I love this section!

Children's Parties

1. Sunday is a better day than Saturday to a have children's parties. Fact.
- It won't ruin your Friday night and full Saturday.
- If you are the type of person who hates shopping, you will save a lot of money by not having to buy your party stuff at the last minute.
- There are countless more little reasons, that I will not get into as this would be a very boring page!

2. The earlier you have the party starting (especially on a Sunday)
- The earlier the other parents' children will be collected
- The less you will have to clean up.
- The less chance children will be cranky at the end of the party.

3. Children are never late. Parents are late. Giving an invitation to a child is a good idea. Sending texts to parents is a GREAT idea!

4. This is not really a good tip so much as a clever idea: One mother I knew wrote the presents her child received on a bit of paper, so she would have a record in years to come. Another mother put all the presents into a pile and took a photo. When I asked the second mother why she did it that way she had two killer reasons: Firstly she had been doing it for years, secondly once upon a time she had lost a bit of paper...

5. If you intend on serving substantial food, you will need to let the parents know to deliver the children hungry. Otherwise you will end up with lots of waste and/or eating cold sausages for days. Days I tell you.

6. If you don't buy Coke, no one will care.

7. A bouncing castle can be a waste of money. There are a lot of variables to consider - do the kids (not your kids) like bouncy castles? Most parents assume they do. I would recommend actually asking them directly. It may sound odd, but a lot of kids will probably tell you that they have been on one recently, or even "They're for babies!" You would be surprised.

8. Believe it or not, you can actually ask your child to write you your supermarket shopping list. It might sound crazy, but chances are they will help you not to over spend and love being in control.

Weddings

To be fair, there are a lot of good tips in the wedding section. I urge you to read it again.

Corporate Options & Private Parties

1. I have generally found that these events fall into:
a) Everybody knows everybody (e.g. Team night out)
b) Half the people (or less) know anyone (e.g. Christmas parties with employees and spouses, or even some weddings)
Some of the best event planners I know are very conscious of this fact, and make many decisions based on it. These event planners hire me as
'I-really-think-the-team-is-going-to-love-this" or
"I-would-like-to-break-the-ice-and-get-people-laughing"

2. Everybody loves magic.

3. No. 2 might seem like a weak point. Read it again!

4. Think about your event. Give yourself a few minutes. Close your eyes and count to 5.
This may seem crazy, but just go with it. Read the next sentence out loud:
"WHAT IS THE DESIRED EFFECT?"
'Christmas Staff Party' should not be the answer to this question. The answer should be something like: "something to remember forever" or "seeing something new". Every scrap of money you spend as an event planner needs to ADD to the desired effect. If you communicate this to everyone you hire, they will be motivated, they will work harder for you, they will want to help you in exactly the way you want to be helped.

5. Event planning can be a chore, a task, a To-Do. Don't let it be! Event planning is addictive if you are working on "the desired effect", the ultimate goal! You will catch yourself day-dreaming in no time...

6. Outsource!

7. More Outsourcing!

I will look forward to adding to this section from time to time.