How To Plan A Surprise Birthday Party At The Last Minute!
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How To Plan A Surprise Birthday Party At The Last Minute!
Hello classic crew and happy Thursday! Welcome to another edition of my newsletter. How are you doing? It’s officially March - I can’t believe how quickly we are moving through 2023, can you? We are spending this weekend with Jacob’s parents, which is always lovely, and then we’re off to the races with the Jewish holiday of Purim! On Purim, we celebrate the story of Esther. We dress up in costumes, we give charity, and we deliver gift baskets to our friends. We read the megillah in synagogue and have a big party with our friends. And of course, we have a huge meal! It’s a ton of fun and I’m so excited because this is Mr. Baby’s FIRST Purim! We are dressing him up as Little John, and we are going as Robin Hood and Maid Marian. It should be a blast.
This past weekend, we celebrated a friend of mine’s birthday! She had been trying to plan her own party, and had been in contact with a painting place that kept putting off scheduling her date. She mentioned to me the Sunday before her birthday that it would likely fall through, and that she wouldn’t end up having a party. I nodded my head and sympathized, while secretly hatching my plan! That night, I called her husband and said, “If her plan falls through, let’s throw her a surprise party!” He agreed, and we started discussing possible options for that Saturday night.
Now, if you’ve ever planned a surprise party on short notice, you know how stressful and difficult it can be to get everything in order while also contacting the guests and keeping the birthday girl/boy in the dark. But it’s so worth it! Making someone feel loved and special is so wonderful.
I will give one caveat - I am not the biggest fan of surprises when they include making someone feel dejected in the days leading up to the event. For example, in order to keep the secret from my friend, we had to tell her that she was just having a small get-together and that it was too short notice to organize a larger group. She felt down about it, and that made me a little uncomfortable. Instead, I recommend planning the surprise well in advance so that you can plan other things around his/her birthday that will still make him/her happy. For example, if you want to throw your husband a surprise party, plan a fancy dinner with a couple friends another night so that he still feels special.
But now, I want to share my top tips for planning a surprise birthday party at the last minute, and how to make it as fun as possible! So let’s get into it.
Choose an activity the birthday girl/boy will love but that’s low overhead for YOU. When you plan a surprise birthday party, figure out what the birthday girl/boy would enjoy the most. For my friend, we knew that she’d enjoy a group activity! We chose to go axe-throwing, and she LOVED it. For someone else, it might be getting dressed up and going to a nice dinner. For another person, it might be heading to a speakeasy! Figure out exactly what would make the birthday girl/boy have a great time, and then - here’s the crucial part - make sure it’s low overhead. Since the party is happening on short notice, I wouldn’t recommend trying to host a huge meal at your home or create a complicated art project in your backyard. Instead, I’d find a location everyone can go to and that you can simply make a reservation as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Get the invitation out as quickly as possible. Once you figure out the time and the place, get out the invitation as quickly as you can. You want to make sure you book people sooner than anyone else, and you’re already working against the clock! As well, you want to give your guests an opportunity to get babysitters or organize their evenings so that they can attend. And for your own sake, you need a headcount if you’re going to reserve spots for dinner or at a fun activity. You can make fun invitations online on Canva if you’re looking for templates!
Keep the food and drinks simple. Once again, the key word here is simple. If you’re not going to a fancy dinner and instead you’re hosting something like a game night at your house, keep the food and drinks simple. Since you’re working on a limited time frame, you need to keep things easy for yourself so that you can actually accomplish them. Instead of trying to make fancy snacks or prepare a whole feast, get pizza. Buy chips, crackers, and cookies. Get a store-bought cake. Make your life easier by skipping the hard steps and simply getting food on the table.
Come up with a fun and plausible distraction the night of to get him/her out of the house. Okay, so you managed to plan the whole event. But how are you going to keep the birthday girl/boy out of the house for the surprise? I am not a fan of using a negative reason to get someone out of the house. Things like, “It’s an emergency!” or “I’m in desperate need of your help!” can really set someone up to feel negatively before walking into a party full of their closest friends. Instead, aim for something fun and plausible. The night of my friend’s birthday, I invited her over and offered to do her hair and makeup. She didn’t think it was weird for a second, and to be honest, it was a lot of fun. The lead up to her birthday was even more special. For you, it could be getting a drink with friends or going to Target to get him a small present. Whatever makes sense, go with it. But aim for a happy distraction rather than a negative one.
And those are my tips for planning a last-minute surprise party! Have you ever planned a party like this? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Any Questions for Elisha Krauss?
For next week’s podcast, I will be chatting with the conservative commentator, Elisha Krauss. Submit YOUR questions for the two of us in the comments below! As well, if you’d like to send a more personal question, feel free to send it to askclassicallyabby@gmail.com.
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