Party Schedule

When planning a party, do you keep yourself and your guests to a particular “schedule” of events? For example, do you plan to do games for a certain amount of time, then move to food, then do dancing, etc? Or, do you just go with the flow? I can see how a schedule might be beneficial at parties for kids, but could feel forced or awkward at an adult party.

How do you go about moving guests from one portion of the evening to the next?

I agree with you that for a most part a schedule is great for a kids’ party but could become an annoyance at a party for adults.  For adults, it can depend on the party.  If you’re serving dinner, then you should certainly pick a time to serve the meal and stick to it.  As for when guests want to go from sitting around and chatting to dancing, then that’s something where it’s better to just let it happen naturally.

If you are trying to keep guests to a schedule of activities, I think one way to help transitions is to move the guests from one area to another.  For instance, when it’s time for a game, ask them to move from the dining area to the living room.

I think flexibility is important with any schedule, though. If you plan a half hour for kids’ games, but the kids are going crazy after twenty minutes, move on!  It’s not worth the struggle just to keep to a pre-set schedule.

Someone planning a 15th birthday party just left a comment asking for help with the event structure of the party.  Does anyone have any scheduling tips to add for a teen birthday party?

When I think of a teen party, I generally think of planning simultaneous events so everyone has options to keep them entertained.  For instance, you might have a video game setup in one area, but then also have a ping pong table on the other side of the room and a seating area where people can just lounge around and talk, listen to music, or play games.

Lori, I totally agree about simultaneous events! Also, even if you plan to serve a meal, you should have snacks available the whole time, too. Teens seem like they are always hungry and food is a good ice breaker for teenagers.