Having an ultimate guide for tips on how to plan a surprise birthday party is something everyone needs. From figuring out who you want to invite to preparing the food and drinks, there’s plenty to keep track of.
If you’re ready to give a loved one a party they’ll never forget, we have all the must-have steps to follow to throw the best event.
How to Plan a Surprise Birthday Party: The Steps
Planning is the key to hosting the perfect surprise birthday party, especially if you don’t want the event to get leaked to the guest of honor.
Let’s go over all the easy-to-follow steps you can use to begin planning.
Step 1: Brainstorm Ideas
Undoubtedly, knowing where to start with a birthday party would be impossible unless you take some time to brainstorm.
Not only will you want to think about a theme but also the things your loved one would love to have at a party.
There are several areas where you’ll want to let your imagination run wild, including:
- Date and Time: The date and time of your event are two of the most important details you’ll want to get nailed down almost immediately.
These two factors can influence the rest of your party, down to who’s able to show up. - Location: The location of your surprise party is another essential factor to consider. Do you want to host the party at a restaurant or a water park?
Think of places that mean the most to your loved one and determine if the location has space to host a party of your size. - Guest List: Remember, guests are what makes a surprise party entertaining for the guest of honor. As such, you’ll want to ensure you’re inviting those closest to them, including friends and family.
- Activities: Everyone loves having something to do at a surprise birthday party aside from socializing for hours. Consider adding some activities into the mix or choosing a location with activities for people to participate in.
For example, you can find party games for everyone to enjoy to keep the positive vibes flowing. - Food and Beverages: Undoubtedly, you will need a collection of delicious food and drinks for people to enjoy. Making a full menu can help you properly prepare ahead of time or help you find a caterer, if necessary.
- Cake: The single most important part of any birthday is the cake. As the planner, you will need to decide whether you want one baked professionally or if you’d prefer to buy one from the grocery store.
Remember, if you’re putting a ton of effort into planning a surprise, the cake needs to be doubly amazing. - Gifts: Even though you’re putting a ton of time and effort into planning the perfect party, don’t forget your gift for the birthday person!
You don’t need to spend hundreds on something they’ll enjoy; something small and meaningful will have equally as much impact.
Step 2: Get a Team Together
With all the preemptive planning out of the way, it’s time to start recruiting bodies to help pull your surprise off.
You must choose a group of people known for keeping secrets, as you won’t want the surprise spoiled early. Assigning each person a role can be hugely beneficial, ensuring all planning areas are covered.
A few of the top-recommended people to have on your team include:
- Leader (You): Your primary job is to ensure that all your team members do their jobs. As a leader, you oversee all the booking activities, ensure things are completed on time, and help with anything forgotten.
- Location Scout: As a location scout, this person is responsible for liaising between your party and the location where you’re planning the surprise. They may have to work with others, such as the food and beverage lead, to determine pricing and menu options at your venue.
- Decorator: Whoever you assign as a decorator will be responsible for organizing the decor for the birthday party. From streamers to table coverings, they’ll have the most creative job out of the bunch.
- Food and Beverage Lead: The food and beverage lead is the sole person responsible for coordinating the snacks, meals, and refreshments for the event. This could mean finding caterers (depending on budget) or allocating cooking duties to other planning committee members.
- Guest Lead: As a guest lead, this individual is responsible for designing and sending out the invites. They will also have to manage the RSVPs and provide a final head count for the event.
- Guest of Honor Decoy: The final and likely most important person you need on your team is the point person for the guest of honor of their special day. This person’s job is to get the guest of honor to your venue of choosing unbeknownst to them.
Step 3: Set a Budget and Decide on a Theme
Your budget will affect every aspect of your party, so it’s important to settle on one earlier rather than later. The cost depends on the location, the attendees, and where you intend to host the event.
Ideally, you won’t want to spend too much, especially if you’re funding the endeavor alone.
Using a budget journal while party planning can be a great idea. It can help you track your finances and expenditures while designing the event. Also, it can make it easier to figure out how to share costs at the end with the other party planners (if necessary).
Once you have a budget in place, it’s now time to decide on a theme. Your theme could be anything from a kid’s zoo party to a luxurious 1920s flapper ball.
You’ll also want to consider the dress code for the event, as this should be included in the invitations before they’re sent out.
Most people find that going for a casual vibe for a surprise party is your best bet. This saves the attendees time and money as they don’t have to shop for formalwear.
However, if you know your guest of honor loves everything lavish, semi-formal to formal themes are a fantastic option.
Step 4: Book Your Vendors
With a theme and budget in mind, it’s time to book all the professionals you’ll need for the event, including the venue. Be prepared, as this is where most of your money will go, but it’s the most important step to pulling everything together.
Using the time and date you’ve chosen, start inquiring about catering, bartending, and location scouting to see if vendors are available.
Try to get as many deposits as possible, starting with the venue, and all of your other cards will fall into place. Once everyone is booked, you must ensure their payment is fulfilled on the day of the event.
We recommend keeping money envelopes for each vendor so you can keep your cash organized.
The top vendors you need to book during this time include:
- Venue decorators
- Balloon Arch Decorators
- Cake and pastry bakers/chefs
- Food and beverage caterers
- Transportation (if required)
- DJ or live music (if required)
Step 5: Design and Send Out Invitations
With the help of the decorator on your team, it’s time to design and send out invitations, as you have your vendors and location nailed down.
Be sure to include the most important information your guests will need to know, such as:
- Date and time
- Location
- Guest of honor’s name
- Purpose of the event (include surprise party)
- Dresscode information
- Meal information
- RSVP instructions
If you want an even more eco-friendly approach to invites, you can always use E-vites, fantastic digital invitations. What makes them even more convenient is guests can RSVP directly through email.
Step 6: Finalize the Decoy Plan
At this point of planning, all of the key steps to ironing out a surprise birthday party have been handled. You have your theme, decorations, booked vendors, and guest list. Now, it’s time to finalize the final part of the event: the decoy plan.
You’ll want to ensure you have the perfect steps in place so the guest of honor decoy knows what to do on the special day.
Make sure you cover all the bases, such as how they’ll make the day seem like any other day. Then, determine how they will get the guest of honor to the venue for their fantastic surprise!
Final Thoughts
Learning how to plan a surprise birthday party is much easier than most people think, especially with a solid plan.
From deciding on a theme to developing a decoy plan, anyone can host a surprise party for their loved ones. The top recommendation is to get started sooner rather than later!