How to party like a 5 year old & delight your audience! My key 12 steps to creating the perfect event!

This weekend I organised 2 separate birthday parties for our children, Ellia who is 5, invited all of the 30 kids from her reception class and Joshie who is 11 invited all 31 kids from his year 6 class. People have been looking at me like I’ve lost my mind, even my own mum thinks I’ve gone mad and can’t understand why we would want to do something like that! But the truth is I love organising events, looking after people, making them feel special and going above and beyond to smash expectations and create wonderful experiences that people never forget! 

For many years, part of my remit as Head of Communications was to organise 2 or 3 day conferences or conventions for senior managers from around the world. I was privileged to be able to manage budgets of over ￡750K+, to hire beautiful event spaces and venues in Milan, Deauville or Prague to mention just a few and to work with some absolutely amazing professionals who are all experts in their fields.

At LR Comms we do get to work on some  exciting events for our clients such as Peak Translations’ 40th anniversary gala dinner last year at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, the launch event for McKellens Masterclass at the Maserati showroom in Stockport or even the Baby and Toddler Show at Event City for Puddle Ducks that takes place twice a year. But Saturday’s birthday parties that took place at our local scout hut, got me thinking that whatever the occasion, budget or reason the process and way of doing things is the same – the objective is always to create an event that goes above and beyond all expectations. 

Here is my list of the 12 key steps to follow in order to create a successful event:

1)   Know your audience

Whether you are inviting senior managers from around the world or your daughter’s reception class from school you need to work out what they are each looking for and expecting from your event and then adapt accordingly.  

Make sure you identify any key stakeholders such as VIPs or special guests, it might be a customer aor in this weekend’s case it was the grandparents. 

2)   Define the tone / style and theme

In 2007 in Milan, we were talking about the 5 year strategy, communicating about the key objectives and what we needed to put in place in order to get there. We had a mix of live presentations, panel discussions and film, the dress code was smart but casual and the conference had an interactive and dynamic feel with live voting, group workshops and exhibitions.

Saturday’s party  number 1 was a Ben and Holly themed party with a bouncy castle, pass the parcel and pin the spots on Gaston and party 2 was called ‘The Challenge’ with 10 games, individual scorecards and a range of activities from limbo, sweet pong and balloon stomp! 

3)   Budget

Whether you have an event budget of ￡750k or ￡75 the process is the same, create a budget spreadsheet, keep a track of the cost of every item and prioritise the important aspects first such as the cost of the venue, catering and activities and then see what you have left for the extra items or the little things such as takeaways or decoration.

4)   Venue 

Finding the right venue can make or break your event! Whether it is a fit for purpose conference centre with an equipped room and break out rooms like in Deauville or Whaley Bridge Scout Hut with a field, a small sports hall and a fully equipped kitchen, understanding the essentials and how the event will work is key!

Accessibility, parking and toilets are other key things to look at as well as catering and refreshments. You need to ensure that the venue corresponds to your audience’s needs and expectations.  

5)   Build your team

No matter how good you are or how experienced you are, you physically CAN NOT be in more than 1 place at the same time, which means it is impossible to do everything yourself! So surround yourself with people you can trust, who know what they are doing and who have got what it takes to think out of the box if required to manage a situation or problem (there will always be something that will not go to plan and you need to make sure that a solution is found without any disruption and ideally without any of the guests noticing).

In La Baule, I had a team of people who all had different responsibilities such as hospitality, conference, logistics or tech.

This weekend I had my husband who set up the bouncy castle, gazebo and activities – he was also in charge of balloons and bunting, our grandparents brought the 2 birthday cakes and our good friends came to help with the catering and entertainment!

6)   Content

Creating a plan for the event is important, whether it is a 3 day event or a 2 hour party, understanding what will happen and when is a must. 

How long each presentation will be or how to break up the flow and reenergise the room with interactive voting or group work needs to be mapped out and shared with all the participants. For the birthday parties knowing the order for the games, when we will be singing “Happy Birthday” and how many wrappers are on the pass the parcel was super important!

7)   Risk management

Carrying out a risk assessment helps you to identify any risks whatever the size or type of event. Once those risks are identified you need to do everything you can to manage them and reduce them to a minimum. A back up or contingency plan is a ‘need to have’.

The weather is important, particularly if you are planning to have a drinks reception outside or like in 2006 when we contracted a small passenger ferry to take our guests from Le Croisic in France to the small island of Belle Ile for a gala dinner. I prayed for a calm sea but had a number of sick bags just in case.

On Saturday afternoon we were hoping to be outside on the field but we did have an indoor hall if it rained. (Luckily it rained all morning and then stopped in time for us to set up!)

8)   Catering

Welcome drinks, nibbles, refreshments, walking buffets or full 5 course meals – seating plan or sit where you like, you can pretty much organise your catering as you like as long as everyone is clear and knows what they are doing. Surprisingly one of the quickest turnarounds when you are short on time is to have everyone seated for 2 course meal served to them – you are in control and can manage the speed of service.

We had sandwiches, hot dogs, crudites and hummus and lots of ice-lollies, with extra prosecco and popcorn for the parents!

9)   Special requirements

Make sure you are aware of any special requirements that your delegates or guest may have such as any mobility issues, wheelchair access or allergies and manage them.

10)Technology and equipment

Ensuring you have the right equipment for what you are doing and the right people to manage it. If it’s a major conference, then allowing 24 hours before the start of the event for your tech teams to set up and test is a must. Each of the speakers should also be able to have a run through, a microphone test and some time on the stage to get a feel for the room, the lights and the sound.

This weekend, we needed extension cables for the bouncy castle, music for the games and somewhere to cook the hot dogs.

11)Take-aways

Event programmes, who is who guide of the delegates, brochures or even branded packets of M and Ms, everyone likes a good take away and this is where you can delight and surprise people without breaking the bank.

At the 5 year old party we had Ben and Holly party bags full of sweets, bubbles and balloons. For the 11 year olds who are all leaving primary school to move up to different secondary we took a group photo of them and will distribute next week to each of the kids.

12)Little things

This is where you can really make a difference and ensure that your event is memorable and smashes expectations. The little things are those little details that can be scattered across the event, before it starts to after the event. The invitation, setting the scene and making everyone feel special to the welcome pack, we even made ‘do not disturb’ signs for each guest’s hotel room doors or individually embroidered night gowns.

This weekend the ice-lollies went down a treat, especially as it was warm and the mums and dads loved their glass of chilled prosecco.