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Famous Couples Costume Party: Corporate Halloween Party
Halloween is as much fun for adults as it is for kids! A Halloween party for grown ups has all the elements of a Kids’ Halloween Party but with a slight difference, the party theme should cater to the whims and quirks, as well as food tastes, of grown ups.
Much like the 80’s party theme, dancing and finger foods are components of a Famous Couples Costume Party. The main difference is that in the latter, couples come in dressed in celebrity costumes. Do you know any famous couples? How about Brangelina or the first couple of the USA? Or Barbie and Ken?
This theme is Ideal for a Corporate Halloween Party because the employees can bring their spouses or partners and play dress up with their colleagues. A company party may ideally be held during Christmas season because it’s also the time for giving the bonus pay, but the “costume” theme makes this party ideal for Halloween.
One way of creating a costume for this party is to first figure out what the celebrity you are coming as is known for. In the Brangelina example, Angelina Jolie is best known for Tombraider and so the woman can come in wearing something that resembles her get up in the movie. Brad Pitt, on the other hand, is best known for his Jesse James movie and so the man could come in dressed to the nines with a Jesse James’ outfit.
A nametag could be distributed and people can write down their movie character impersonations for better reception, but really, the best part about this particular costume party is the conversation that will ensue with everyone discussing who he pattern his costume from. Food can be served buffet style and some prizes may be given out to couples with the best costumes. For giveaways,I recommend promotional pens with the company logo.
Some employees need not feel alienated with the ‘couples’ theme. They may still wear costumes to the party and come in groups or alone. The only thing to consider is the ‘famous’ clause, i.e. the costume must be depicting a famous personality.
Some Recommended Couples Costume Options
Couples may come in as:
Adam and Eve
John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Anthony and Cleopatra
Barbie and Ken
Pierre and Marie Curie
Mickey and Minnie Mouse
Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
Lancelot and Guenivere
Some Recomended non-Couple/Groups Costumes Option
For single guys coming in pairs: Bert and Ernie
For groups of women: Spice Girls
The Last-Minute Client: The Cant-Avoid-Party Agenda
Everyone hits some rough spots in the money area every now and then, but party planners take the biggest hit when an unusual party request comes along; namely, the last minute party help request.
The scenario
Your phone rings in the middle of the night and you struggle to make your voice seem normal. A friend or a friend of a friend is on the other line asking if you could help with the party next week. You say, ’sure’ because you figure that helping means doing dishes or arranging the table. Then, the client says “We haven’t started on anything yet, and it’s for 150 people.” Your world just turned upside down.
Money Matters
Firstly, you’re broke so that means you can’t put down payments on other party needs like table arrangers or decorators. You’d rather spend what little you have on the caterer. Secondly, a last minute party thing could mean that you and the client won’t have time to sit down and talk about the financial side, and arrange a suitable down payment for your services and other supplies. Also, the topnotch freelance employees could be fully booked and can’t clear their schedule for you, and you can’t even make it worth their while to drop everything for your party. one fast solution of course, is availing of a payday loan to tide you over and handle the more pressing money needs.
Improvise!
You can cut corners on decorations by doing them yourself. One trick that I got from Rachel Ray is the creative use of old things as table accents. Once you have several ideas in place, these will have to set the theme for your party, and there’s no turning back. A little dash of creativity goes a long way, like this centerpiece created for Rachel by Project Runway’s Daniel V. It’s just crystal glasses filled with old jewelry. It costs nothing and it looks wonderfully fabulous!
Christmas Mini Lights: All-Season Party Resources
Here’s an economical, but not in any way cheap, method for throwing the best parties. For a starting party entrepreneur, stocking up on these seasonal things may be the most cost effective way to earn from party planning. I am talking about Christmas lights!
These type of lights have the shortest lifespan, as most families keep these in a box somewhere when it’s not Christmas season.
You can extend the functionality of these lights by using them in the parties that you organize.
These mini lights lend a festive feel to any occasion, if one uses them resourcefully. In a garden dinner party, these can adorn bushes or trees. During the prom or Valentines day, pink- or red-tinged clear mini lights may be enough to adorn the ceiling. A simple open house party may seem like a grand occasion when when the front porch is decorated with small twinkling lights that invite the guests inside. And my favorite, luau parties! Twinkling party lights over the luau buffet table, or creatively wrapped around the table will hide the blandness of a simple house party buffet. Lights are accessories a shrewd party planner should consider as a must-have.
Investing on Christmas lights during off season may be a good idea. You can choose the designs you want, and avail of bargains, which is better than buying these when everyone else is.
Party Planning Setbacks: Worst Case Money Scenarios
When a party entrepreneur is involved in a party, so many ‘worst case scenarios’ come up: deliveries are not on time, food isn’t halfway ready and it’s hours before the party, the bride isn’t made up yet, the groom’s mom keeps following you around with a calculator, etc. So many little things that add to the stress of smiling all the time and making sure the guests feel welcome. With things this bad, it couldn’t get much worse right?
From an objective point of view, these aren’t bad situations at all. While you want to rip your hair out with all the frustration of people not following your directions faithfully, the fact is you ARE having a party, and cash will soon follow. My view of the worst things that could happen to a party planner includes…
Not having clients. Bills need to get paid, as you are just human, not a party planning genius robot who walks around all day doing preparations for others’ parties. Having one client each week pays for the bills for next month. This is how we live.
A party planner’s lifestyle is high maintenance (i.e. new clothes, new working capital each time, funds for further education on how to create a better party… etc), but a steady flow of clients and good word of mouth about you will pay for everything and more. But what if there’s drought in the party biz, and everyone’s hustling to get a slice of the pie that is your community’s social scene? How do you get the money during drought season?
There are more than a few party entrepreneurs who get trapped in the debt scene. Besides the high end lifestyle that is mandatory for success (”look like one to be one”), entrepreneurs rely on loans to get their businesses off the ground. It is recommended, though, that a party planner who managed to get over the cash trap explore the option to hire a debt consolidator to manage her debt while she work her butt off getting those parties done.
One other option is do-it-yourself credit consolidation. Sit down with your finances, and just sort through everything that is related to money in your home office. Which expenses need to go? Which luxuries can be pushed down the list? What are your spending priorities? When you have all these checked, you can start assessing how you can practice debt consolidation on your own. Being realistic about your debt:income ratio is the best way to start obtaining your financial goals.
