A Complete Party Checklist For Throwing The Best Event of The Season!

Are you planning your next party big or small and wondering where to get started? There are so many things to think of, even for the most intimate and casual gathering in your home. If you plan ahead, it can not only allow you to creatively and keep your party on budget and on schedule, but a good party checklist can help you relax and enjoy the day of the event. 

How do I plan a party step by step? What do I need for a fun party? We’ve rounded up a great party checklist that helps you think of everything you need for everything from the most formal gatherings, like weddings and lavish dinner parties, to import celebrations that are meant to be casual and laid-back, as well as everything in between. 

 Jump to Section

• Party Planning Timeline
• 1-2 Months Before
• Two Weeks Before
• The Week Before
• The Day Before
• Day of the Party
• Tips & Tricks for Hosting a Fun Party

Party Planning Timeline

1-2 Months Before

1. Brainstorm

One of the most fun parts of your planning a party and your party checklist is brainstorming ideas for what you want this party to be. While occasions like birthdays and anniversaries are a standard time for partying, don’t forget other occasions.

Other fun parties are Halloween parties, Christmas holiday parties and housewarming parties, all of which offer their own options for a fun party. Begin by being open to a multitude of ideas so you will have a list of options to choose from. This works equally well for work Christmas party ideas, adult birthday party ideas or sweet 16 party ideas.

2. Set the Details 

Once you start to zero in on the plans, choosing a location is one of the first steps in your party checklist. This may be easier or tricky depending on whether you are hosting it in a private home/location or doing so at a park, banquet hall or other venue that requires you to schedule the date in advance.

You will also want to think about availability for guests, ease of distance for driving to the venue and other considerations as you set your final timeline and date. 

3. Create A Budget

Plan out all aspects that affect your pocketbook for this step in the party checklist. This includes venue cost, food, things like DJ rentals, caterers or live music. Setting a ballpark figure for total cost can help you to trim and expand as needed and prevent costly surprises. 

4. Make a Guest List

You will also begin to think about who you want to come to this party since the size and nature of the guest list will inform some of the choices you make later. Smaller parties can go more elaborate with sit-down dinners and small quieter venues vs. larger events that require more space and supplies. 

5. Choose a Theme

Choosing a theme, even a loose one, can save you a lot of legwork by helping you zero in on things like the menu and decorations. It may be a specific theme like a Halloween black tie or masquerade party or simply a set of colors you’d like to use to decorate. The choices for all the things below, like invites, favors and any attire requests for guests, are much easier to develop with a theme party idea in place.

6. Send Out Invitations

How will you invite people to your party? There are more formal and informal standards depending on the kind of party you're hosting, whether it's a wedding reception that requires formal paper invites months in advance to more informal events that can be spread via word of mouth, social media or electronic invite.

What kind of invitation and event you’re throwing will help guide you with how and when you want to send out the invites, as well as their format.

7. Plan a Menu

While you can make adjustments as you go to party food, this early planning period helps get a rough outline of your menu, as well as determine if you will be making the food, having a potluck or involving a catering service. These factors will determine how quickly you need to begin shopping and preparation,  as well as how much you need to schedule any vendors like caterers and cake bakeries, in advance. 

Two Weeks Before

1. Check-in with RSVPs

Two to three weeks before, it's great to have a good idea of who will be attending, even if it's just a rough estimate. This will help you fine-tune your final details like the amount of food and drink that will be needed, as well as help you determine seating and how many dishes, plates, cups and napkins you’ll need.

As such, it's helpful to set your RSVP date about a month before the actual party to be able to touch base with anyone you haven’t heard from to see if they will be attending in the next couple of weeks. 

2. Make A Shopping List

With your menu finalized, now is the good time to begin to create a shopping list and get the things you need, whether that's ingredients for making your own food and drinks for the party or confirming plans with the caterers. Even if fully catered, it's a good time to check to see if you need other things for the party that are not included.  

3. Plan Activities or Special Timeline Details

Begin to think about the timeline of your party, from guest arrival to when the party's over, noting important aspects like toasts, speeches, group photos,  or lighting birthday candles that need to happen during the duration. 3. Buy or Make Centerpieces and Decorations

Buy as much as you can in advance for the decorations. If you’re creating artificial centerpieces or DIY elements, you can create many of them in advance either fully or partially. Look at the venue and decide what you may need to help create a festive environment that you may be missing.

You can also include party favors or other features like games or photo booth set-ups. If you want some inspiration if these crafts or just a little guidance on how to make decorations, check out art classes near you.

4. Plan Activities or Special Timeline Details

Begin to think about the timeline of your party, from guest arrival to when the party's over, noting important aspects like toasts, speeches, group photos,  or lighting birthday candles that need to happen during the duration. 

The Week Before

1. Last Minute Shopping 

This is a great chance to pick up anything you've forgotten as well as stock your bar and beverage selections. Begin this week to whittle away at your pre-party checklist so that the final days before the party can be much more enjoyable and less hectic.  

2. Check the Weather

This is especially useful if you are planning an outdoor event. This gives you enough time to find alternatives or move the event inside to be more comfortable if it is raining or too hot outside. You can also coordinate rentals of tents or outdoor heaters if necessary.  

3. Dish Inventory

If you are hosting a party in your home or yard, do a quick inventory of your serving dishes and utensils as part of your party checklist, as well as any paper products or dishware you will need for the event. This will allow you enough time to get to the store or order anything you don’t have or may have forgotten. 

The Day Before

1. Set Up Seating

Set up any seating or tables you need to add to the party space and cross-reference this with the number of seats needed This will give you time to add any additional settings if necessary by pulling in chairs from other spaces or borrowing some folding chairs.

2. Clean and Organize

If you're having the gathering in your home and yard, this is the day you can spend readying the space and the rest of your home for guests, whether that means doing a kitchen deep clean, vacuuming rugs or getting your bathroom in order.

If your party is outdoors, use this as a chance to wipe down grills, surfaces and seating. You can also mow the lawn or trim any wayward hedges that will be in the way.  

3. Decorate

Decorating the night before your party can be a great way to get it out of the way. If you only have a limited time in a venue, try to get things as ready to go as possible, including making flower arrangements, adding candles to holders, etc. so that more time-consuming things can be settled and anything site-specific can be focused on the day of. 

4. Food Prep

Since many dishes can endure overnight refrigeration, make as much of the party food as you can the day before to heat up the next day. Not only will you feel less overwhelmed right before the party, but some things, like dips and soups, actually taste yummier after they sit for a while. 

Day of the Party

1. Last Minute Set-Up

Whatever your dining configurations, begin to set it up beforehand. This can mean placing food out on a buffet table or setting the table for sit-down meals.   

2. Get Ice

One of the final little details of a party checklist that is sometimes forgotten is to make sure you have plenty of ice on hand, whether you make it yourself and store it in baggies or buy bags of ice from the store. This is especially important if you are using a cooler outdoors for drinks and food or if you need a well-stocked ice bucket on the bar or drinks table. 

3. Greet your Guests

The final step is to sit back and enjoy your time with guests, so making sure all the prep is done before the party means you will actually get to enjoy the event to its fullest as soon as they start arriving.

Tips & Tricks for Hosting a Fun Party

Have a Backup Plan

Whatever your best-laid plans are, stuff happens. Too many guests show up or not enough. It rains, snows or you swelter in the heat. The balloons deflate overnight or the flowers are already wilting.

Thinking creatively about what can possibly go wrong and how to remedy it, can go a long way toward making your party more fun for both you and your guests. Need sunscreen or mosquito repellant for an outdoor party?

Need extra ice or a second case of beer for your football party? Have a backup plan ready to send someone out to get anything you’ve forgotten. 

Make it Easy to RSVP

While some events like weddings require more formal mailed invites and RSVPs in the post, other responses can be rendered by mail, email, evite or social media. Give your guests many options for saying yeah or nay and they will be more likely to respond on time. 

Focus on What’s Important

Since parties and celebrations have all sorts of different goals and styles, focus on what is important to you. If you're a foodie, spend a little more time on your menu and be more casual about decorating. Or decorate to the nines and opt for simple, easy or catered food. 

Lighting & Music

Setting an atmosphere is important wherever and whatever kind of party. Think moody atmospheric lighting, soft dimmed lights, twinkle lights and candles. Or if you plan a dance party, get a fun disco ball or swirling colored light to help set the mood.

As important as lighting, think about music and how you want to create a soundscape, be it with a live band, a professional DJ or just a fun mix and some Bluetooth speakers that will play without anyone having to mess with it. 

Communicate What to Expect

Giving your guests as much info as you can will help them have a better experience, Include invitation info on themes, attire, gifts vs. no gifts, as well as specific details like parking options, directions and accessibility, all of which can be helpful in advance. 

Keeping these things in mind will help you have a party both you and your guest will enjoy and remember for years.

For even more fun party ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!