Let's Make A Deal: Contracts

Now that you have a business plan in place, it is time to practice writing an event contract and perfecting your negotiation skills.

In your event contract, it will be important to identify the following:

- Date, time, and location of party

- Brief description of party project

- Cost

- Deadlines for payment

- What is included in fee (such as decorations, music, etc.)

- What is NOT included in fee (such as food, etc.)

- How conflicts/problems will be resolved

Tips for Writing:

http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-forms-contracts/business-forms-contracts-overview-writing.html

http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/contracts-agreements/2569-1.html

Sample Contracts:

http://www.businessknowhow.com/officesupport/samplecontract.htm

http://www.marinavillage.net/Special%20Events%20sample%20contract.pdf

What will your sample party contract look like?

Summer Blockbuster Party

In addition to sunny weather, vacations, and ice cream, another great thing about summer is all the new movies that come to theaters! Summer is the best time for blockbuster, hit movies. There are a ton of new movies coming out between Memorial Day (May 31) and Labor Day (September 1), including:

Iron Man 2

Robin Hood

Shrek 3

Prince of Persia

The A-Team

Toy Story 3

The Karate Kid

The list goes on and on! For this assignment, choose one movie that you have seen or are excited about seeing and plan a SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER PARTY around its release. You can plan party music, decorations, food, and games based on your movie choice.

For example, if I was to plan a KARATE KID party, I could have a Chinese pinata and some Chinese food since the movie takes place in China. I would organize party games where guests could win different color belts, like yellow, white, or black, to represent karate belts. The Black Belt would go to the winner of the most games. We might have a special screening of the ORIGINAL Karate Kid movie and eat popcorn, like we were at the theater.

What Blockbuster will you use to plan your summer party? What music, decorations, food, and games will be involved?

Plan Early for July 4th!

July 4th is the busiest party day of the year, surpassing even Christmas and New Year's Eve. Traditional July 4th celebrations might involve a parade, an outdoor cookout, or fireworks. But there are all kinds of ways to make your Independence Day party unique and fun. Check out the following websites and decide what you would do if you were planning a July 4th party.

http://familyfun.go.com/4th-of-july/

http://www.celebrations.com/4th-of-july

(This website has some information about food, desserts, crafts, and history of July 4th.)

http://familyfun.go.com/4th-of-july/4th-of-july-parties-games/

(This website has some ideas for party games and crafts.)

http://www.partyamerica.com/category/party+planning+tips/patriotic+party.do

(This website has information about party themes and decorations.)

Listen and Learn

This month, in addition to planning a cultural celebration, you should also find a way to survey your "clients." This can mean any friends or family for whom you would someday like to plan a party. Ask them the following questions and then examine your results. What did their answers tell you about why it is important for party planners to listen to and learn from their clients?

1) What was your favorite party as a child? Why?

2) What do you like best about parties now? Food, music, decorations, friends?

3) If you could plan a party for your FAVORITE holiday or occasion, what party would you plan and why? What would you be sure to include?

4) If someone were planning a party for you, what should they know about you and your personality and tastes?

Cultural Celebration

In honor of today's holiday, Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May), this month's assignment is to plan a CULTURAL CELEBRATION. For this assignment, choose a culture that you are interested inand would like to learn more about. You could select your culture based on your favorite foods: Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Italian, Ethiopian, or ANYTHING else!

Before you plan your party, you should learn more about that country's holidays, beliefs, celebrations, language, clothing, habits, and-- of course-- food and decorations. Using www.encyclopedia.com or www.wikipedia.com, type in your country of choice and start taking notes!

1) What did you learn about your new culture that you can use to plan a cultural celebration?

2) What are some common foods that will be included at your celebration?

For even more ideas, contact your local restaurants that serve your culture's foods. Find a menu online or in the store to help you plan!

3) How will you decorate your party in a way that represents your new culture?

4) What type of music and activities will you play to teach your guests about the culture?

5) What are some common phrases in your country's language that you could learn and share with your party guests?

Some suggestions might be: Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, You're welcome, and Enjoy the party!

Graduation Party

One important tradition at this time of year is graduation! No matter what age or "grade" you are graduating from, it is a very exciting time for the graduates and their families. Often, graduations are accompanied by big celebrations that honor the graduate's accomplishments and hard work.

What do you think are important parts of a graduation party?

http://parentingteens.about.com/cs/graduation/a/gradparty.htm

http://www.graduationparty.com/

http://www.celebrations.com/graduationparty

Graduations are inspiring times, too. It is an end to school, but a beginning to a whole new life. There are many famous quotations about graduation. Gather some of your favorite quotations from the following websites and compile them in a creative way to celebrate YOUR favorite graduate this year. You could put them into a scrapbook, on a collage, or organize them in whatever way you like.

http://thinkexist.com/quotations/graduation

http://www.quotegarden.com/graduation.html

http://www.allgreatquotes.com/graduation_quotes.shtml

http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/graduation-quotes.html

Spring has Sprung!

A new season is here, and what better inspiration for a party than the coming of spring! One of the best parts of spring is the new life it brings: birds can be heard chirping again, little critters come out of hibernation, and flowers poke through the ground.

For this assignment, think of something related to spring and plan a party around that theme. Some suggestions:

• Gardening: Plant a flower or even a whole garden. Make a compost area.
• Animal life: Go birdwatching, to the zoo, or to a petting zoo.
• Earth Day: Learn about Earth Day's history. Turn off the lights to conserve energy. Plant a tree!
• Picnics
• Hiking

More ideas: http://party.lovetoknow.com/Spring_Party_Themes

There are many places around that can help you get into the spring spirit and give you good ideas for your party.

Oakhurst Community Garden: http://oakhurstgarden.org/

Emory Community Garden: http://sustainability.emory.edu/page/1008/sustainable-food

Earth Day Initiative: http://www.earthday.org/

Atlanta Dogwood Festival: http://www.dogwood.org/