A gathering of family and friends, whether it is a surprise or not, is always an event special to the person the event is meant to honor. Who doesn’t love a party just for them? Depending on the theme of the party and how casual or formal it will be planning such an event is always quite a challenge. A surprise birthday party holds even more challenges, but a surprise birthday party can also be as much fun for the birthday boy or girl as it can be for the people planning it.
Planning a surprise birthday must be done carefully. The whole idea of the surprise is that the honoree have no idea what is going on, or any inclination that there may be a party or event held in his or her name. This task can become very difficult with a particularly nosy or curious honoree. However, with care, it definitely can be pulled off. As long as planning is done quickly and well in advance, primarily when the honoree is no where near who is planning, the event should take off without a hitch.
As we have already mentioned, a good surprise birthday party should be planned well in advance. It is wise to plan any party or event in advance, to make sure that the venue, catering, decorations, and any live entertainment expected, such as a band or DJ, be all available and open on the same day. Another important reason to plan an event such as a surprise party in advance is to ensure that both the honored guest and the attendees will all be able to make it. Just think about how a surprise birthday party could be ruined if the birthday boy or girl could not make it!
It is a good idea to make plans to cover for the surprise birthday party. Because it is a surprise event for that special person, you do not want him or her to have any inkling of what is about to take place. It is smart to make plans with the honoree in advance for something not even close to what is about to occur and to actually carry out the “cover” plans to some degree. For instance, if you and the birthday girl decide on a day of shopping, start the day off that way. Head to the mall or her favorite boutique and then suggest you stop for lunch at the restaurant that the surprise event may be held at. Or, suggest stopping at a friend’s house (where the party is being held). As long as you carry out the plans to some degree, the level of suspicion will be greatly reduced.
Lastly, one of the key ingredients to a successful surprise event is the invitation that you will send out. If paper invitations are used, the surprise birthday invitations should always mention that the party is going to be a surprise and that no one should mention it to the honoree! If telephone or email invitations are used, similar precautions should be used. If an invitee does not know about the surprise element, he or she could easily ruin the whole thing unintentionally by discussing it with the honoree.