Party On! Your Ultimate Birthday Party Planning Checklist

General Party Checklist

No matter where you’re hosting the gathering, do these things before the party:

• • Determine your budget. Setting a budget will be important for determining the venue, the number of guests, and the food and beverage situation as well as any additional entertainment. Be realistic with what you’re willing to spend for the party and try to stick to the budget as closely as possible. It may help to break up each category with a budget— how much are you willing to spend on the venue rental, the food, a DJ, etc.?
  • Pick your venue. Celebrating at home can be just as much fun as celebrating at a restaurant or another event space, but it also entails doing much of the work yourself. Based on your budget, decide what is feasible for you to do. You may consider swapping money for the sake of time or physical constraints, or vice versa.
  • Determine the party’s theme. Your venue can help dictate the theme, but try to lean into something that the person loves. Try the latest coastal grandmother aesthetic at a wine bar or get silly with a retro decade theme like the ’70s or ’80s. Costumes may or may not be encouraged for a theme party.

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• Make the guest list and send out invitations. If you’re throwing a party for yourself, invite whoever you want! If you’re throwing a party for someone else, however, check with the person to find out who they want to celebrate with them. Throwing a surprise party makes things a little trickier, so consider coordinating with another friend or family member to create the guest list.
• Gather the RSVPs. Make sure your invitations request a response with plenty of time in advance so that you can get a head count and plan the food and dessert accordingly.
• Entertainment rentals. Use your budget to determine what you can do for additional entertainment beyond setting up your phone and a playlist to a wireless speaker. While adults may not fit into a bouncy castle, it could be fun to hire a magician, a DJ, or celebrity impersonators or to rent out a karaoke machine or a photo booth.
• Pick out party favors. Send guests home with a little something, such as candy bars, bubbles, and more (perhaps seashells, for the coastal grandmother theme). Purchase a handful of disposable cameras for guests to take pictures throughout the party and develop them to share online for a belated party favor. Print the pictures for a scrapbook as an additional gift to the birthday person.
• Create signage. Whether the party is at home or at a venue, make signs pointing guests in the right direction. These come in handy especially if guests have to walk from the street or from a parking lot.
• Get cash for tips for vendors. If you’re using a DJ or caterers or hosting at a restaurant or another venue, be sure to tip the people helping to make the party happen. General rule of thumb is 20%, so remember to factor that into your budget.
• Grab some take-out containers. If you’re having food and dessert at the party, you may not want to deal with leftovers. Buy some inexpensive containers to let people take home extra food from your party.

At-Home Party Checklist

Save on money with a birthday party at your home rather than renting out a venue. Look into the following items and tasks for getting ready for the party:

• Clean your home. We know your guests may make a bit of a mess, but getting your home ready for the party doesn’t have to make it spotless. Pick up any piles of laundry or other items from the floor, clear surfaces to make way for any treats or for guests to set things down, and sweep and vacuum, especially if you ask guests to take their shoes off inside.
• Kid- and adult-proof the party area. If kids will be joining the party fun, consider covering up outlets, putting away valuables, and removing any small items from the floor or easy-to-reach areas that could be choking hazards. You may always want to adult-proof the area too: Put a couch cover on the sofa, remove anything that’s easily breakable, set out coasters, and add table cloths to protect the furniture from spills.
• Designate the party zones. Help spread people out throughout the house with multiple snack and drink zones so that people aren’t all crowded around the kitchen. Make space for dancing, even if you’re just playing music from your phone or TV. Consider where you might want to play party games or board games and make a sign pointing them out.

At-Home Party Supplies

• Food. Adult birthday parties should have some food, especially if you intend to serve adult beverages. Unless you’re hosting a dinner party, you may not want to have to serve everyone yourself. Good options for parties include finger foods like pigs-in-a-blanket, deviled eggs, chips and salsa, and cut-up veggies and dip. You could also offer a buffet of food like potato and pasta salad, hot dogs and hamburgers, fruit salad, and more.
• Birthday cake or other dessert. Almost everyone loves birthday cake, or at least a birthday pie. Remember to either bake or order the dessert ahead of time to have it ready the day of the party.
• Serving spoons and cake servers. Make sure your guests don’t have to guess how to pick up the food you have out.
• Plates, napkins, and utensils. Even if you have only finger foods, let guests use some plates and utensils to enjoy the treats. Set out plenty of napkins in case of any messy fingers or spills. Choose disposable plates and utensils to reduce the amount of clean-up you’ll have to do after the party.
• Decorations. Remember your theme and use that to help with decorating. Find cardboard cutouts, streamers, and balloons to place around your home.
• Garbage bags and cans. In addition to needing trash bags after the party, set out garbage cans throughout your home so that guests have easy access to dispose of their paper plates or beverage containers.

Outdoor Party Checklist—In Your Backyard or at a Park

If the weather will be nice, gather some picnic tables at a park or set up a party in your backyard. An outdoor party needs:

• Choosing the venue. Is it in yours or someone else’s backyard? Is it in a park? Do you need to reserve a gazebo or pavilion?
• Explore the seating area. Check whether you’ll need to buy or rent tables and chairs, if you need to arrange the existing tables a certain way, or if you can spread out blankets in the grass.
• Decide whether you’re ordering catering or doing the cooking yourself. Catering with sandwiches and other finger foods is a good idea if you don’t want to worry about toting food from home to a park. If you decide to cook for the party, avoid preparing foods that would need to stay hot, like baked beans or sloppy Joes. Bring buckets of ice to hold easily perishable bowls of food, like deviled eggs or dairy.
• Secure the dessert. Be careful if you have a cake with buttercream frosting outside—if butter will melt in the temperature, so will the frosting. Keep the dessert in the shade or on ice until it’s ready to serve.
• Prepare a backup plan. On the off change the weather makes a turn for the worst, make sure you have a secondary location to move the party, or look into what the venue will do for you in case of inclement weather.

Outdoor Party Supplies

• Tent or portable shade. If your backyard or the park doesn’t have a way to block the sun, buy or rent a collapsible shelter to create your own shade.
• Tables and chairs or picnic tables. You could also encourage guests to bring their own folding chairs.
• Disposable plates/cutlery. Keep things simple so that you don’t have to bring home dirty dishes to wash.
• Decorations. Make sure you find a way to really secure any decorations, either with weights, string, duct tape, or push-pins so that they don’t blow away.
• Citronella candles. Summertime birthdays usually come with mosquitoes. Pick up some inexpensive citronella candles to help deter mosquitoes from biting your guests.
• String lights. If your party will go on after sunset, set up some battery-powered string lights among trees or the ceiling of the gazebo or pavilion.
• Outdoor games. Bring your corn hole set, rent giant puzzles, or pick up some soccer balls to kick around.
• Speakers or sound system. Ensure you can plug in the speakers or bring wireless or battery-powered options.

Restaurant or Other Venue Party Checklist

Many restaurants will offer party rooms for large groups, or you can simply reserve a table to celebrate. Other kinds of indoor venues are also available for party rental, such as YMCAs, public libraries, loft spaces, art galleries, and more. Check off the following items when considering a restaurant or another venue for the party:

• Reserve the venue. Once again, use your budget to determine how many people may attend—this will help you determine how much space you’ll need at the venue, whether it’s a restaurant or somewhere else.
• Pick your menu. If the party is at a restaurant, speak with their management to determine how they can support your celebration. Many restaurants will offer buffet or family-style options, which may come with a discount or as party of a party package with accompanying soda or adult beverages. Another option is to let guests choose their own drinks and entrées if the party is on the smaller side. If the party is at another kind of venue, you likely will need to cater it, and like picking out a wedding venue, you may have to defer to the venue’s list of approved vendors.
• Order or bring dessert. A restaurant’s party package may include a dessert option, but check to see if they will let you bring in a cake or other celebration dessert if that is your preference. Other venues may require working with their preferred vendors for the cake, so look into their policy.
• Consider the parking situation. Where will guests park? Denote this on the invitations to help guide guests to the destination. This is another time when signage is important.
• Consider the time. Ask the restaurant or venue what time your crew can come in to set up and decorate as well as whether there is a definitive time to be out.
• Explore the audio/visual needs. If you’re hiring a DJ, will display things on a projector, or even if you’re just playing music, find out if there are appropriate outlets for the equipment or if the venue will let you rent anything from them.

Restaurant or Other Venue Party Supplies

• Decorations. Ask what kinds of décor you’re allowed to set up at the venue.
• Simple games. A restaurant may not allow you to bring board games, but other venues would. Consider what kinds of games will be most appropriate for playing at a table, like trivia or a quiz.
• Speakers/sound system. If the restaurant doesn’t have music playing overhead, consider bringing a wireless speaker or boom box.

Stay organized during your birthday party planning with a note-taking app like OneNote. Keep track of all your checklists, your budget, vendor lists, guest lists, and more to remain on top of everything –and here’s the templates you need to do it. Why hire a party planner when you can handle all the adult birthday party planning yourself?