subject: 10 Tips for planning surprise birthday parties [print this page] 10 Tips for planning surprise birthday parties
If you want to throw birthday parties for your friends or family, you may need a little help getting organised. Here are 10 tips to help the planning process go as smoothly as possible.
1. Talk to other relatives or close friends of the guest of honour and throw around some ideas until you start to formulate a rough idea of what you want to do.
2. Draw up a list of everyone you want to invite. Don't stop at the people you know. Ask other friends if there's anyone missing off your list and make sure everyone the guest of honour would want to seen at their party has been invited.
3. Think about the city or town you want to have the party in. You'll need to make sure it's convenient for everyone (or at least the vast majority of the guests) and that you will find it easy to lull the birthday boy or girl there.
4. Start thinking about the type of venue you want to hold the party in. You'll need to think about what types of bars the guest of honour would like and about the guests coming along. Make sure the venue is in a good location for transportation links.
5. Get in touch with the bar you like, either via their website or by phone, and check their availability on the date you want to go. Depending on the number of people you hope will be coming along, you may require a room to yourselves or just a section of a bar or restaurant.
6. Next, you need to invite the guests. This may be best done by phone or email, but make sure the word 'surprise' is mentioned clearly if you want to avoid it being ruined.
7. Once you have a firm idea on numbers, you'll need to secure your booking. This may require a deposit or just a name, depending on the venue in question.
8. Once it's booked, you need to start thinking about how you're going to get the birthday boy or girl there. If you think they're likely to suspect that you may have been planning something, ask someone else to get them there and you take control of the waiting crowd.
9. When you have a plan in place, make sure everyone knows where to be and when. They may require directions, so ensure they have everything they need. If you're with the guest of honour, the last thing you want is the phone ringing every two mins to ask what's happening.
10. If necessary, make sure you book any taxis or mini-buses to get people to and from the venue.
Follow these 10 tips and your friend's surprise birthday party should be a success. Make sure that if you're looking for a party venue in London, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool or somewhere else in the UK, that it meets your criteria and can help to make the evening a special one for whoever's birthday it is.
