When is your party too big?

When planning a party, one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is, “How big is too big?” It all comes down to one thing: budget. For example, weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and Confirmations are typically large events; birthday parties are not. But it’s not that simple. The question of size permeates virtually every aspect of the event planning process. But how big is “too big”? It’s too big if your guest list is larger than the occupancy limit of your venue. It’s too big if your cost exceeds your budget. It’s also too big if your guest list includes people you’d rather not invite. How can that be so? I often see this in children’s birthday parties. The school “suggests” that if anyone from the class is invited, then the entire class is to be invited. This is nonsense. It’s your home and it’s your party, so you get to choose. Period! I am not going to try to offer any advice on family politics: you know, the Smith side doesn’t want to have anything to do with the Jones side and they haven’t had a civil word in years! You’re on your own with that one. Back to children’s birthday parties: I can offer this simple guide to size. The average children’s party has 12 to 15 guests and the majority of children’s parties have 8 to 20 guests. This is not counting grown- ups: aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. One other suggestion on size: how many guests can you comfortably accommodate? If you can’t accommodate the guests, it’s too big!