South Africa Event Planning

Surprise parties are, without doubt, loads of fun. Keeping the secret, planning the details stealthily, imagining the look on the person’s face and looking forward to the fun to follow are all part of the excitement. For first time surprise-party-planners, here are some things to think about and actions to take:

Would your guest of honour actually appreciate a surprise party? Not everybody enjoys a surprise. Do not judge your friend or colleague by whether you would like such a party, but whether you genuinely think they would enjoy it and value the thought. It is also important to consider whether he or she will take offence to the fact that there was planning and secret arrangements behind their back or if they detest being lied to. If they feel strongly about such matters, rather tell them your plans.

Is this really an appropriate occasion for a surprise party? There are some times that a surprise party simply is not appropriate, such as a New Year’s party or a party for someone that is very old or has heart problems. However, birthdays, promotions, welcome homes, farewells and so on are ideal opportunities to surprise your guest of honour.

Are you really capable of planning this party?
Look at yourself honestly and assess whether you have the time, energy and desire to plan a party while keeping it a secret. Also, do not take this responsibility on if you have a problem with lying to the person to hide the party from them or you have no support from the other potential guests.

Planning the date can be a particularly tough challenge since you have limited idea of the honourary guest’s (HG) schedule and cannot control how they chop and change their commitments. Get help from the HG’s friends and family so that they can ‘book’ him or her for a phantom event and you, therefore, have some concrete evidence that he or she will be available.

Have a fake party planned a week after the real one. Send your HG an invitation, share all your ideas with them, and so on, so that they are convinced that their party (for their birthday, graduation, etc…) is set for the fake date.

The venue is very important. It needs to be appropriate for a party but also needs to be a credible place for your HG to go without suspecting anything.

The discretion of your guests is paramount to keeping the secret. You should invite his or her usual group of friends, as well as old school friends that they may not have seen in a while, colleagues that they like, etc… The variety alone will create a pleasant surprise. Ask her friends if they know of anyone that you may have omitted.

When inviting the friends, ensure that they know that it is a surprise party and that the HG definitely must not hear anything about it. Opt for electronic invitations so that your HG cannot stumble on the written invitation lying around somewhere. If you know of people that cannot keep secrets, only tell them at the last minute and swear them to secrecy (you are not beneath blackmail).

You will have to have a decoy plan to get the HG to the particular venue. This decoy has to be believable, so take some time to think about it. Elect one friend to be responsible for ‘booking’ the HG for that day and time. Create a fake event that is relatively fun and attractive, so that the HG does not back out at the last minute. This could be dinner with their BFF, a shopping spree, a romantic dinner with their partner, and so on. Alternatively, plan the party but tell the HG that it is for someone else. Allow them to come into the venue, mingle, snack etc…  Then, have the rest of the guests suddenly scream “SURPRISE!” at him or her.

Ensure that your HG is told to arrive at the venue at least 30 minutes after everyone else, so that they do not pitch up at the same time as a guest that is running a little late. Just before the time that the HG is meant to arrive, contact the decoy friend and find out if he or she suspects anything.

Finally, be attentive to the needs and feelings of your HG throughout the party as he or she may be a little overwhelmed.