A countdown checklist with food, drink & budget math — built from your party date and guest count
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Party Planning Checklist — guide & how to use
What it does
Most party stress comes from juggling the venue, guest list, food, drinks, decorations, and the day-of timeline across scattered notes — and then realizing a week out that the venue should have been booked a month ago. This free party planning checklist fixes that by counting backward from your party date: it builds a phased to-do list (8 weeks → day-of), tells you whether you're on track or behind, and computes exactly how much food, drink, ice, and cake to buy from your guest count. Enter a budget and it splits it into category targets too. Everything runs in your browser and your progress saves automatically.
How to use it
Set your party date and guest count (the two biggest drivers). The countdown banner tells you how many days you have and whether that's enough for your crowd size.
Pick your style, venue, food plan, and alcohol — the checklist adds and removes tasks to match (a home party skips “book venue” but adds “clean & prep the house”; an alcohol-free party hides the wine/bar/ID tasks).
Tick tasks as you finish them. Each task shows its real calendar due-date and a status chip — Done, Upcoming, Overdue, or Future.
Read the quantity cheat-sheet for shopping, and (optionally) enter a budget to see per-category dollar targets and a contingency reserve.
Use Copy result or Print to PDF to take your plan shopping or share it with whoever's helping.
Worked example
Say your party is 4 weeks (28 days) away, you expect 30 guests, it's a casual 3-hour party at home with alcohol:
Countdown: 30 guests recommends a ~6-week lead time, so at 28 days you're slightly behind the ideal start but still workable — the banner flags the early-phase tasks (book entertainment, send invites) as Overdue, do now.
Drinks: 30 guests × 3 hours × 1 drink = 90 servings; wine ≈ 30 ÷ 2 = 15 bottles worth (mix with beer/soda as you like).
Ice: 30 × 1.5 lb ≈ 45 lb (round up to 50 lb; top up if it's warm).
Cake: a quarter/half-sheet serves ~30; invitations: send ~30 (one per guest/household).
Enter a $1,000 budget and it splits to roughly Food $350 · Drinks $200 · Venue $150 · Decor $150 · Entertainment $100 · Favors+Cake $50, with a suggested $100–150 contingency reserve on top.
The formulas & rules of thumb
Lead time = party date − today. Recommended runway scales with guests: ≤20 → 4 weeks, 21–50 → 6 weeks, 51–100 → 8 weeks, 100+ → 10–12 weeks.
Food: ≈1.1 lb/person. Appetizers: 3–4/person (formal, full meal), 4–6/person (casual), 10–12/person/hour (cocktail = the meal).
Drinks: 1 drink/person/hour; wine ≈ 1 bottle / 2 guests (when alcohol is on). Alcohol off routes all of it to non-alcoholic servings — never double-counted.
Ice: ≈1.5 lb/person baseline (1–2 lb range); long or outdoor events trend higher and need top-off ice.
Every quantity is a caterer rule-of-thumb, not a guarantee. Appetites vary with the crowd, time of day, and whether a full meal is served — treat figures as planning estimates and always round up, never down.
The 1 drink/person/hour rule assumes average adults; it over-estimates for kid-heavy parties and may under-estimate long celebrations. It's tied to the alcohol toggle — remember designated drivers.
Ice spans 1–2 lb/person; the 1.5 lb baseline is a midpoint. Outdoor, summer, or blended-drink events trend toward 2 lb+.
The budget percentages are an industry-typical template that varies widely by party type — adjust them; the contingency is a recommended reserve, not a fixed cost.
Recommended lead times are conventional planning windows. Popular venues, caterers, and holiday dates may need booking even earlier; the “on track” verdict reflects norms, not local vendor availability.
This is a personal-planning aid, not professional event, dietary, or alcohol-service advice. It doesn't account for allergies, dietary restrictions, or local permit, noise, and alcohol-licensing rules — verify those yourself.
100% client-side: your dates, guest count, and budget never leave the browser. Progress persists via localStorage only — clearing your browser loses it unless you export or print.
How to embed this checklist on your website
No account, no coding. Copy the embed code and paste it where you want it to appear:
For ~20–30 guests start about 6 weeks out; 50+ guests 8 weeks; 100+ or holiday dates 8–12 weeks. This tool sets a recommended lead time from your guest count and tells you if you're on track.
How much food and drink per person?
Roughly 1–1.25 lb food/person; appetizers 4–6/person casual (3–4 with a meal, 10–12/hour cocktail); 1 drink/person/hour; ~1 wine bottle per 2 guests; ~1.5 lb ice/person. Always round up — these are estimates, not guarantees.
How should I split my budget?
A typical starting split is Food 35% · Drinks 20% · Venue 15% · Decor 15% · Entertainment 10% · Favors+Cake 5%, plus a 10–15% contingency reserve. Adjust to your party.
Does my progress save?
Yes — checked tasks and inputs save in your browser. Clearing browser data loses them, so Print to PDF or Save / copy link to keep a copy.
What if my party is very soon, or already past?
The checklist never hides tasks — a compressed timeline marks past-phase tasks Overdue and shows a “tight timeline” banner. A date today switches to day-of mode; a past date asks you to pick a future date.
Is it really free?
Yes — 100% free and runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is stored on a server or sold.