How much does throwing a party cost?

So how much does throwing a party cost? Let us give you our analysis based on facts, our clients experiences, and actual parties/events! 

Facts: 
There is nothing wrong with being Frugal and planning your event on a budget! Just ensure going into the planning process you are realistic with your budget based on your vision.


The average small party (Birthday, Reception, etc)  is between $300-$1000 averaging around $600. 

Things to Factor into Costs:

Venue  : 
Renting a venue is recommended if your party is big enough and if there is room in the budget to make the party more memorable! Typically renting you'll get your most value if you have at least 75-100 guests. Restaurants, Hotels, Venues with Catering will often times offered discounted to free Venue Fee's with a minimum food purchase. 

Food :
Depending on the Time of Day, and Day of the Week food can cost you typically between $2-$30 per person. Even when buying light snacks from the store, a few dollars per person could be just right! For something heartier, choose appetizers and/or a meal. There are numerous ways to save costs thru catering as well such as doing a served buffet or trays able be to picked up/delivered.  

Drinks :
Much like your food budget, your drink budget is highly dependent on the kind of party you are planning. Alcohol will always make your party more expensive, but the real expense comes when you give your guests a lot of choices. If you are just buying water bottles and beer you could probably get away with assuming on average people will have about 1.5 beers and 1 bottle of water. You could probably get away with about $3 per person. Start adding in wine, spirits, or a different beer options, it becomes harder to guess what people will want. You could end up spending between $5-$15 per person.

Decor :

No matter where you are having your party, decorations are the most effective way to add ambiance. Simply laying out table cloths can change the feel of a room. Depending on the quality of the decorations, you could spend between $5-$20 per person. A safe bet would be $10 per person.

Plates, Cups, Utensils, Napkins, Stationary :

These are usually the least fun expense for a party, but they do make it infinitely better. When you have a lot of people coming over to your house it seems like an easy solution to buy paper plates, plastic cups and utensils for the easy clean up approach! There are a lot of pros to that option, but for not much cost you can rent real plates, cups, etc as well. It's a small touch that can change the feel of your party and won’t have a huge effect on your budget if you're going for a classy touch!

Entertainment :
Not every party needs entertainment, but if your party is big enough and you have room in the budget it can be the thing that makes the party memorable. If you have a party that has 30 or more people, live entertainment like a band or a Specialty performance can be exciting!