How to Plan a Party in 15 Minutes A Week

I created this timeline to help keep myself from falling into that "storm before the calm" pre-party anxiety. I do better when I have a clear cut plan, and I know myself well enough to know that I buckle under pressure. So I like to stretch my planning out over months. Does that mean you can't plan a killer party in a shorter amount of time? Of course not! But I would suggest breaking it up into 15 minute increments.

My planning is 15 minutes weekly, but you could do 15 minutes daily if you wanted to plan in a shorter amount of time. The idea is to have a plan to follow so you don't freeze.

So, here's how I do it:

Party Timeline

_ Brainstorm theme ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Choose theme ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Choose date/time ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Brainstorm guest list ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Brainstorm invitations ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Brainstorm favors ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Brainstorm décor ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Brainstorm food/cake ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Finalize guest list ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Send save the date, if needed ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Plan invitations ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Order/gather invitation supplies ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Plan favors ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Plan décor ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Plan food/cake ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Make invitations ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Make invitations ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Address invitations ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Mail invitations ­­­­­­­­­___________________ *********4 weeks before party***********

_ Gather favor/decor supplies ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Make favors ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Make favors ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Write a party week timeline (including day before and day of) ­­­­­­­­­___________________

_ Enjoy the party! ­­­­­­­­­___________________

To use the timeline, put the party date in the bottom. Count back 4 weeks from party and add that date to the mail invitations line. Then fill in the rest, I like to do one thing weekly, and usually add it to Wednesday. See example below:

Party Timeline

_ Brainstorm theme ­­­­­­­­­______4/21_____________

_ Choose theme ­­­­­­­­­________4/28___________

_ Choose date/time ­­­­­­­­­_________5/5__________

_ Brainstorm guest list ­­­­­­­­­_______5/12____________

_ Brainstorm invitations ­­­­­­­­­_______5/19____________

_ Brainstorm favors ­­­­­­­­­__________5/26_________

_ Brainstorm décor ­­­­­­­­­________6/2__________

_ Brainstorm food/cake ­­­­­­­­­_______6/9____________

_ Finalize guest list ­­­­­­­­­_________6/16__________

_ Send save the date, if needed ­­­­­­­­­________6/23___________

_ Plan invitations ­­­­­­­­­______6/30_____________

_ Order/gather invitation supplies ­­­­­­­­­__________7/7_________

_ Plan favors ­­­­­­­­­________7/14___________

_ Plan décor ­­­­­­­­­_________7/23__________

_ Plan food/cake ­­­­­­­­­_______7/28____________

_ Make invitations ­­­­­­­­­_______8/5____________

_ Make invitations ­­­­­­­­­________8/12___________

_ Address invitations ­­­­­­­­­_______8/19____________

_ Mail invitations ­­­­­­­­­_________8/22__________ *********4 weeks before party***********

_ Gather favor/decor supplies ­­­­­­­­­__________8/25_________

_ Make favors ­­­­­­­­­_______9/1____________

_ Make favors ­­­­­­­­­_______9/8____________

_ Write a party week timeline (including day before and day of) ­­­­­­­­­_________9/15__________

_ Follow day before/day of timelines

_ Enjoy the party! ­­­­­­­­­_________9/17_____________

Yes, this means I start planning for a party almost 5 months ahead of time. But it's literally only 15 minutes a week. And when you do it this way, it's fun! I challenge you to try it and let me know what you think. It might just change the way you think about celebrating!

Good luck!