Entertaining: Five Tips for Surprise Parties

by Sherry Holetzky | More from this Blogger

30 Jul 2006 06:38 AM

It's not easy to pull off a surprise party for someone that resides in your home. You may never know if the guest of honor was truly surprised or not. Still, throwing a surprise party is a great way to make somebody feel special.

These five tips should prove helpful when planning a surprise party:

1. Begin planning well in advance of the party date. The one thing that usually gives away the surprise is the frantic action and secrecy near a special date. Even a semi-intuitive person is going to pick up on whispering and the hustle and bustle of preparations, so do as much as you can long before the special date. Purchase invitations, decorations, tableware, etc., and stash them at a friend's home. Doing so will also help you buy a little at a time so you don't have large expenses to hide. Book the entertainment and the caterer or prepare the list of items your guests will bring and make these requests early as well.

2. Another thing to take care of in advance is sending out invitations early. Ask a friend to handle accepting each R.S.V.P. so you won't have to explain whispered phone calls or secretive emails. Ask your friend to be the call back number for the caterer or bakery as well.

3. If you are preparing food, do so at a neighbor's or a friend's house. Special foods or ingredients in the house are a dead give away. Even saying you just want to make a special meal will be suspicious if the person is already onto you.

4. Don't act like it's any other day. The whole pretending to forget the important date is a tired ploy. Instead, consider planning the surprise party a day or even a week before the actual date. It is much easier than trying to pull it off on the exact date.

5. Keep the guest of honor busy and distracted. A friend might be able to help out in this regard, but only if it's common for that friend to drop by unannounced or to invite the person out impulsively. Otherwise, think of errands the person can run. Asking someone to run to the store for eggs is not unusual (and he or she doesn't have to know they're for the cake you're baking). It's fun to have the person help you set up his or her own surprise party.

Learn more about Sherry Holetzky

Sherry Holetzky is a work at home mom and freelance writer. Married to her best friend, Sherry and her husband are raising their family in a quiet rural setting in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

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