Start the year off right and do something good for yourself: Make a date with your girlfriends! This month’s celebration pays dividends all year long. It’s time for some Very Important People (you and your girlfriends) to get together for a Very Important Planning party–your annual V.I.P. event. The purpose? To get your girlfriend celebrations organized for the year, having fun in the process. Planning doesn’t have to be a chore–we’ll show you how it can be fun. And, with everyone in on the decision-making, you’ll get a better turnout at your monthly get-togethers throughout the year. 

The Setting 

This party is best held in the light of day, because after sundown our desire to accomplish starts to sway. Trust us on this one!  Leave the formalities for the rest of the year, and keep it simple and convenient. Just meet in someone’s kitchen over Kahlua and coffee, or meet for brunch at a favorite locale.

The Invitations

This is an invite that must be done by phone or in person. It’s too important to leave to snail mail, and too personal for email. Simply tell your girlfriends that attendance is mandatory to ensure a year full of fun, show up with their calendars and you’ll do the rest.

Food and Drink

Simple is best. Most of your time is going to be spent planning, so make refreshments quick to prepare and finger-friendly. Coffee, tea, and a simple dessert or coffee cake fit the bill. You can offer a selection of herbal teas for variety, or add Kahlua to the coffee for a kick. Or, meeting at a local coffee shop allows you to forget the food and focus totally on your friends.

Perfect Planning

After everyone has had a chance to catch up a bit, have everyone gather with their calendars. Aren’t you excited? It’s time to schedule an entire year of girlfriend celebrations! This should be fun, so don’t get bogged down by the details. Keep a can-do attitude as you open up your busy calendars.   

1. Schedule the dates. The simplest way to take care of this step is to choose the same date and time each month–for example, the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm. Once a month is probably the most your friends will be able to commit to. If not everyone can make it each month, don’t get discouraged. Just do the best you can, and try to pinpoint dates and times that work for most people, most months. 
2. Assign responsibilities. Give each girlfriend responsibility for planning and hosting one or two monthly gatherings during the year. This is a crucial step –don’t leave the table until it’s done! In our opinion, the simplest and most enjoyable way to plan the year is for the "hosting" girlfriend to have complete responsibility for her gathering. She will choose the location and the theme, invite the group, and provide the refreshments and favors (if any). However, there are other ways of handling this. If you have a girlfriend who is willing to host the party every month (bless her heart), then the rest of you can divvy up the responsibilities of theme, food and drink. Or add a twist to the process by Passing the Basket.
3. Discuss party themes. Perhaps you know December’s party will involve the holidays, or July’s party will be a beach barbecue, because that’s your girlfriend tradition. Put it on the calendar now. If you’ll allow some variation within your set themes, discuss that at the table. Otherwise, let your pals use their imagination! Of course, you can check GirlfriendCelebrations.com for the latest new party ideas each month, or to search for a particular theme. And be sure to share your unique girlfriend party themes with us!
4. Lay the ground rules. Having a few guidelines makes planning easier and prevents ruffled feathers later on. The most important "rules"–and maybe the only ones–are guidelines for cost and time. How much are your friends willing to spend per event, and how much time are they willing to devote? Everything else depends on the personality and preferences of your girlfriends, but here are some questions to consider. Are nightclubs acceptable meeting places for your group? Is it OK to invite others from outside your group? Are there any allergies to food and drink?

New Year Wishes

Here’s an casual activity you can add to your gathering to start the new year in a spirit of fun. Have each girlfriend write on a slip of paper a wish for the new year. It needs to be a wish for a person at the party, not for the world at large. The wishes can be funny or serious. For example: "I wish to appear on Oprah," or "I wish for good health."  Put all the wishes in a pretty bowl and everyone draw one and read it. It can be funny to see who ends up with which wish!

Or, for those Betty Crockers out there who won’t have a party without serving a favorite cake or brownie, you can hide the wishes in pieces of cake very simply. Just take the small slips of paper and roll them around toothpicks. Insert a toothpick into a cooled cake or brownie, twist the toothpick and slowly pull up, leaving the wish in the cake. You can top the brownies with powdered sugar so the holes don’t show, or quickly frost the cake. Just be sure to warn your girlfriends so they don’t swallow their New Year wish.

Party Favors

Get everyone a small daily planner, which can be purchased inexpensively at the dollar store or local pharmacy. To personalize it, make copies of your favorite girlfriend photo(s) and slip inside the outer cover. Now, you can make every "date" with your girlfriends (don’t you wish)! 

Have a great girlfriend year! And remember to let us know your V.I.P. event went. Just use the comments form below.

 

Coming Soon: Aaaah….the Simple Spa Party!