Planning a Party

i didnt realise planning a 1 year old party would be this stressful. the planning bit is quite fun...i love planning. i'd plan everything...what to bring on a trip, what to do tomorrow, what to cook today, which route to take, monthly expenses...everything. i've got loads and loads of notebooks, small, medium, big, plain, mickey mouse, little mermaid, celcom...anything and everything. i love note book, i love coloured pens...i love writing, i love planning.

in the beginning, it was all nice and fun. i get to do budget, plan the menu, plan the guestlist, make a spreadsheet of number of guests coming. but then once the invitation gets out, that's when the stress kicks in. i've done all i can on my part, got my menu finalised, called up the caterer, booked the birthday cake, bought the invitation cards, scanned the card, emailed/sms/posted the cards. now all i have to do is wait for replies. and wait is what i do. i wait and wait and wait. i hinted on the invitation that an rsvp is appreciated. not so much of being calculative or stingy, but what is the point of wastage? not only that, i would like to prepare enough party favours and not be uncomfortable when some guests leave with favours and some leave empty handed. the replies that we got range from 'do we need to rsvp a birthday party' to 'its ok...we dont mind if you serve us plain water'. yeah well...i DO mind!! what kind of host would i be, if i didnt have enough food to cater to my invited guests. what kind of host would i be, to have limited favours, given to early birds and late comers go back empty handed.

some people dont take rsvp/replies seriously. i'm not being fussy when i ask for rsvp, but what is so wrong about proper planning. and to me, giving replies/rsvp is a sign of respect to the hosts. they go thru a lot to have a nice event for the guests...good food, nice environment, nice favours...not to mention the costs that comes with planning an event. why cant people take that small effort to help out the hosts, by just saying, yes i'll come or sorry, i cant make it. that small effort helps out a lot. the hosts wont have to wonder...are they coming, should we provide food for them, should be prepare extra favours in case they bring children?? those questions would throw their budget and planning into haywire if 50% of the guests dont answer.

be it a big wedding, a small-scale birthday party, a dinner for 2...a reply is not a lot to ask for. it shows 1 appreciates the hosts gesture, it also avoid the guests being bombarded with unnecessary 'are you coming' questions.