Party Planning: Using a Diagram

We have a friend. We'll call him Jeremy. When we first met Jeremy we were invited to his house for a party--and it was a good one. But when we were there we noticed this piece of paper behind a glass cabinet...

Sure, we've made plenty of lists for parties before but this one is unique. This list doubles as a detailed diagram of the party venue (in this case, his apartment). Wanting to make sure that there was proper seating for all of his guests, he sketched out the number of people that could comfortably hang out (21-24 to be exact). We kind of love this. Not only is it a list with essential items (food to be bought, where the drink station will live, who's invited, etc.), it's also a memento. A reminder of an eventful evening with close friends and new aquaintances. It's a blueprint of his old apartment if he ever happens to move. Plus, the drawing would look super neat behind a frame--instant conversation piece.

Relating Party Planning Posts

Top 15 Holiday Party Tips

Vacation at home: Decorate for a Party

Good Questions: Will Everyone Fit at Our Wedding? (or are we screwed?)

Comments (9)

Man of my dreams!! I can't believe anyone else does this besides me. I also make a menu with a list of the serving dishes I'm going to use for each dish.

posted by Charlotte on August 12th 2008 at 3:07pm
view Charlotte's profile

I make a spreadsheet with all dishes I'm going to make, ingredients i need, serving items, flowers, etc., then sort it various ways to make a shopping list, timeline, menu, overall party/dinner checklist. I can check back later so I won't repeat too many items. I can't do without it.

posted by nene on August 12th 2008 at 5:16pm
view nene's profile

nene... spreadsheets run my life. excel, the ultimate list machine!

posted by venus_thames on August 12th 2008 at 6:15pm
view venus_thames's profile

How does anyone survive planning & hosting a party WITHOUT such a list/ spreadsheed???

Well, I´m a list maniac. (Handwritten, never excel, that evil device.) And as an architect, I can´t even move furniture around without drawind a floorplan first... I simply love doing that!

posted by katiaG on August 13th 2008 at 2:58am
view katiaG's profile

Why would the guy write the room names on his own diagram ... as if he didn't know what each room was. Seems made up for the purpose of a blog post to me.

posted by ridge_van_winkle on August 13th 2008 at 4:21am
view ridge_van_winkle's profile

this is exactly what I do - thank god someone else is as neurotic. but, to place 4-5 people as sitting in the bedroom is quite odd to me, no?

posted by ndvheller on August 13th 2008 at 5:19am
view ndvheller's profile

i do this too, only not in writing... and i doubt i'd leave it behind a glass cabinet so my guests could further note my neurosis.
i agree with ridge van winkle... lol

posted by Bobbycat5 on August 13th 2008 at 6:22am
view Bobbycat5's profile

"Seems made up for the purpose of a blog post to me." Why, van winkle, would you inject a dose of negativity onto a blog when all you're presenting is your unfounded, fact-free guess work? I get it-- everyone has opinions. Yours, quite frankly, just seems irrelevant. To insinuate the blogger is essentially lying... well that's downright nasty. Unless you know something that I don't. Do you? Or are you merely on a witch hunt?

posted by MrMischief on August 13th 2008 at 10:42am
view MrMischief's profile

WOW. We're fighting alot on here lately aren't we? I feel like I'm on fubar or something.

posted by Snugglitas on August 13th 2008 at 11:49am
view Snugglitas's profile