Throwing a Surprise Birthday Party

When it comes to surprise birthday parties, people generally fit into one of two categories: either they will love it or they will hate it. There is a lot of planning and preparation to undertake if you want to throw a surprise birthday party for that special someone. Before you spend any energy on ideas and plans, do yourself a favor and through any means possible try to confirm that the recipient would enjoy being shell-shocked with surprise. If it is an immediate family member or close friend, this should be easy to determine. However, if it is someone a little more removed from you, such as a co-worker or someone else less close to you, a well-intentioned 'surprise' could turn into an embarrassing situation.

Planning a birthday party creates a lot of busy work, as many of you probably have experienced. But, when you enter the realm of throwing a surprise birthday party, you have literally upped the ante. There are so many additional details to sort out, but where to begin may run through your mind. From start-to-finish let us take a lot at some basics you should be sure to cover to help you carry off a successful surprise party. Remember, the more organized you are, the less likely your plan will hit any snags.

• The Surprise Factor. The best place to begin is with the surprise itself. If you want the party to be a surprise, you and everyone involved must know how to keep a secret. Secrecy is key because as soon as anyone lets slip with any detail related to the party; you might as well give up the goat. When that happens, either the party recipient will be fully aware of what is going on, or they will figure it out by exposed clues. No one should ever discuss the party details within the vicinity of the celebrant, or anyone who might be considered suspect and could spoil the surprise by blabbing what they heard.
• Identify and Communicate with Cohorts. Are you going to undertake this event solely on your own, or have the help of a handful of secretive and deceptive individuals not unlike you? If you are having help, select those individuals you know you can trust to maintain a secret, and who are reliable to get their assigned tasks completed. Once in the active planning and carrying out of tasks, keep the communication lines open and clear. Be available to answer questions or concerns from your team, as well as any vendor you may contract.
• Secure a Location. Where the party should be held is one of the first items to decide, since many rental locations require advance reservation. In choosing a fitting location, determine the number of guests, how to decorate, catering, if there will be music, availability of parking, convenience to attendees, and rental fees. This is especially true if the plan is to hold the party at a private home or office because if the space is not suitable, then an alternate location will need to be promptly identified.
• The Plan. What type of surprise party are you throwing? If it is for a significant milestone, such as a 30th, 50th, or 60th birthday, you may want to plan a theme-style party, and use decorations that remind everyone of the important birthday that has been reached. This phase is when you break down into specifics the decorations, the cake, the guest list, the invitation style, the catering menu, if there will be music from a band or DJ, any special involvement from guests, and how to get the guest of honor to the party. Then, after all of these details have been discussed and are ready to set into motion, the tasks needs to be assigned to the team members. Keep in mind, you are Captain Planner, and must keep up-to-date on every detail.
• Send the Invitations. Once the invitation style has been determine, along with the guest list, it is time to get them in the mail. The invitations should clearly indicate: it is a surprise birthday party, the guest of honor, the date and time, the location, the RSVP date, and if a party requiring costume, the theme. Whoever on your team is responsible for getting the invitations sent out should have this completed 3 weeks before the party, and this person should also be responsible for collecting the RSVPs in order to accurately track the response rate. If there are stragglers by the RSVP date, the invitation mailer should begin contacting those individuals directly to confirm their status. It is important to have as accurate a head count as possible because of catering orders.
• Seek and Provide Status Updates. As the team leader, it is ultimately your responsibility to consistently obtain a status report from each team member on their assigned tasks by speaking with each one individually, and then conveying a total status update to the team, so everyone knows where the party stands at all times. This includes any contact with contracted vendors, like a caterer.
• Cover Your Tracks. Be aware of the location of your party information at all times. Be conscious of when you have update meetings, make phone calls, or send emails pertaining to the party. If everyone remains alert and covers their tracks, the surprise element of the party will remain in tact.
• Plan B. Everyone knows the purpose of a Plan B. If for any reason something could prevent your surprise party from occurring as planned, have an alternate plan that can be easily adapted to in the event something happens to an important feature of the party, such as the location had a flood, or the DJ had equipment stolen. Unfortunately, Plan Bs may not always turn out as great as the original plan, but they can help save the day on short notice. After all, the importance of the day is being together to celebrate a very special birthday person.
• The Delivery. All systems go. The party planning has gone off without difficulty, the party locale looks terrific, the food is ready; the DJ is waiting for his cue to help get the party started. The last detail you need is for the birthday person to show up for the casual family dinner expecting to take place. Well done, you have executed a successful surprise birthday party. Now, go celebrate!