Simplified party planning starts with knowing your personal party style. Once you recognize it, everything else falls into place.
Your personal party style might be going all out with a big blast, or a low-key gathering of close friends. Figuring out your preferred approach will make party planning faster and easier by focusing your options on what is comfortable and manageable for you.
Why do we have gatherings and parties? To celebrate a person, a holiday, or an event. To escape from the every day routine and rejuvenate. A good party can be like a little vacation from the stresses of life.
But planning a holiday party or other celebration can also be stressful. If we think every gathering must be over the top and extra, we will have fewer of them. If they were easier and more comfortable we would celebrate more often, and that’s a good thing.
Find Your Party Style
Learn your personal party style then you can use that as a shortcut to planning gatherings that feel easy and natural for you. Start with your personality type.
1- Are you rational, idealistic, self-controlled, and maybe a bit perfectionistic? You might be great at planning bigger events with lots of people at interesting locations.
2- Are you caring, affectionate, generous, and people-pleasing? Your best parties might be detail-oriented, with lots of little touches that make guests feel comfortable.
3- Are you driven, image-conscious, action oriented, and love status symbols? You might be happiest planning events around the latest trends, with Instagram worthy food and decor.
4- Are you sensitive, withdrawn, expressive, and romantic? A movie watching party with gourmet level food and deep conversation might be great for you.
5- Are you cerebral, perceptive, love ideas, and an observer? You might like to research a theme or an unusual menu, and everyone can learn something new while enjoying themselves too.
6- Are you loyal, responsible, anxious, and committed? Ease some of the stress by planning a party with activities and food based around a specific theme or tradition.
7- Are you fun-loving, spontaneous, versatile, impulsive, and distractible? You can make a party out of anything, from celebrating the last day of January to organizing a group trip to Paris.
8- Are you powerful, dominating, self-confident, decisive, and in charge? Call the shots with a costume party, or a block party for the neighborhood.
9- Are you easygoing, receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and a peacemaker? Your party style might be minimalist, with simple decor and food, and experience-based activities.
Simplifying Your Party Planning
Why is a Super Bowl party so easy to plan? Because it’s low key, with fun and easy snack foods, and everyone knows just what to expect: watching the game from the couch while eating traditional things that everyone enjoys like nachos and wings.
You could say a Super Bowl party has a pattern. The food, the decor (or lack of decor) the activity– each follows the pattern. Even though no two parties will be exactly alike, the overall structure is similar enough to make planning this kind of party relatively simple and easy.
Once you know your own personal party preferences, you can have a pattern to follow for every type of party. Sure, sometimes we have to get out of our comfort zone for special occasions or big events.
But even a wedding reception can follow your personal style pattern. It can be rustic, relaxing, formal, or wild and crazy– depending on your comfort zone and preferences.
A birthday party, dinner, shower, pot luck, Christmas dinner, or BBQ can all be made simpler to plan with your personal party style template.
Your Party Style Template
How to Make Planning an Event Painless
What are some of the things most parties have in common? Food. Drink. Activities. Decor. Invitations. Gifts. A budget. Schedules….
With so many things to do and plan and buy, no wonder we can get stressed. We care about how it will go. We care about people having a good time.
But what would planning a party look like if we knew our strengths and party style?
A birthday party planned by type 3 from the list above might begin by checking Instagram to see what the latest trends are. She might order balloon words and buy little succulents in pots. She could order a highly decorated themed cake, and set up a selfie picture taking station.
A type 9 might order pizza, and rent a giant waterslide for the back yard. He might grab a chocolate cake from a local bakery.
A type 5 could research then serve Asian hot pot cooking, make the cake herself with fresh-squeezed orange juice in the icing, and provide table games for small groups to gather around.
Take the time to decide your own strengths, personality type, style, and comfort zone. Then let the rest go. You don’t have to compete with the other types! Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
| What’s my personality type? | 1-9? | ||
| Food prep | Catered | Store bought | Homemade |
| Guests | Big crowd | A few friends | A group in between large and small |
| Mood | Casual | Fancy | Minimalist |
| Activities | Games or sports | Passive (movies, etc.) | Conversation |
| Location | Homebody | Outdoors | Event venue |
| Decor | Trendy | Over the top | Simple |
| Budget | $$$$ | $$$ | $ |
| Motivation– there are many more possibilities! | to honor someone | to impress people | to make people comfortable |
| Invites | A text | Store bought | Handmade |
| Theme | Nope | A tradition | Inventive and original |
This list can’t cover everything, but will hopefully help you understand how to develop your personal party style. Then you can make your own signature template plan that will guide you no matter what you are celebrating!
When the host is happy, comfortable, and confident, the guests will be too! Anyone can create great celebrations!
Related Questions
What is the easiest way to decorate for a party? Two things that are fast and easy are strings of lights, and colorful banners. These two things make any room festive and can be put up at the last minute. They can also be easily reused for other events.
How can I simplify entertaining? Try a minimalist approach. Be creative and use what you already have for decor and entertainment. Don’t buy a lot of supplies that are single-use. Ask guests to bring potluck dishes. Relax and enjoy yourself!