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Event Planning: On the Job Training

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Growing up in a home where parties were the norm and not a rare occasion, I learned how to organize an event via on the job training. I can still remember arranging fruit and vegetables on trays, filling cups with ice, and counting plates and napkins. Those training sessions equipped me with skills I use today.

As I stay involved with many events, my children join in the process. By involving them and allowing them to help, I offer on the job training for event planning.

My oldest daughter loves to cook, clean, sort, and organize with me. Embracing her desire to help, I give her simple instructions, space to work, and time to complete the task.

Simple Instructions

While setting up for an open house, I received a request by my daughter to help. As I surveyed the tasks, I chose to give her the opportunity to place the pink and blue (Sweet n’ Low and Equal) packets into one bowl and the white (sugar) packets into another bowl. After having her repeat the instructions back to me, I left her to work.

Space to Work

I went to the kitchen to bring out the trays of goodies. When I returned, I checked my daughter’s work and praised her for continuing to sort.

Time to Complete the Task

Without rushing her, I gathered the other items and added them to a kitchen cart. When my daughter finished, we packed up the extra supplies and transferred the items from the cart to the table.

  

By giving my daughter simple instructions, space to work, and time to complete the task, she welcomed the praise she received for helping with the open house. What a joy to watch my daughter develop confidence by completing tasks alone!

As I continue assisting with events, I seek for ways to include on the job training while using time wisely. By teaching, demonstrating, and encouraging, I am providing opportunities for my children to develop, practice, and perfect their event planning skills.

If you have little ones close by that love to help while you are busy executing your plan, consider offering on the job training. You might save time with the extra help and nurture a special relationship in the process. Our little ones are watching and learning. They love the extra attention and opportunity to succeed alone. Happy training!

Questions: What tasks can you entrust to your child?

2012 Quick Tip Week: Keep your Brainstorming Notes

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Jeremy Mikkola)

Following quick tip #1 from the document category and quick tip #2 from the household category, we move to the category of event planning in our week of quick tips.

Whether you find yourself planning a birthday party, dinner with friends, or a fall festival, this next tip comes in handy throughout the planning process.

When choosing or accepting the role of party planner, I always begin with event notes. These brainstorming notes contain the possible as well as the near-impossible for carrying out the details for the event. Though most of these ideas never get acted upon, use this next tip for future reference while using time wisely.

Quick Tip #3: Keep your Brainstorming Notes

Through my brainstorming sessions, I jot down all sorts of ideas from schedules to themes to contacts for ideas. As the event takes on a form of its own, I have learned to file away my brainstorming notes.

During the execution phase, I have hit snags in the plan. Referring back to my brainstorming notes has offered suggestions and solutions during these need-a-fix-now situations. Keeping my brainstorming notes has saved me time and energy throughout the event planning process.

As you plan your events, remember to keep your brainstorming notes. In using time wisely, you can save energy and time coming up with a solution (again) by referring to your former ideas. Sometimes those notes will prompt another idea for an up-coming event, so save your notes. Happy planning!

Question: What tool do you use to spark your creativity when planning an event?

Personalized, Handwritten Thank You Notes

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

In an era of texting, social media, and e-mail, the art of sending handwritten notes is fading.

With the passing my grandmother earlier this year, I treasure her handwritten birthday cards and notes of encouragement that I kept throughout the years.

No one else writes like my grandmother and seeing her handwriting brings back sweet memories. Her investment of time to handwrite those cards and notes continues to bless me today.

Learning the Skill

Writing thank you notes has been a part of my life. As an elementary-age girl, I still remember sitting at our kitchen table and writing my thank you notes after a birthday party or Christmas season. My mom taught me how to write personalized thank you notes that I continue to do today.

Expressing my gratitude with a handwritten note is more personal than shooting off an e-mail or Facebook post. Though there are times when I do send those messages, I value the personalized, handwritten notes for special occasions.

Practicing the Skill

Spending my time writing notes shows my gratitude for the recipient’s gift. After a party, event, or gathering, I write personalized, handwritten thank you notes expressing my appreciation to all the helpers. Without others’ assistance, these events would take more money, energy, and time.

In using time wisely, writing personalized, handwritten thank you notes is a small token of my appreciation for a job well done. Happy writing!

Question: How often do you write personalized thank you notes?

The Art of Taking a Secondary Role

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

When you attend an event as an invitee, can you relax and just enjoy the event? I struggle – big time – just sitting and relaxing!

Recently, my son’s Sunday school teacher graciously planned a party for the first grade students and their families.

His teacher planned time for play, games, food, and entertainment. The party was well planned, but I still struggled with relaxing.

Struggle Arises

For me the hardest part was relaxing during the meal. After gathering food for my children and me, we ate. I then began perusing the room identifying trash can locations, mapping a direct route from the food to the kitchen, and checking to see how far along the guests were to finishing. My husband watching my movements, whispered, “You don’t have to worry about cleanup.”

How nice to have someone, who understands me, snap me back to reality. It was at that moment that I realized that the event planner in me was at work. I rarely attend an event where I am not coordinating or assisting. In these times of attendance, I really struggle to relax.

Evaluating Myself

My personality is to organize while using time wisely. I do not try to be organized; God created me organized. It’s who I am. I cannot refrain from organizing and planning, so I need to learn to take a secondary role.

Changing my Focus

When the event is not within my leadership, I am still trying to solve their problems and plan the next activity. At this event, I chose to go down to the gymnasium to watch the kids play while other adults stayed to help cleanup. Though choosing cleanup would have been easier for me, I needed to practice taking a secondary role and relaxing.

Though I need more practice, the art of taking a secondary role is a learned skilled. As I continue to practice, I hope to find attending events more enjoyable and relaxing. In the meantime, I am thankful for those, who know me, jarring me back to reality when I get distracted. Happy relaxing!

Question: When you attend an event, do you struggle to relax?

Concluding My 2011-2012 Events

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

The 2011-2012 school year came to a close last week. The last days were bittersweet as students excitedly received recognition for their work and then tearfully said goodbye.

As with most years, we had our challenges, but overall, it was a fantastic year.

At the beginning of the school year, I shared my upcoming 2011-2012 events: Fall Festival, Christmas Program, and Spring Play.

Having posted the results of the Fall Festival and the Christmas Program, I will share some details of the last event.

Planned Events

Science Fair

Like most schools, we host a science fair and a history fair for the students. The science fair includes stations where the students display their experiments.

During a time of exploration, students share with those who visit their display how they used the scientific method to come to their conclusion.  This event gets organized by a science teacher and occurs during one school day morning.

History Fair

In past years, our history fair was also a morning program. Based on a theme (i.e., architecture, food, etc.), the students work together as a class to create a display and short presentation.

Usually coordinated by a teacher, the history fair program included a formal time for the class presentations and then time to investigate each station with friends.

Event Change

To broaden the students’ experiences with the history fair, the school officials chose to substitute a live history fair for the spring play this year. This decision occurred before investing money, energy, and time into the spring play. Honored to be part of the planning, I stepped in to coordinate.

Upon volunteering to change from directing a spring play to coordinating a live history fair, I had to get a grasp of the concept. In next week’s post, I will begin sharing my journey through learning, gathering, organizing, delegating, presenting, and executing our live history fair. Until next week, happy planning!

Question: What events have you executed this year?