Perhaps your boyfriend, fiancé or spouse has a birthday on the horizon, or your brother, sister or grandparents have a milestone date quickly approaching. The dream surprise birthday party is brilliant if done right, but if done wrong could end in disaster and tears. It’s very much a case of the earlier you plan, the better the end result.
Whether you are a first-time party planner or avid party fan in need of getting your brain whirring, Insure Our Event are here to help provide some points of reference for your big do. Doesn’t matter if you are planning for 10, 100 or 1,000, these tips will apply to any and every surprise birthday party. Insure Our Event can cater to any size party with our flexible instant quotation service so you know exactly what you are getting.
There are a few essential points of reference that you need to consider before running a big surprise birthday party:
Choose A Theme
Surprise parties don’t necessarily need a theme, however many agree parties are almost always better when everyone is dressed up and has made an effort upon attendance. Having the guest of honour in normal clothes while being surprised by a bunch of friendly pirates or cavemen is always hilarious and makes for a good story. Make sure you’ve got some dress appropriate accessories tucked away so they can play along later, be it an eye patch or themed hat.
Here are some of the best birthday party themes:
- 70s/80s Disco
- Sports Personalities
- Mexican
- Downton Abbey
- Greek Toga
- Pirates
- Superheroes and Villains
- Black Tie
The Decoy Plan
To truly ensure the guest of honor knows nothing about the surprise party, you’ll need a decoy. Either have yourself or one of their friends take them away for the day while everything gets set up at the venue. Then the tricky part is getting the guest of honor to the venue without ruining the surprise. This is why careful venue selection is essential to ensure no suspicion is raised.
Book the Venue
Research shows: 69% of event planners select venues based on word of mouth recommendations. 58% will use search engines and 34% use online listings and marketplaces. Look up some of the hottest spots near you and get in touch. Ask for their price list and their requirements; aka date, time, insurance, space.
Depending on how big your surprise birthday party you may want a larger venue. Enquire as to whether it comes with food and drink, or if entertainment is supplied. You could be getting a great deal!
Rent Entertainment
Depending on the space available, whether it be at you home or at a local venue, entertainment is key. Musicians make any event special and memorable, or maybe you want a magician to entertain the kids.
Bear in mind, entertainers and performers will need insurance. Insurance protect you from a potential public liability claim or theft of property at the event.
Enlist Event Staff
Party organisers sometimes need a helping hand for a larger parties, especially if you want to enjoy yourself as well. Paid event staff are an option, employed to serve guests hors d’oevres or foor set-up and disassembly of the event. Security could also be necessary, maintaining the guest list and keeping the party exclusive. For community-focussed parties maybe you’ve roped in some volunteers who can assist with the catering and running of the event.
Whether it be paid staff or volunteers, you will need employers’ liability insurance to stay financially protected. This will provide up to £10 million of cover for your legal liability to pay damages, claimants costs and expenses in relation to an employee injury.
Employers’ liability insurance
Arrange Food and Drinks
The food and drinks could aline with your theme. Tapas, papayas, tex-mex, BBQ or a traditional buffet are options. The venue may offer to cater your event, or you may need to hire professional caterers.
And a big birthday cake is essential, don’t forget that! Cancellation insurance will ensure that if an unforeseen circumstance occurs, the cost of catering and services and venue hire will be covered.
Get Birthday Party Insurance
The last thing you want is to worry about when planning a party is the impact of a claim on your wallet. Slips, trips and falls are almost to be expected at any good party, and it’s important to remain protected. Party expenses can go into their thousands, from the venue to catering, entertainment and all the extras, and legal fees from a claim should not be added to the pile.
Get a Birthday Party Insurance quote
Invite The Guests
Who’s on the guest list? Do you need to buy or make special cards to send out to invitees? This could be essential as you will need to clearly communicate the fact that this is a surprise party. Add “surprise party” to the evite subject line and the main header of the message. Include parking and entrance instructions for those who want to jump out and surprise the guests. And for those who will arrive later, ask them to hold off until 15 minutes after the planned guest of honor arrival time so they don’t walk in during the surprise.
