When the Dust Settles

OH YEAH! So you've done all the work to pull off the best celebration ever (notice we didn't use perfect). Your guests are raving about how much fun they've had and everyone was impressed. You're feeling simultaneously invigorated and exhausted and can't wait to sit down and actually eat something. When the last guest leaves and the dust settles, you take a deep breath, thank the heavens above, peel off your party clothes and fall fast asleep smiling because you did a damn good job of planning your party. You promise yourself you'll clean up the mess first thing in the morning. #Pinkyswear

Over the next few days (you know after you manage to clean up the mess you left for yourself) you ride the wave of positive vibes from your celebration and relive the highlights of the night until the memories become a little hazy and you settle back into your normal routine.

Let's rewind a bit--as you relive those awesome moments from your celebration, take a minute to write down all the things you thought went well with your event. Was the food bomb.com? Did the decorations set the mood just right for everyone? Are you getting calls about how your party favors are amazing? Did several people ask you for the recipe for those cute little chocolate covered things or ask you where you got them from? In addition, you want to take some time to think about what you didn't enjoy so much or all the hiccups that maybe happened as you planned. Perhaps you forgot to make a playlist until the day of or you didn't have a rain plan and your party was postponed because of an unexpected drizzle. Now write it down and file it away. Why? Well, the next time you decide to have a celebration, you have a template to work from. Debriefing with yourself and/or those you planned with and documenting the areas of improvement creates a foundation for the next event you plan and things won't seem as stressful or unmanageable.