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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Today is the day

. . . to set the date for your Cinco de Mayo party. This year The 5th of May falls on a Wednesday (Am I the only one who has to say Wed-nes-day out loud every time I spell it? Why is "Wednesday" pronounced so differently than its spelling? All the other days of the week are pretty straight forward, so just wondering...) In the south, where I live, Wednesday is a big church night. I would never plan a party on a Wednesday unless it was for church. It’s O.K. to celebrate a holiday early. The weather in early May is beautiful. Your options are wide open. You can choose an evening dinner party or a Saturday afternoon backyard fiesta. The choices are abundant.

Step 1: Check your schedule. You are the host and your schedule is the most important. Do not try to host a party that you have to squeeze between your daughters piano recital and dinner with your significant other’s boss. Last minute drama always happens and you need to schedule time for unexpected events. I also like to schedule a full day to clean and prepare my house. I try to avoid Friday evening parties. I like to have all day Saturday to get ready. Plus everything is much smoother when I can use my D.H. (Darling Husband) and teenage son to do all the heavy lifting.

Step 2: Consider your guests. Who are you inviting? Is this an adult only party or will there be families with kids? Do they need to put children to bed by 8:00pm? Are they working all day followed by their regularly scheduled trip to the gym? Do they need to be up early for church on Sunday? Think about who you might invite and consider a time that is convenient for them. As much as you would like to think that they are your best friends and would drop anything to see you, the reality is that life gets in the way. Don’t make your friends choose between you and life—you might not like the outcome.

Option 1: Use Evite. Evite.com has a great feature now that lets you poll your guests for the best time to have an event. You can enter up to 5 dates and times and your guests respond with their choice. While this would not be appropriate for a wedding, it is totally appropriate for an informal Cinco de Mayo party.

Option 2: Pick a Budget Savvy date. There is nothing wrong with celebrating Cinco de Mayo on My 9th or 10th. Choosing this option is always easy on the pocketbook. The stores will start to mark things down about one week before May 5th. On May 6th, whatever is left will be 50% to 70% off.

The first step in planning a party is to pick the date. There is no need for wailing and gnashing of teeth. We will be here to walk you through the rest. Go ahead—I dare you!

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