“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey
Have you been nominated as your company’s party planner? If so, have you been asked to plan an event celebrating a significant milestone in your company’s history?
As the quote by Oprah Winfrey mentioned above notes, celebrating meaningful milestones is an essential part of living life successfully, with positive consequences. The more you celebrate your life, the greater your motivation to push through to the next milestone will be.
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s assume you have decided to plan a carnival themed party to be held outdoors. Not only is this event a celebration of your company’s milestone, it is also a celebration that winter is over, and summer is on its way.
Below are several steps to help you plan the perfect party.
Ask people for help
Part of planning a party is to ask people to help you. It is probably a good idea to form a committee of people who are keen to assist with the event planning and who are interested in helping. It’s vital to note that this committee must be able to make decisions quickly and not debate individual points over and over again. Otherwise, the party planning phase of the event will never end.
Draw up a budget
Because you have already chosen a theme, the next most important aspect is to draw up a budget. You do not need a massive budget because carnival games and foods are fun, exciting, and relatively cheap, so they fit easily into most budgets. It is not necessary to buy the games; all you need do is to contact a carnival game rental company.
Decide on the activities and games for the event
When planning what games to offer, it is vital to consider who will be attending your party. Are your company’s employees plus their families going to be invited? Or, are the invitations limited to just employees and coworkers?
The rationale behind this consideration is that your choice of games is dependent on the age of the attendees.
Figure out what food and drink to offer
It is not necessary to be concerned about catering for the event. Carnival foods like hot dogs, popcorn, pretzels, snow cones, and cotton candy are simple to make, especially when you rent the right equipment. Additionally, it is not expensive to prepare these foods, adding to the manageability of the budget. It is also totally acceptable to only offer non-alcoholic drinks, including water (still and sparkling) and sodas. Finally, it’s also a good idea to hire outside caterers instead of just renting equipment and attempting to make the food yourself.
An important point to be aware of is that it is important to take special dietary needs into account when planning the food and drinks. If children are invited, you will need to cater to them as well.
Choose a venue
The final step in the planning of your party is to choose a venue. Again, the venue is dependent on both the weather and the number of people that are expected to attend. If the event is being held in the summer months, it might be a good idea to hold the event outdoors in a park or on a field. Be sure to get permission from the owners of the land before you arrive at the venue.
Final thoughts
Planning a complex, convoluted event is not necessary. A simple party is all that is needed for a successful celebration. Therefore, when deciding what food, drinks, and games to offer, keep things simple so that the focus remains on the reason for the event.