The first obstacle to overcome in throwing a surprise party of any kind is to make sure the person(s)-to-be-surprised will be there to enjoy all the hard work you’re going to put into organizing this party.

My suggestion off the bat is: don’t do it alone! More people invested in this party’s success means less stress, more brainstorming and more time efficiently managing and implementing all the tasks a party entails.

The next step is deciding a “theme" for the surprise party. At first, you might think it’s a good idea to have a get-together just casually, without much fanfare (read: without theme, specific decorations, guidance for the attire etc.) but you would be wrong, because that’s not a surprise party!. A surprise party has the same “ingredients” as a simple get-together-party (people, place, time and reason - see HERE) but the main element that makes it into something more is that you transform the simple and known into something… well, surprising!

Think about WHY you are organizing a surprise party in the first place (and the reason for the party in and of itself might give you the theme already … and then you can follow the steps I’ve outlined in THIS SERIES). A “theme“ will make all the stages of planning and implementing and all the decision-making easier.

So, last month, my daughter’s two friends had their birthdays and she wanted to surprise them with a cocktail themed party (and involved the whole circle of their friends), since the girls are mildly obsessed with cocktails. We had the theme, my daughter chose the combined favorite colors of the girls (gold and silver with an accent of pink), they’ve set a date, we started on the decorations,

BUT

circumstances interfered and the party is on hold until further notice (the party is still a surprise, it’s just postponed). But because we did all the work I wanted to show you that you don’t need much (the “friends” are all university students and on a budget!) to throw together a surprise party!

[Of course, it helps if your Mom is an event organizer and decorator, specializing in paper projects!]

There’s a “treasure hunt” and the clues are written on these cocktail themed folded papers (could be used as invitation, too)
There’s a feature wall (with paper flowers and balloons) for taking pictures in front
A Happy Birthday banner
Cupcake toppers,
Party hats,
Cocktail glasses,
Confetti cannons,
Paper plates, napkins, popcorn boxes, ice cream bowls, straws, etc.