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Everyone needs a surprise party at least once in their life. All the extra planning that goes into it is well worth the look of shock and delight on your guest of honor’s face.
With some strategic planning, you’ll be well on your way to making any surprise party a huge success.
Even a “spontaneous” throwdown will benefit from good planning -- just not by the guest of honor. Here how to make your surprise party a success! Click To TweetGather Your Guest List
You’ll want to do this in advance to make sure everyone can make it. Definitely remind them to be extra hush hush if they happen to talk to whoever the party is for.
If the surprise party is for a child, it’s probably a better idea if all the parents conspire together and leave all the kids out of the loop. Children aren’t as great at keeping the cat in the bag!
Go All Out With Decorations
A surprise party needs to make a big impression as soon as the guest of honor enters the room. In other words, a grander visual entrance is required (when compared to regular parties).
Here are some ways you can make a big “bang.”
- Fill the whole room with colorful balloons or create a net of balloons above the door that can be released.
- Hang streamers from the ceiling, or if your balloons are helium-filled, make sure they have shiny curled ribbon hanging from them.
- String lights around party tables and doorways for a unique luminescent atmosphere.
- A big sign or banner with the person’s name or a meaningful message will add an extra personalized touch as well as a big impression.
Plan Activities
Once everyone is assembled, and the guest of honor has arrived, it’s time to get the party started.
The activities might change a bit depending on the type of party, and maybe it’s nostalgia, but adults LOVE getting their chance at revisiting favorite childhood party games.
Here are some ideas for activities that will engage all of your guests:
- Bringing out your guest’s competitive sides with some contests and prizes will help bring life to your party. Some ideas include charades, flashcards, poker, or if space and weather permits, a dunking booth and sack races.
- Organize a fun trivia game featuring questions about the guest of honor or regular trivia if preferred.
- Sticker stalker, everyone gets a sheet of stickers and tries to place stickers on everyone else without them noticing. Games like this can be played throughout the party in the background.
- Provide a variety of board games for guests to play. They’re a great way to bring people together and conversate.
- If you have access to a pool, this opens up all kinds of possibilities!
Create a Theme
Choosing a theme can be both fun for guests and easier for you to come up with specific decorating ideas, food, music, or activities.
Here are a few theme ideas:
- If you’re planning the surprise around a particular holiday, then make it share a theme with that holiday. You can add seasonal activities and decorations to your party as well.
- If there happens to be a certain movie, show, book, or anything else the guest of honor is known to be a fan of, then you can make the party extra memorable for them by incorporating that theme.
- If the party is meant to celebrate a particular event in the person’s life, such as an anniversary, baby shower, or graduation, then that can be incorporated into the theme as well.
Next time you’re up to the task of arranging a celebration, try incorporating some of these ideas, and you’ll be better prepared for throwing a fun and memorable surprise party.
Has anyone ever thrown you a surprise party?
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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Some excellent ideas for a surprise party!
I agree that it is sensible to refrain from telling children about a surprise party. Far too much of a risk.
I had a surprise party, aged 13. It was a small party and only girls were in attendance. I was well and truly surprised and will never forget the effort my mum made.
I agree. Children would spill the beans. My son can’t ever keep a secret LOL.
I don’t have surprise parties to organize, but there are some ideas here which can be used at other parties. I like trivia games about the guest of honour. The Sticker Stalker sounds like fun.
Very true. A lot of these ideas can be used for any party 🙂
I love surprise parties, and I’m always impressed when people can pull them off successfully! Maybe if I leave my browser open to this page, my husband will see it and start planning me a party?
Haha. Maybe he will. I wouldn’t want a surprise party. I think it would give me anxiety LOL.
What fun! Yes, I did get treated to a surprise party once and loved it!
Sounds like you had a blast!
I’ just realized, I’ve never been to a surprise party! I’ve had parties where someone planned a surprise during the party which I liked. I would love to throw one for someone who I knew would really enjoy having one. A surprise party would be a great gift!
I think for me throwing one would be more fun than receiving one LOL.
I don’t remember ever throwing a surprise party. If, however, I do someday, I’m sure I will remember some of these ideas.
A lot of these tips could be used for any party 🙂
Great ideas! I once did a themed surprise party for a friend who loved Harry Potter, it was a lot of fun!
Ohh, a Harry Potter surprise party sounds amazing!!
You know what my problem is? I’m a horrible secret keeper!! If I’m trying to throw a surprise party or I got one of my kids a really awesome present..it eats me up inside and I want to tell them so bad! Thank you for the helpful tips!
Haha, you sound like my husband. He gets so excited and just has to share the suprise
I love the theme idea. Thanks for the suggestions!
Have you ever thrown a surprise part before?