Planning Your Event 

A well planned event may be more successful than a last minute effort, especially if a large number of guests will be attending or guests will be traveling a substantial distance.  

Addressing the following questions, and actually writing a response to each of the questions early in the planning process may be beneficial for you: 

We recommend that an honoree be included on planning when their event will take place even if the rest of the event is a surprise as discussed in our article To Surprise or Not to Surprise: Activities For A Great Celebration  This will prevent disappointment (e.g., no one is doing anything for me on my birthday) and scheduling conflicts.   Trying to resolve scheduling conflicts on behalf of an honoree without their knowledge may lead to an upset honoree (e.g., you arranged for the honoree, a server at a restaurant, to have the highest tip day of the week off).  We also recommend asking the honoree who should be (and perhaps, even more importantly) who should not be invited.