Tips for Planning a Great Surprise Party

All parties are fun, but a surprise party is even more fun, both for the guests and for the guest of honor. However, a surprise party can also be nerve-wracking. There is so much to do, and everything has to be arranged with the greatest of secrecy.

Tips for planning a great surprise party include:

Invitations

Invite your guests at least a month in advance. If you know that all of them have email addresses, use that way to communicate instead of mailing paper invitations. Paper is easier for the guest of honor to find, and if not addressed correctly, can be returned in the mail. In the message, make it very clear that this is a surprise party and that no one should leave an RSVP on your voice mail.

When invitations have been sent, don't forget to delete the emails from your Sent and Trash folders. You never know if someone else might use the computer and accidentally stumble across your emails, letting the cat out of the bag.

Timing and transportation

Ask your guests to show up at least half an hour early for the party. You wouldn't want the the guest of honor to show up at the party location and see family members and friends heading the same way. Everybody should be safely inside by the time he or she arrives.

Ask your guests not to park near the venue. Nothing gives away a party like a number of parked, recognizable cars. Ask them to park as far away as possible. Alternatively, you could suggest carpooling and dropping off guests, especially those who have trouble walking.

Surprise strategy

To make sure that the guest of honor doesn't make plans for that day and not show up for the party, arrange with someone to invite him or her to a fake event. Just be careful whom you take into your confidence. Some people cannot keep a secret. Children love nothing better than learning a secret, but expecting them to keep it is usually unrealistic.

Enlist the help of another person to shop for the event. How are you going to explain coming home with paper plates, plastic cups and several tubs of ice cream? Arrange with someone to store the cake, the snacks, drinks and decorations.

Consider using a ruse

Consider having a mini-celebration for the guest of honor one or two days before the party. Cross your fingers and lie through your teeth as you tell him or her that you will have to work late on D-day or have an appointment somewhere. Taking this individual for a drink or a meal will throw him or her off balance without suspecting a thing.

Another option is to have a "sneaky" surprise party. This idea works well for smaller groups. Either plan to have the special celebration dinner at home, at a friend's house or even at a restaurant.

Shortly after the guest of honor arrives, your other guests should begin to drop in, making it obvious that you have managed to pull off a surprise party. A sneaky surprise party doesn't have to be as carefully orchestrated as having guests jumping out to yell, "Surprise!" The guest of honor will have just as much fun knowing that friends and family have gathered to celebrate the special occasion.