. . . to Plan and Enjoy Your Own Party

Do you spend days cooking, baking, freezing and cleaning and then flap wildly around the kitchen when you should be mingling with your guests?

Do you run chaotically all over town trying to find paper napkins to match your plastic plates, or flowers to fit in with your party decor?

Here is advice gathered from party-planning experts that should help you enjoy your own parties.

Decide the five Ws--the who, what, when, where and why. That is, choose your guest list, type of party, the date, location and purpose of the party. Then decide the H--how much--and figure out your budget.

First the Guest List

Invite as many people as you want, without overriding the space and budget. Figure that 75% of the people you invite will show up. Ask early, two to three weeks in advance. If you give people a month’s notice or more, they tend to forget.

It’s a good idea to mail invitations rather than make phone calls. Messages left on answering machines are often erased or forgotten, and an invitation makes your gathering sound more important.

You can go to a printer for fancily designed invitations, or simply write or type your party information on a piece of paper and make photocopies. You might cut out an appropriate picture from a magazine and tape it to the page, or have someone you know with artistic talent draw or illustrate a design for your party.

Include the address, an illustrated map, directions and a phone number. Also let guests know the reason for the party and its theme, if it has one.

It’s a good idea to have people RSVP so you can get an estimate of who’s coming. If people fail to call back, some hosts and hostesses feel it’s acceptable to call them one week ahead of time to see if they’re coming.

Decide what kind of party you’re having--perhaps cocktail, dinner or after dinner--and if it will be in the yard, by the pool, on the patio or in the living room. Be sure to think of a bad-weather alternative if your party will be outdoors. Also decide if your party is for social, business or family reasons, or to honor a special occasion.

To spare your family any inconvenience, you may consider renting a hall. When scouting locations, consider the geographic location and room size, suggests Nancy Maizlish, assistant at Celebrations International. Places can make a party especially memorable; interesting ones include mansions, old homes, art galleries and yachts.

For other good ideas, you might consult “Meeting & Event Planning Guide,” a booklet edited and published by Susan Freas, 2811 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 590, Santa Monica, (213) 829-0516, which can be picked up free of charge or sent by mail for $1.50 (to cover postage and handling). The booklet suggests sites, services and suppliers for event organizers.

Use your imagination when deciding on a theme for your event. The familiar themes often focus on a nationality, such as Mexican, Hawaiian or Italian (gondolas in a swimming pool), or an era, such as the Roaring ‘20s, the ‘50s or ‘60s. New ideas include murder mysteries, casino night, country and Western, games (video and/or board games are the central focus). Parties during the holiday season present obvious and easy motifs to follow.

Then combine other party ingredients--the food, decor and entertainment--to create the ambiance you desire. These other components should come easily when you have decided your five Ws.

If budget isn’t a problem, party-planning services can handle the job from start to finish or fill in when you run out of time and ideas. Decide what things you need help with.

Options include people to serve the food and clean up; catering services, which cook the food as well as serve and clean up, or party-planning services, which do it all, including site selection, invitations, catering, decorations and entertainment.

Prices range from $20 per hour for a party server to thousands for coordinating everything. Sometimes you can cover the cost of a party specialist’s services from the savings they can negotiate for you on sites and suppliers.

“A lot of caterers prefer (to coordinate a party) and can offer entire party-planning services, including flower arrangements, decor, setup and cleanup,” says editor Freas.

Food Makes an Event

Many parties are remembered for their food. The hour that food will be served is a factor. People eat more at 5 p.m. cocktail parties, or around mealtime, than they do at 8 or 9 p.m. after-dinner parties.

Food can be served at a regular sit-down meal, from a buffet table or on pass-around trays. Buffet style is often the easiest and most accommodating to guests, because they can eat as much as they want at their leisure and have the most freedom.

If you’re doing the cooking, try using items that can be prepared in batches, such as potatoes, rice, pastas. They yield huge quantities at negligible cost and are easy to prepare.

Good main courses are easy-to-make dishes, such as baked ham or roast turkey. Raw vegetables, assorted cheeses, fresh fruit and pastries are also good bets. Food should be attractive, with lots of colors and garnishing.

Cook and freeze anything that can be prepared ahead of time, and then let it recover to room temperature. Keep refrigerated foods covered with plastic wrap until just before party time.

Try not to run out of ice. If you can find a place that will deliver, it will save a last-minute trip to the supermarket or liquor store.

Entertainment bureaus and party services can usually obtain the type of entertainment you want--magicians, jugglers, belly or hula dancers, musical groups--but get your bid in early. Expect these services to add a percentage to the cost, their fee for arrangements.

Sometimes they will have pictures or videotapes of the performers, but often you must take the service’s word that the act is of professional quality.

If you want to book the entertainment yourself, you might go to (or call) the club or restaurant that offers the kind of act you want.

Music, a staple of most parties, need not be live. A disc jockey is usually less expensive than musicians and can play any type of music, be it mariachi, big band, ‘50s hits, jazz or a mixture.

Amateur musicians usually perform inexpensively or for free for the experience of performing. Just make sure they are appropriate for your audience.

You might consider unusual entertainers, such as live mannequins; celebrity look-alikes; costumed artists like zoot-suited gangsters or toga-toting Greeks, or planted professional party-goers. The latter may be fighting couples, amorous couples, drunk maids or bartenders, a pregnant woman whose time has come or a fighting mother-daughter. Usually they have an act.

Decorations: “Keep it simple,” Maizlish says. “Balloons are wonderful and liven up anything. Black and silver are good colors to dress up an occasion, while a rainbow of colors is fitting for outdoor fiestas or picnics.”

Helium balloons are most practical because they stay in the air, and helium tanks can be rented at a party store. Don’t pump up the balloons till the day of the party.

If you’re using crepe paper, put it out the day of the party, because moisture from the evening air will wilt it. Also, buy and arrange fresh flowers the day of the party.

Then hang out guest towels, set out fresh soap and do last-minute touch-up housecleaning.

Now that everything’s ready to go, relax and enjoy your own party.

Party Planners

(List courtesy of “Meeting & Event Planning Guide,” available at some chambers of commerce.)

A-1 Showtime, 19400 Business Center Drive, Suite 111, Northridge, (818) 347-5284.

Celebrations International, 5820 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300, Los Angeles, (213) 938-7121.

Entertaining Ideas, 330 Golden Shore, Suite 280, Long Beach, (213) 436-3070.

Exciting Events, 4228 Kling St., Burbank (by appointment), (818) 841-5313.

Lucky Entertainment, 10271 Almayo Ave., Suite 101, Los Angeles, (213) 277-9666.

Parties Concepts, 345 Bentel Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 820-2255 or (213) 472-3450.

Parties Plus, 3455 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 838-3800.

Sandra Jean Hann and Co., 279 S. Beverly Drive, Suite 1156, Beverly Hills, (213) 276-5323.

Special Events Enterprises, 8700 Reseda Blvd., No. 103, Northridge (by appointment), (818) 709-1229.

Wonderful World of Fantasy Productions, 2869 S. Robertson Blvd., West Los Angeles, (213) 202-7007.

Party Rentals and Suppliers

Abbey Party Rents, 1001 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 652-2760. Also in Pasadena and Canoga Park.

Dolphin Party Rentals, 404 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, (818) 795-5131.

Fiesta Party Rentals, 8556 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 931-1511.

Party World Inc., 19450 Business Center Drive, Northridge, (818) 993-1188. Also locations in Burbank, Thousand Oaks, Woodland Hills, West Los Angeles, Huntington Beach and City of Industry.

Pico Rents, 6035 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 936-8268.

Vine American Party Stores, 5969 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, (213) 467-7124.

Wilburn’s Discount Party Center, 8730 Sante Fe Ave., South Gate, (213) 569-7169.