra organized while doing that? Super! Here’s a step-by-step guide and a lot of tips that can help you simplify your party planning + a party planning checklist. I know that planning a party can be a hassle! And to do it without a plan or a party planning checklist, might get quite overwhelming. But no worries! I’ve got you covered! I’ve made a series of printables and step-by-step instructions for you to stay organized and stress-free while planning a successfull party. And today‘s printable gift is a party planning checklist. I hope you like it! You know how there’s always so much to do when you’re planning to throw a party. Or even when you invite friends and/or family over whether it’s a dinner party, a cookout or when you’re hosting a book club gathering. I wanted to make something that will ease and simplify your party planning, and so that you’ll save some time (and maybe even use that saved time to pamper yourself a little). So this week‘s printable gift is a party planning checklist. You can use it as a checklist and as a to-do list. It’s a great addition to you planner or you can use it as is. And you might also like to print the guest list template, the menu planner and the grocery shopping list – they go with this one! After your party, you can keep all the party planning printables in your home management binder and when you’ll have another party coming up you can check what kind of party you threw before. And this is how the party planning checklist looks like:

What is a party planning checklist and how to use one

• Date & time
• Budget
• Location
• Theme
• Guest list
• Invitations
• Decorations
• Activities
• Music
• Drinks
• Menu / food
• Shopping

You can also find the step-by-step instructions and helpful questions that’ll guide you through all the things you need to plan and do when planning a party.

How to use the party planning checklist

Here are the step-by-step instructions and questions that’ll help you plan a party and stay organized while doing it!

1. Date & Time

• Choose the date and the time for the party
• Double check if the date suites most of the people you’re about to invite. Adjust if needed.
• Always think about what time the party starts, but also what time will it end. And inform about it to your guests when your inviting them.

2. Budget

One of the most important things you need to think about and have in mind the whole time you’re planning is the budget.

It’s important to think:

• How much money you want to spend total?
• How do you want to devide your budget between different costs, like food, drinks, decorations, venue etc. ?
• And if you’re not staying in the budget which things you’ll prioritize (Like is food more important than decorations? If you can’t throw the party at home, could you find an affordable solution other than renting a place?

3. Location

• Choose whether you’ll have the party at your home or at some other location.
• Is it an indoors or outdoors party?
• Double check the weather and think of a solution if the weather is not going to be favorable.
• Brainstorm ideas for the location.
• What kind of budget do you have for the location – and if it’s not in your budget, what kind of other solutions could you find?
• Reserve the location if needed.
• Confirm your booking if needed when you know how many guests have confirmed.

4. Theme

• Do you have a theme for the party?
• If yes, what kind?
• Are you going to ask your guests to dress up in a certain way?
• How is the theme going to be showing in the party?
• What kind of things you need to prepare so that your chosen theme is a success?
• Is the theme you chose in your budget?

5. Guestlist

• How many guests were you thinking of inviting?
• Is it a party for only adults or the whole family?

Use the guest list printable to be super organized when planning your guest list.

The guest list printable looks like this…

6. Invitations

• How are you going to invite people? By email, calling, sending an invitation by mail, handing an invitation when you see your friends and family…
• If you’ll send the invitation by email, will you make some kind of digital invitation?
• When is the latest you’ll need your guests to confirm if they’re coming?
• Do some of your guests have certain dietary restrictions you need to know?
• Is there something else you need to think about?
• Important: Add the address of the location to your invitation even if it’s your home
• Important! Add a phone number there too if they need to contact you on the day of the party (for example if they get lost, or there’s a lot of traffic.)
• Inform your guests what time the party starts, but also what time it ends (if you need to). Sometimes it’s good to explain that the party ends at a certain time, because the location acquires that or what ever reason it is.
• Inform the guests how they can RSVP and when is the latest you’d like them to do so.

7. Decorations

• Do you want to have some decorations?
• What’s your budget for the decorations?
• Where can you buy them?
• Is there another way to have decorations other than buying? Like making them yourself, or borrowing some from a friend?
• How much in advance can you get them/buy them/make them?
• If the party is in another location than your home, how much time do you need to set up the decorations?

8. Activities

• What kind of activities will you have in your party?
• Are there some party games?
• Is there enough fun things for the kids to do?
• Are they guided/supervised activities and if yes, who could be in charge?
• What kind of budget do you have for the activities?
• If you don’t have activities in your budget, what kind of other more affordable ideas could there be?
• Remember that you can always brainstorm ideas with your friends or search inspiration online!

9. Music

• Is there going to be music in the party?
• If yes, what kind?
• Are you going to have a band, a dj or a playlist?
• If you’re going to have a playlist, will you make one?
• How are you going to play the music in the background? Do you have a speaker? Do you need to borrow one? If you’re having the party outdoors, do you need to plug in your system somehow or is it wireless? Will the battery of the decice hold long enough so that the music doesn’t stop all of the sudden?

10. Drinks

• What’s your budget for the drinks?
• What kind of drinks will you be serving?
• Is there going to be alcohol?
• Are you going to make a punch?
• Do you have enough glasses, or do you need to buy or borrow some?
• Are you going to use glass or plastic?
• Do you have room to store the ice?
• When will you get the ice?
• And how will you be serving the ice so that it doesn’t melt immediately?
• How will you be serving the drinks or is it self-service?
• How will you keep the drinks cold if it’s an outdoors party?

11. Food

• What’s your budget for the food?
• Do you have a theme for the food?
• Is there going to be different food for adults and kids?
• Is the food going to be eaten sitting down at the table or standing?
• Do you have enough plates?
• Are you going to use “real” plates or paper/plastic?
• Are you going to use plastic forks and knives?
• Do you have enough utensils if you don’t use disposable ones?
• Have you though about the dietary restrictions?
• Will you make the food yourself or order/use catering service?
• If you make yourself, what can you prepare beforehand and what do you make just before the party?
• Make sure you have the confirmations from your guests so you know how much food you need to prepare / order.

Use the printable menu planner to be super organized when planning the menu for the party.

The menu planner looks like this…

12. Shopping

• When will you buy everything?
• When will you buy the decorations?
• When will you buy the needed things for the activities?
• When do you need to get or order the food?
• When will you go buy the drinks?
• When will you get the ice?
• Is there something you could do or buy way in advance?
• Important: Make sure you won’t do too much shopping before you have the confirmations from your guests.

Use the printable grocery shopping list to be super organized when planning the shopping for the party.

The grocery list looks like this…

There’s a lot of steps and things to plan and organize when you’re throwing a party, but I hope with these tips, questions and checklists/printables you can simplify your party planning and stay organized.

Print ALL the party planning printables (including the checklist below) and hopefully they’ll help you simplify your party planning!

How to download this party planner printable

You can download this printable by clicking the download link under the image. This is a printable gift so please feel free to print out as many as you need for your personal use.

© SaturdayGift Ltd. For personal use only, not to be copied, distributed, altered or sold.

Tip! I’ve noticed that the printable looks better when it’s first saved to your computer and then printed from there. That way you can choose the printer settings you like to have.

Next steps: Grab the other helpful party planning printables

When you’re planning a party, you’ll need to think about so many things. Like the date, time, budget, location, theme, guest list, invitations, decorations, activities, music…. well, it’s a long list!.

And that’s why I created the party planning printable series called simplify your party planning.

I want to help you simplify your party planning, to stay organized, stress-free and on top of things and to throw an amazingly fun and succesful party!

The printables/articles in this series are:

• PART 1:Step-By-Step Guide to Plan a Successful Party + Printable Checklist (this post)
• PART 2: How to Plan the Guest List For Your Party + Pretty Guest List Planner
• PART 3: How to Plan the Menu For Your Party + Pretty Printable Menu Planner
• PART 4: Cute (& Helpful!) Printable Grocery Shopping List

And you might also like these posts with more printables:

Want to remember this? Pin this post – Pretty (and helpful!) Party planning checklist – to your favorite Pinterest board.

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Cristina Morero. The creator of SaturdayGift, mindset coach, MBA, NLP Master Practitioner, planning and productivity expert, and a self-gifting extraordinaire.

Hi! I’m Cristina. And I’m here to help you simplify, plan, be productive, and succeed while feeling good about yourself. One gift at a time.

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