6 Must-Have Summer Party Planning Apps
The following is a guest post from momAgendaCOMM blogger Michele McGraw.
Summer is the perfect time for hosting a picnic or BBQ. If you let it, planning a party can get very stressful. I wish I had the party planning skills of Martha Stewart, but I don’t. Instead, I have some tech tools to help me plan my parties.
momAgenda for iPad
The first and most important tool any party planner needs is a calendar. Using the momAgenda for iPad app will keep you organized. Add all of the tasks you need to do and deadlines you need to keep track of. Add reminders so you don’t have to remember everything yourself.
The best feature is the weather forecast. The big unknown with a summer bash is the weather. The momAgenda iPad app includes the weather forecast on the calendar so you can keep track of the weather!
Invitations
I prefer to send my invitations via email because a lot of the work is done for me. Let’s face it, we often invite the same people to our parties. I use Evite to send invitations via email. Evite keeps all my contacts information, tracks the RSVP information and if information changes, I can easily send out an update to all my guests at once. If the guests need a map, Evite takes care of that for me.
Planning Food & Drinks
There are a lot of recipe and drink mixing apps, but the one I like the best for both food and drinks is Allrecipes.com. I can plan the food and drink in one spot and print out a grocery list. Allrecipes helps me figure out exactly how much food and drink I need for the number of guests I’m expecting. If I have guests with special food needs, I can find helpful recipes to fulfill those requests, too.
Music
It is not a party unless there is music. I like to use Spotify for party music. I can search for many different types of music and play a mix of music. I can turn Spotify on and the music will play for as long as I want and I don’t have to worry about changing CDs.
Pictures
After the party is over, everyone will want to see the pictures from the party and maybe even order a few prints of the special memories. Shutterfly is wonderful for sharing pictures. You can set up private areas and share the pictures with only party guests. Your guests can download or order their own copies of the photos they love.
Thank You Notes
Last, but not least, thank you notes for any gifts you may have received is a great idea. American Greetings has a great selection of free online cards you can send via e-mail. I’m sure Emily Post would not like email “Thank You” cards, but my feeling is, “any thank you is better than no thank you.”
Now go start planning that summer bash! Don’t forget to invite me!
Michele is CEO of Mom Geek Media and creator ofScraps of My Geek Life. You can also connect with Michele on Twitter and Facebook.