Are you great at throwing a party? We’ve got a challenge for you. Throw a surprise party for someone in their own home while also strictly following stay-at-home policies. Do you think you’re up for the challenge? The pandemic made everything impossible, including enjoying simple things such as throwing surprise parties. But don’t let such negative thoughts tarnish your plan of organizing a surprise party. There’s a way around the obstacles presented by the pandemic. You just need to be creative, resourceful, and a great actor.
Gather All the Materials You Need
Whether you’re buying in the store or ordering online, gather all the materials you need. When you’re throwing a surprise party, you only have a few minutes or hours to decorate the room. The fact that you’re organizing the party right in the celebrant’s own home makes it even more difficult. So, make sure you have all you need. Get the basics—craft paper, scissors, tape, deflated balloons, ribbons, etc. For an extra flair, get a gold glitter brush or pen that you can use for the buntings.
Plan for Another Party
A diversion is just what you need for the celebrant not to notice anything. So, weeks before the actual party, make a simple plan with the celebrant about the party. For example, order food in advance already. This way, the celebrant will not think there’s another party because you already ordered the food with them. Who would think that you’re brewing another party if there’s already another “plan,” right?
Now, that plan is a great one because it will allow you to shoo the celebrant away when you need to prepare the house. If you ordered food in advance, ask the celebrant and another person to fetch the food from the restaurant. Make them run some simple errands, so they won’t notice that you are trying to make them stay away from the house. The diversion should give you enough time to prepare the home for the party.
Choose Simple Decorations
Remember that you only have a couple of hours before the celebrants come home. Choose simple but fun and elegant decorations. You don’t have to go all-out for a home celebration during the pandemic. Everyone understands that resources, time, money, and even energy are all lacking at this point. Make sure to be practical with your choices of buntings, ribbons, balloons, and flowers. If you will have someone professionally design the area, make sure they arrive at the exact time because every second matters at this point.
Organize for Guests to Be Online
Since it is a home celebration during the pandemic, chances are it’s not safe to have all guests in the celebrant’s home. The fact is that the celebrant may not even feel comfortable about having other people in the house. The best thing for you to do is invite guests via Zoom. Make sure that everyone will be online at the same time to greet the celebrant once they arrive home for the “party.” Everyone should have the chance to greet the celebrant at that very moment.
Corroborate with an Accomplice
The whole household should be in the know about your plan. This will help corroborate your stories. It is also easier to hide what you’re planning when everyone (except the celebrant) is on the same page. If you are not from the same household, then all the more that you need those from the inside to work with you. Make sure that everyone has a task to do. Give the most difficult task—keeping the celebrant entertained—to the most skillful one. This is the hardest task for anyone trying to surprise someone.
Have a Contingency Plan
If all else fails, what will you do? You should always have a contingency plan. It means that when your Plan A fails, there’s another plan ready to be activated. What’s a good contingency plan for a surprise party? The alternative is to admit to the celebrant that you’re trying to throw a surprise party. The wow factor should be when you bring the cake out, for example. Maybe the cake is designed to look like one of the celebrant’s favorite handbags. Another way to “surprise” the celebrant when the party fails is to have their close friends and family on Zoom ready for a virtual game night.
It might sound impossible to throw a surprise party for someone who’s living in the same house, but resourcefulness will get you places. Planning ahead of time will allow you to identify the risks and challenges and address them immediately. That and the combined creative juices of a great accomplice will make the surprise party a success.
Meta title: Ways to Surprise Someone with a Party in Their Own Home
meta desc: Throwing a surprise party for someone is hard enough. Throwing a surprise party for someone in their own home is near to impossible. But throwing a surprise party for someone in their own home in the middle of the pandemic? That might be a miracle to pull off. Read on.
