About Party Planner

Plan parties with guest counts, food, drinks, and decoration estimates. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Event Planning collection.

Use Cases

• Plan a birthday party with headcount, food, drinks, and decoration budget estimates.
• Calculate per-person catering cost for a corporate team celebration.
• Generate a vendor checklist (caterer, venue, photographer, entertainment) with lead times.
• Build a party supply shopping list organized by category and priority.

Tips

• Use the per-head cost multiplier for catering estimates — caterers quote per person, so total food cost scales linearly with headcount.
• Plan drinks as 1.5-2 standard drinks per guest per hour for the first 2 hours, then 1 per hour — this matches industry catering guidelines for average consumption.
• Book vendors at least 8-12 weeks ahead for parties over 50 people — popular caterers, venues, and DJs in most cities are fully booked within that window on weekends.

Fun Facts

• The birthday party tradition of candles on a cake dates to ancient Greece — Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt, was honored with round moon-shaped cakes with lit candles representing moonlight.
• The US party supply industry generated $10.4 billion in revenue in 2023 (IBIS World), with seasonal spikes of 300-400% around Halloween and New Year's — making party planning highly seasonal for suppliers.
• Studies on party planning psychology (Carnegie Mellon, 2022) found that hosts consistently overestimate how much guests will notice décor and underestimate how much they value food quality — suggesting budget allocation should weight food over decoration.

FAQ

Does it generate a budget breakdown?

Yes — the planner allocates budget across venue (30-40%), food and drinks (30-40%), entertainment (10-20%), and décor (10-15%) using common event planning ratios, adjustable by event type.

Can it generate a timeline for the event day?

Yes — enter event duration and the planner creates a run-of-show schedule with setup, arrival, meal service, entertainment, and cleanup slots based on your event format.

Does it handle dietary restrictions?

Yes — input dietary restrictions per headcount (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergies) and the food calculator adjusts quantities and suggests menu options for each group.