Are you prepared to throw the summer party of the year?

If you want to impress your friends and family with a great summer party, you’ll need to have a plan and some supplies on hand. Anyone can throw a party, but to really impress the crowd, it takes a bit of prep work.

If you’re ready to make the most out of the summer season, we’ve got what you need. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to have a hit party for any occasion. Keep reading and get ready to soak up the sun!

1. Send Out Invitations

Party invitations aren’t just outdated traditions that need to be reserved for weddings and graduations. A great invitation can raise the level of your party even before it gets started.

And by “invitation,” we don’t just mean an invite to a Facebook event. Modern technology is incredibly convenient, but the flip side of that is that it’s also very impersonal. So if you want your party to stand out, make it personal!

An old-fashioned, mailed invite will let guests know that your party is something really special. These invites don’t have to be stuffy – they can be modern, cool, and funny too.

This also lets you consider your theme early. From stationary to stamps, you can play up your party theme in the invite and get guests really excited for the event.

Summer is high time for parties, so make sure to get on people’s calendars early with an invite. If they’re thinking about it early, they’re more likely to come to your summer party – and to have a great time.

2. Set the Table

Whether your party is casual or fancy, guests appreciate the details. A nicely-set table shows you want to go above and beyond for the attendees of your summer party.

You don’t need anything fancy for a nice table. Count up how many guests you have, and see what you have at home to make place settings with. Or, if you’re doing something more casual, focus more on decor like centerpieces than on full place settings.

Get creative – you can find great table decor at thrift shops, as well as inexpensive new items online. Having a color scheme goes a long way, even if you’re using paper plates and plastic forks.

3. Decorate With Natural Touches

Flowers – even fake ones – can make any party feel classier. Plus, they’re the perfect touch for a summer party, since so many flowers are in season.

If you have a garden, cut a few flowers just before your party. You don’t have to make full bouquets – a single flower can do wonders to dress up a table or counter. Use cool, mismatched glassware for your vases – just make sure to choose items that you won’t miss if you get broken.

No garden? No problem. Pick up a cheap bouquet or two at the grocery store, or scan local craft stores for fake flowers that match your color scheme.

If flowers aren’t your style, use other summery natural elements, like seashells. You don’t need a lot of money, just plenty of creativity.

4. Plan Your Seating

It’s easy to overlook one of the biggest necessities for a summer party: having enough seats for everyone. Make sure you plan ahead so your guests don’t have to play musical chairs!

Do a thorough inventory of your furniture while you’re planning. If you’re having an outdoor party but you only have a few patio chairs, commission some of your indoor chairs for use. You can also use stools and ottomans for extra seating.

On a nice day, you can even put some quilts on the ground and let your guests sit picnic-fashion. If it’s an indoor party, think about getting some comfortable floor cushions that guests can sit on if seating starts to run out.

Still don’t have enough seating to go around? You can actually rent chairs! Renting isn’t too expensive – you can usually pick up folding chairs for the day for about $2 each.

While you’re at it, you can also rent a grill, speakers, coolers, and other things you might need. Some vendors even offer free drop-off and pick-up, so you won’t have to worry about hauling items.

5. Consider Lighting

Lighting can make or break your party’s ambiance, so give it plenty of thought while putting together your summer party.

You don’t need a lot of lighting, though – keep it dim and ambient, and let people’s eyes adjust.

For an outdoor party, try stringing lights across tree branches, or the fence. Round globe lights will give you the most visually appealing glow. Use tealights or hurricane lanterns for extra light on the areas that need it most, such as the dinner table.

Be careful with the placement of your extension cords, though, since they can easily trip guests. If you’re running cords along the ground, pin them down using bits of wire bent into a U-shape. Place the wire over the cord and hammer it into the ground, so the wire is flat and doesn’t create a trip hazard.

6. Plan for Photography

Today, everyone with a smartphone has a camera in their pocket at all times. People will almost certainly be taking pictures at your party – why not plan ahead to make sure those pictures are amazing?

While you’re picking up your decorations, consider grabbing a few fun things that guests can wear, like sunglasses or paper hats. These make for the perfect silly party selfies.

You could even set up a “selfie booth” area with accessories, lighting, and a backdrop to encourage your guests to document the moment. Once those pictures hit social media, everyone will be talking about your summer party.

Planning a Summer Party?

As you can see, putting together a stellar party is easy. It just takes a bit of planning and attention to detail to do it right.

However, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. There are plenty of party planning and catering companies that can help you take things to the next level.

Want to beat the heat with catered ice cream? Check out our event catering services here!

When you’re just a kid, birthdays are a big deal. After all, they only happen once a year.

Of course, you want to make sure your kid’s birthday party is special. But if you have more than one child, planning a birthday party can really break the bank. However, we don’t think it needs to be this way.

In fact, you can throw your kid a birthday party to remember on a budget. That’s why we’ve put together this guide for organizing a kid’s birthday party on a shoestring.

Keep reading for our top 10 tips for planning a birthday party for your kid!

1. Ask Your Child, What he or she Wants

Many parents go ahead and start planning and organizing a kid’s birthday party without actually asking their child when he or she wants.

Unless your child is still a baby, they probably have a good idea about what they want from a party. In fact, often kids can be much more creative and specific than adults.

Maybe your son wants a baseball party or your daughter wants a Harry Potter-themed party. Whatever it is, you can make it happen on a budget.

Once you know what your child wants, search for more ideas on Pinterest. This is great for finding inspiration about designing invites, coming up with food ideas and what kind of games to play.

2. Make a Budget

It’s really important to set out how much you’re willing to spend on your kid’s birthday party.

Once you have your budget, you have to make sure you keep disciplined and don’t overspend.

3. Choose an Affordable Location

The location of the birthday party can make or break it. Obviously, you can’t go overboard by hiring a five-star hotel for your little one’s celebrations. But you can find somewhere suitable within your budget.

This could be your house or the house of someone else. If you have a big house, this could be the perfect venue for your kid’s birthday party.

Other options are the local park, the church or a local town or village hall. These are the types of places where you can use the space for free, or for a small fee.

You may have to include a cleaning or security deposit that you’ll get back if you leave the venue in the same condition you found it. But make sure you include this in your budgeting.

4. Choose the Time Carefully

Mornings and afternoons are great times for a budget children’s birthday party because they don’t require meals. If you have to provide a whole load of kids with lunch or dinner, this can definitely break the bank.

However, you can throw an awesome kid’s birthday party by skipping the meal and going straight to the ice-cream by hiring an ice cream truck.

It’s also important to consider the cost of booking the venue at different times. For instance, reserving a place for the morning is often cheaper than in the afternoons.

5. Create Your Own Invites

Designing your own invitations is another way to save money when organizing the party.

If you’re creative, then this is a great way to show off your skills. But you don’t have to be really creative to make invites on a budget.

With the website Canva, you can design your own invitations and just print them off at home. Then all you need to do is post them to friends and family. Get your kids to give the invites to their friends at school.

6. Use Decorations More Than Once

Birthday decorations can be costly to purchase every single year. But if you buy some reusable and non-specific themed decorations, you can use them every year.

You can mix themed and non-themed decorations together to save money. For instance, mix generic bunting with themed paper plates.

7. Make Your Own Themed Cake

To go along with the yummy ice-cream, you can also make your own themed birthday cake for your kid’s birthday.

After all, buying or ordering birthday cakes from bakeries and supermarkets can be extremely expensive.

Plus, this way you can make sure you make the cake of your kid’s dreams. Whether it’s a Batman-themed sponge cake or a Frozen-themed chocolate cake.

If you’re not the best cook, anyone can do some cupcakes with a simple decoration.

8. Come Up With New Games to Play

No kid’s birthday party is complete without some games. This is why you and your children have to use your imagination to come up with new games to go with the traditional games of “pass the parcel” and “sleeping lions”.

If you’re struggling to invent something new, check out Pinterest again for some weird and wonderful party games.

9. Be Creative About Take Away Gifts

Everyone knows that guests have to leave your kid’s birthday party with a gift. While some parties go with elaborate and expensive gift bags, it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can be creative by coming up with a themed-gift for the kids that attend. If you’re holding a Harry Potter-themed party, include a stick for a magic wand and some jelly beans as some “Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans“.

10. Relax and Enjoy It

One of the most important things to do when it comes to planning your kid’s birthday party is to simply relax and enjoy the party.

Of course, you want to create a wonderful and memorable party for your kid. But every parent is surprised by how easily excited children get sometimes. You don’t have to spend a fortune to make it a special day.

Enjoy Planning Your Kid’s Birthday Party

You don’t need to break the bank for your child’s birthday party. By following these 10 tips you can throw a wonderful party on a budget.

Let’s make this a birthday to remember, by hiring an ice-cream van that will delight everyone! Get in touch with us today for more information on our ice-cream services for birthdays or any other events.