InstagramIf you were planning on throwing a soirée without the consultation of Taylor Swift, just know that your get-together is doomed from the start.
The singer is the preeminent party planner, at least among the professional-famous-person subgroup. Swift spends almost as much time throwing and attending her own shindigs as she does collecting acquaintances to attend said shindigs. An invite to one of her parties can make your career (cough Jaime King cough), and they seem to be a pretty good time to boot. Which makes her the perfect candidate to give you personal party planning advice.
But that's never going to happen! Do you really think Taylor, full-time mother of two (cats) and part-time belly button disguiser, does not have room in her day for such community service. You will have to settle for our own party planning tips, which we learned from all the hours a day we spend talking Taylor. Follow this step-by-step guide and you probably won't end up hosting weekend-long slumber parties with Victoria's Secret models, but you will have a very good time!
1. Make sure to have plenty of photo booth props that have nothing to do with the purpose of the party.
2. Found objects (like old bicycles) can do double duty as both decoration and conversation starters.
3. If the party is honoring someone special, make sure to pull out all the stops to gift them a very public surprise.
4. One dessert is never enough.
5. A hostess never sticks to her own dress code. You want to stand out from the crowd, after all.
6. Alternate intimate gatherings with your blowout affairs. It keeps your invites exclusive and desirable, and also ensures one-on-one time with which to recruit soldiers.
7. Choose a loud accessory or party prop to sport to remind everyone that this party is really about you.
8. Each party is only as strong as its VIP section. Stack the deck. Hard.
9. If you don't display all your enviable party guests for everybody who wasn't invited to see, the party didn't happen.
10. Always have backup activities planned in case of unforeseen circumstances.
11. Hiring party staff can be nice, but preparing your own food can be a fun bonding session for guests. Plus: Free labor!
12. Remember to subtly remind your guests how much work you put into throwing the party; it will bring you praise and hopefully better hostess gifts next time around.