Planning my 30th

Reaching the age of 30 can feel strange—like waking up one day and realizing your favorite childhood toy is now a collector's item. Organizing a party? That can feel like herding cats on roller skates! But fear not! Here are some useful tips to simplify the process.

Throwing a party when I turn 30 was not always on my list. Maybe that is because I never imagined myself turning 30. I always stopped calculating my age after 28.

But anywho. Its here. Its happening and I am grateful.

I started thinking about how I want to celebrate my day- about six months ago. I knew I wanted to celebrate it with friends- just didn’t know how.

At first I thought- maybe we should take a trip to Vegas or something. Then after an awesome December filled with travel & great food, I just didn’t feel like traveling. Plus, I didn’t know if any of our friends wanted to travel. January birthdays always have that disadvantage. No one is that enthusiastic about the parties after they literally spent a month celebrating.

But I decided I want to throw a party anyway.

The first question that came to my mind was Where? and then a floodgate opened and million more questions came in. So I decided to break them down.

GUEST LIST

Get the count guesstimate. This helps you to plan the venue and menu.

Evaluate your options based on your guest list, venue & menu.

To set a budget I need to know the range we are looking at. I don’t know what I am comfortable spending unless I see the actual cost for the product.

The few options I was looking at for a party in town- cute outdoor picnic, Dine-in party at a restaurant, a party thrown in our community lounge space and a party at our own home.

I started collecting quotes for the venue, and turns out- those pretty instagram worthy picnics you see- are insanely expensive! It can run you $500 just for the setup for two people and no food included.Also, January in the US is cold & wet so I didnt want to take that risk.

The second option of dine in restaurant, was something I had observed once with a catered set menu. The only problem is that restaurants have a minimum spend policy which comes to $1000+ for high end restaurants. So that was too expensive.

I knew that I had to find a middle ground- so I decided that my budget for hosting would be $400- $700 including food for almost 10 people.

We decided to host a party in the comfort of our home.

BUDGET

You can throw a party with a simple pizza & soda or you can throw a party with a budget that could almost pay for someone’s wedding. Its a very personal choice. I didnt want to spend like crazy but I also didnt want a takeout pizza & soda. So I settled on $750 ish.

Personal touches always go a long way

THE CREATIVE ASPECT

This is my favorite party about hosting. Let your inner artist out and get creative with everything for the party.

THEME IT UP

The theme I chose was A Tini Bit Older.

Not gonna lie, I got inspiration from Hailey Beieber’s 28th birthday. Also, she is a mom already, which seems insane to me. Sigh. anyway, I find her cute and thought the theme was cute so I wanted the same.

I got to work and started researching on pinterest for inspo. Thats the best place I swear. Started to search for Decor, invites, party supplies, food arrangements etc.

THE MENU

I used Canva for creating a drinks menu. I love canva as it is easy to design using available templates as well as create your own. Their free version offers incredible options for different templates created by very talented designers.

Choose items that will complement each other and create a balance. For e.g. Have three appetizers, one is spicy savory, one is salty and one is sweet savory. Cheese boards and fruit boards are great options to keep for grazing throughout the party.

PERSONALIZED TOUCHES

Kept it extremelys simple by playing a few boardgames like pictionary, family feud. If I had the time, I would have created theme party games but thats okay. Whatever is possible for you.

The personalized touches - Etsy’s cocktail toppers, a printed drinks menu and hand written food labels really elevated the experience. I will surely be using this idea for my next party.

PREPARATION

Made a shopping list two weeks before and started ordering from online vendors. This gives you ample time to make sure supplies arrive early and you have time to exchange any item you does not look or feel good in person.

LIST OF ITEMS (not sponsored):

Here is some of the things I used

Amazon Balloon Set

Etsy Cocktail Toppers

Amazon Shot glasses & Martini Glasses

Smirley Chartcuterie Boards

Amazon Cocktail Shaker set

Sent out rsvp invites well in advance to get count for how many people would be coming. This was mainly so that we can place order for catering. Always remember there will last minute drop outs- so consider that.

A day before we ensured the pick up time for cake and food is set. I was preparing some of the food items at home - like the chutneys for chaat. also cut the fresh fruit and wrapped in plastic wrap to keep fresh.

I cleaned and dried all of the drinkware, dishes, serving bowls and spoons the night before. Semi-arranged everything to ensure I am liking the placement of what goes where.

Also made the baloon garland and decorated the space in advance- that way I didnt have to spend a lot of time on the day off.

I broke my tradition of baking my own cake this year. I will make it for next events so stay tuned.

And lastly I cleaned all of the areas where guests would hang out such as the living room, kitchen, inner bedroom and also the bathroom. Ensure the bathroom is stocked with toilet paper, handsoaps etc.

On the day of the party:

I like to get ready first and then serve the food, I wear plastic gloves so that my hands are not smelling of food before the party.

Arrange everything, light some candle or incense for a pleasant smell in the house. Turn on some music to set the vibe.

PERFECTION IS A MYTH

No matter how hard you try, there is always room for improvement.

I took pictures of the preparation but I should have taken more pictures of the actual food layout and everything. Next time I will remember to do that.

For cocktails and mocktails, I will squeeze lime/lemon juice in advance. I had cut lemons/lime wedges. It does give a fresh feel but take a long time and creates a mess when you are trying to serve drinks.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was kind of the first party I threw with fancy additions and for a mid-size group. Just have fun with the planning and execution. Remember you are throwing a party for yourself and your closed ones. Unless you are a professional (who this article is NOT for), its okay to mess up somethings. There is always a next time to correct it!

Cheers 🙂