IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT THE PARTY

 Party Overwhelm?

I enjoy throwing a party for my family and friends! It just gets me excited and all worked up of just having them all together in one place. But sometimes we get so excited about the party or the event that we focus our emphasis on decorations, food, music, clothing, photos and whatever that is important for us to showcase. We get caught up in the overwhelming party planning process that we forget why we are having the celebration in the first place. Before we know it we are overwhelmed and later down the line we realized we had the wrong mindset…..It is not all about the party.

For my oldest son’s graduation party and my youngest son’s 4th birthday, I imagined it differently in my head. I played out all of the ideas for my oldest son party for months…..maybe a year! I slowly scaled it down because I did not want to spend a crazy amount of money.

I am glad I did that because little did I know that my health was going get out of whack. I would have had all of these expectations that I had in my head to only let myself down.

Through this process I learned: IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT THE PARTY!!

For years I would hear people say for their party’s (particularly birthday parties) they were going to TURN UP!! I was never a TURNUP girl. LOL!

But I loved to Turn up a little differently…..with decorations and food that is!!!

 

Decor Overload

I loved the decorations! I love making decorations and buying decorations. So much so I had to learn not to purchase so much because I would end up not using what I purchase.

In order not to overload with the decor you should:

• Make a party outline
• Party checklist
• Have a headcount
• Create maps/diagrams (seating or tables for example)
• Keep receipts for returns
• Ask yourself 3 times if it is necessary

For my son’s graduation, I had too many banners and decor pieces with 2018 on them. I know going forward to try not to get items with the year of the graduation to use for future parties.

Narrow down how many custom DIYs that you are going to do. If I am not careful I will get out of control with this!! I limited myself to 2-3 DIYs which was still a lot for my current schedule. Just do what is allowed for your schedule in your life.  

 

Food, Food, and more Food

The more food the merrier!! Yeah and No!

Many of times we get caught up in the food menu, the amount of food or customization of the food and just miss the party altogether.

I have done this many times!

I have planned to have too many options on the menu.

Trying too many new dishes and they were a flop with my family.

Or just cooking too much and I lose all my sass and flavor in the recipe.

I actually learned from my mother to downscale whatever I have in my mind for a menu. Whether it is the holidays, birthday party or event then take what’s in my head and divide that in half again. Yeah, it is that bad for me!!

The simpler the better!

When I cooked smaller quantities of food it tasted so much better. My flavors did not get lost in a huge batch of food.

Take shortcuts! If it is still tasty and the cost is efficient who cares if it is not totally from scratch. Add a few touches of your own and your family/guest will never even know.

Also, take shortcuts by prepping ahead of time. Slicing, dicing, shredding and mixing your food ahead of time will cut out the party planning overwhelm.

 

Don’t Worry About Impressing Others

This is very easy to get used to as a creator. Receiving compliment after compliment feels great! But if you not careful you will find that you are seeking or doing things for praise and not creating out of passion and love for what you enjoy. Or simply just carrying out a task.

I realized that I enjoyed this particular gathering with friends because I did not micromanage every little thing. It did not have to be placed perfectly. I did not have to cover every detail (Although I saw every flaw in my pictures) IT WAS OKAY!!

When something ran out on the bar, I just simply directed them (my family member) where it was in the kitchen. If it was not family I would have gotten up, but it was OKAY.

They got what they needed and they were fine and so was I.

 

Enjoying Conversations and Laughs

The main purpose of having a celebration is to simply enjoy one another’s company together. Well, there have been holidays, birthdays and celebrations I just worked the entire time.

I look up and around, then realize the day is completely gone.  The sun is going down and I have not taken in the moment or reflected on the day fully.

This time I sat down, I talked and laughed with my family. We told stories. We caught up with each other lives. We just enjoyed one another!

 

Making Memories

Memories is what it is all about!

Life goes so, so fast!

We get caught up in our day to day lives and do not enjoy the little moments that lead up to the big moments.

We forget to stop and smell the roses.

We forget we do not have to reach this huge milestone in our lives for it to be memorable.

These little steps or memories are big memories. Because it was a journey to reaching the big memories. Those are the ones we need to remember. Those are the ones I try to etch in my brain for a lifetime when my babies are all grown.

I sat and enjoyed my company! That made memories not only for them through their experience but for myself through my experience.

Remembering my family did not come with any expectations of me (or you as the party planner).

They came to celebrate! I only had expectations of myself. Which I needed to start looking at it differently……I had an expectation of making lastly impressions or memories through experiences but I was leaving out myself in the process. 

Nevertheless, learning It Is Not All About The Party. If you are overwhelmed or overworked by the pure thought of planning an event or party just take a step back and remember why you started the party process from the start.

To celebrate!

To make Memories with the celebration.

That it is what it is all about!  

That is when creativity begins to flow.

Now go plan your party and have a blast!