Surprise Party Planning Tips
Throwing a surprise party is always great fun and, of course, the whole idea is that it actually is a surprise and catches the “surprisee” totally off guard. You will have to take different precautions to keep the secret from getting out, depending on whether the surprisee is your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, one of your children or a close friend or family member. If the surprisee lives in another location, your job just became quite a bit simpler: you simply invite him or her over when it’s time for the surprise. If they live with you, however, then you’ll have to find ways (without arousing suspicion) to get them out of the house so that you can (a) plan the party, (b) decorate and (c) allow time for the guests to arrive.
You might even want to plan the party at another friend’s house so your surprisee has no way of knowing what you’re up to. On the actual day of the party, whether you send them on a brief shopping errand or whatever is up to you; just make it appear perfectly natural. Also, make sure it’s something they won’t spend too long at, and that they’re back at a certain time. You don’t want your guests hiding behind the couch for an hour, waiting. The weekend is usually the best time to throw a surprise party. That’s usually when your guests are available. You could also opt to throw a party in the evening during the week.
The key is to get your invitations out well in advance to make sure that your intended guests won’t have made other plans already. Write down a list of everything you’ll need for the party, including food and decorations then buy them on your next shopping trip or outing. But don’t bring the party accessories home; drop them off at a friend’s place to keep for the time being. You don’t want your surprisee noticing extra paper plates and other party supplies building up. After all, they know that they have a birthday or other special event coming up and it’d be natural for them to put two and two together. You will want to do a thorough housecleaning two or three days ahead of time and hopefully the fact that you’re cleaning the house shouldn’t raise your surprisee’s suspicions. Just make it appear part of your natural routine. (Deliberately “mess up” the house and leave things scattered if you have to, to give you a pretext to get into a full scale cleaning mode.)
If you think he or she is beginning to get an inkling that something’s up, don’t worry. Continue to act perfectly normal. Arrange for a few close friends to show up about half an hour after you have sent the surprisee out on an “errand,” the day of the party. They will bring the party supplies that they have stored, help prepare and set up the food, and decorate your house. Make sure that the guests don’t all park in your driveway either. Too many surprise parties have been given away by the surprisee coming home to see a dozen cars in the street in front of the house. Arrange for all the guests to park some distance away out of sight—either that or have them carpool.
When your surprisee returns, send him or her into the living room. It’s best if he has to turn on a light or open a door—as that will be the signal for all your party guests to jump up and yell, “Surprise!” You’ll want to enjoy his or her shocked expression for years afterward, as well as the joy and merriment that follows, so make sure you arrange to have a friend videotape the whole event.
