How to Throw Parties for Less
Parties are a gift and a curse. In your imagination, everyone’s roaming around having the time of their lives enjoying your dynamic taste in catering.
But in real life, there’s tons of waste in leftover food, stained furniture, and people whose eyes never leave their cell phones the entire event. Boost your event planning confidence by throwing parties for less.
Less money and less waste mean you can throw a guilt-free event and maybe sneak in a dance or two yourself. Check out these tips on how to party for less.
Reducing Waste
One of the least green things about parties is that they over assume guest needs. By nature, catering is about excess.
Your event caterer always brings around 15 percent more than you quote as a guest count. For them, their reputation is based on guests feeling satisfied. Running out of food is one of the top ways a caterer can leave a negative impression.
But you can cater your own event and opt for snacks instead of savory meals. The key to getting away with not having a full spread is a time of day.
Plan your event to start in between meals. After lunch is the best time because no one expects to eat again.
The exception is events centered around food like a BBQ or dinner party. These food-themed parties are expected to deliver a spread no matter what time of day they’re hosted.
Reducing Money
Pinterest is a portal of decor excess. The decor ideas are gorgeous, but rarely are they set up to save you money.
Focus your event planning efforts on guest experience and not Pinterest-worthy party photos. If decor is a must, focus it around the food table where it’ll get the most visibility.
Give yourself one table and go crazy with the design. Limit yourself to one or two discount retail outlets to keep your spending in check.
Never buy when you can borrow from a friend or family member. No one ever said party decor had to be original.
Using the sequin backdrop from your cousin’s wedding is absolutely ok to add a little sparkle to the event. The key is being creative with what you have.
You’ll thank yourself after the event when instead of finding a place to store a million items you don’t need, you can simply hand them back over to their original owner.
Throwing Parties for Less
Throwing parties for less isn’t a difficult job if you have both the present and future in mind. Where will all the decor go once the event is over?
Are you comfortable taking home trays of food after the event? The biggest issue with event planning is that people forget about the aftermath. Help the planet and your pockets by throwing parties for less waste and less money.
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