Top Ten Tips - Throwing A Surprise Party
By Tip Diva | Jun 15, 2008
Categories: Activities, Celebration, Children, Creativity, Decorating, Difficulty, Etiquette, Family, Friends, Fun, Party, Tips
Parties are always fun - especially if it’s a surprise for the guest of honor! Surprise parties, however, can be tricky to pull off, unless you do a little planning first:
- Make Sure The Special Person Likes Surprises First - You probably don’t want throw a surprise party for someone who’s easily startled, doesn’t like surprises or even has a medical condition that can be aggravated by unexpected events.
- Hold It On A Non-Suspicious Date - If you hold an event near a special date - even two weeks before or just after, the special person may get suspicious. Throw the party months before, or even on the date of someone else’s special event (with their permission, of course) to throw them off. One of Tip Diva’s friends had a surprise 49 1/2 party six months before he turned 50.
- Send Invites Via Postal Mail - There are invitation websites like Evites, but Tip Dive doesn’t think they’re foolproof. She’s had invitations sent to spam or bulk mail filters and never seen by the recipient. For an occasion as important as a surprise party, you want to make sure people see your invitation, so send it via snail mail - and don’t use your return address if the special person lives with you. Instead, send it to a another friend or family member’s house (and warn them first!)
- Put “It’s A Surprise” At The Top Of The Invitation - Don’t bury the fact that it’s a surprise party at the end of an invitation. Make sure the invitee knows right away that it’s a surprise party so they don’t accidentally mention it to the special person.
- Do Not Tell Children Or Other Blabbermouths Until Last Minute - Wait to tell children or other blabbermouths about the party until the last minute, just so they don’t go and spoil the surprise. You can warn them ahead of time that there will be an event on the certain date and time, but don’t get any more detailed than that.
- RSVP To An Number Or E-mail Not Accessible To The Special Person - Make sure you set the RSVP phone number or e-mail to one that is not accessible by the special person. If he or she lives with you, get another friend or family member to collect the RSVPs for you.
- Store Decorations And Other Party Goods Where Special Person Will Not Stumble Upon Them - Make sure the decorations and other party goods are stored in a place where the special person’s not going to find them, especially if they live with you. Store them at another person’s house, or even in the trunk of your car.
- Invite The Special Person Under The Disguise Of Another Event - The best way to invite the special person to the party is to invite them to “another” event of the same caliber, just to make sure they’re dressed for the occasion. You can disguise it as a surprise party for a mutual friend or family member or a congratulatory dinner for someone, for instance.
- Have People Park Their Cars In A Non-Visible Location - Make sure your guests park in a non-visible location - for instance, if the party is being held at your house, perhaps they can park down the block or on a side street. The special person may become suspicious if he or she sees out-of-state cars or her cousin Bob’s red Mustang.
- Invite The Guests At Least An Half An Hour Before Special Person Arrives - Tell guests to arrive half an hour before the special person is scheduled to arrive - and tell them the exact time the person is coming, so they don’t accidentally enter the place the same time the special person does.
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