The King’s Coronation is just around the corner! We are all very excited for this weekend of celebrations. The Coronation itself is on Saturday 6th May. Sunday 7th May is then the day of street parties and garden lunches, as everyone is invited to get together with their local community to celebrate the day. We are then all treated to a Bank Holiday on Monday 8th May. This all means that there is plenty of time for some early summer festivities. Whether you are planning on doing something with your neighbours, having friends round, or getting together with the family, we thought that we would put together a Coronation party checklist to help you prepare for this weekend of fun!
Step 1: Sort out your numbers
So, the first thing on the Coronation party checklist, is to make sure that you are on top of the numbers. You need to make sure you know how many people you are planning to have at the Coronation party. This helps you to figure out what your budget is to cater for all your guests. Budgeting might not be the first word that you associate with summer parties, but it really is so important! Working out how much drink and how much food you will need to have ‘in stock’ is key. Otherwise, you might risk running out of supplies midway through the party: the ultimate buzz kill!
For this reason, we would recommend sketching out your guestlist and your rough spend for all the supplies you will need early doors. It doesn’t need to be exact down to the very last penny. If things change a little bit this way or that, it won’t be a problem. You will still have an overall sense of the spending that needs to be done to make sure no one feels like they have been hard done by missing out on their fair share of sausages or halloumi!
Step 2: Location and setting
Once you have in mind your list of invitees, you should then have a sense of what kind of a party this will be.
Space
If it is just a few friends or closer family members, then you won’t need to do too much to get the garden ready. If the invite list is getting a bit longer, you will need to work out a plan of setting up the party in a way which will give everyone enough space to feel relaxed and welcomed. This might mean looking into booking a gazebo or a marquee. Again, it is always best to get this booked or purchased as soon as possible. Just so that you don’t run the risk of trying to get hold of one when all the best options have already been booked or sold out.
Or you could opt for something more permanent, especially if you were looking for a way to extend your living space into the garden for the summer. Explore our sturdy galaxy gazebos if you are looking for something more long term to enhance your outdoor space.
Transport & Parking
If you have guests arriving by car, then also think about the parking in your area. Can any of them share lifts or are there particular people that might need priority for parking? Would it be better to arrange a mini bus or assign someone as designated driver?
Street Parties
If you are having a street party, then you need to look into applying for a permit from your local council. You will be able to find out the correct contact details by going to: https://www.gov.uk/apply-hold-street-party . Then typing in your postcode. The information that you will need to have to hand when applying will be the the date and time of the party, whether or not you will need a section of the road closed, whether the road holds a bus route, which properties or businesses in the area may be affected, and whether you have consulted everyone in the vicinity. Bear in mind that your local council will like to know in the 4-12 week window before the party is due to happen. So do make sure that you get your application off ASAP if you haven’t already.
Step 3: Coronation party themes
Once you have all the logistics coming together, next on our Coronation party checklist is thinking about the theme itself and decorations to set the scene. Here at Inspirations we have an exciting range of Coronation party decorations and tableware available – take a peek at the video below.
Union Jacks
The weekend is all about celebrating the new king of the United Kingdom. So perhaps you will want to mark this with Union Jack themed accessories and decorations. Gather flags, bunting, tableware with Union Jack’s on them. Team with other red, white and blue party accessories and balloons for a patriotic look. You could even theme your food or dress code in the same way!
Best of British
Alternatively, try a ‘Best of British’ Coronation party theme. Filled with iconic decorations and accessories such as red bus cake stands, London landmarks, British flowers, bowler style party hats and classic British food – pork pie anyone?
Right Royal Get Together
For a right royal get together, aim for everything to do with the monarchy in your theme. Flags and tableware with King Charles III’s image and cypher, crown motifs on your cake toppers or glass markers, ‘Party like Royalty’ banners, and even getting your guests to dress up as members of the royal family would add extra fun to the day.
Simple Colour Scheme
If you prefer a more subtle look, you could choose to just work with the colour palette of red, white and blue. Or perhaps a purple and gold. Choose tablecloths, napkins, bunting, ribbons, floral displays and more to match the colour scheme. With maybe just a sprinkling of Union Jacks or royal references for good measure.
Take your pick of the various styles and run with it. Or go with a mix of the above if you fancy!
Step 4: Entertainment
You can then also think about the general entertainment. Do you have enough toys to keep the little ones occupied? Will there be a room for kids to play around in if the garden gets rained off? Also consider party games and entertainment for the grown ups. Perhaps you are booking an entertainer like a magician for a big event, or want something like a mini quiz for guests at the table. You could take a classic party game and give it a coronation make over, or stick to traditional garden games like croquet. It’s always good to have something ‘indoors’ planned incase the weather turns as well.
The other thing which you can consider closer to the time is the playlist. Will it be classics? Will everyone at the party get to request a song in advance? Are you going to have a section of the playlist for each era? Or will you go for your own personal favourites?
Step 5: Food
A key Coronation party checklist step is the menu. You may have roughly sketched out the plan of how much food you need to buy earlier on, but this is the time to add some more detail to that plan.
Timings
For instance, have a think about the timings of when which food will be served. If it all needs to be ready from the beginning (like a cold buffet), then you can begin to work out when you will cook each part of the feast. It will most likely be best to prepare what you can the day before.
BBQ Prep
Make sure you give your BBQ a trial run (and clean) if there is lots of barbequing to be done. You can also then figure out if you need to borrow or upgrade to some extra BBQ fire power if you think that your current setup won’t be up to scratch.
Catering or Contribution?
For bigger parties, you might also need to start looking into the catering options and book them well in advance. If it’s a street party you are organising, then consider asking some of the other neighbours to all bring or contribute a dish (make sure you know who is doing what so you don’t end up with lots of the same dish).
Theme it
Plus, there is the consideration of tying in your chosen Coronation party theme with the food being served. If it’s British themed you can choose food and drink representing places from across the UK. Such as cream teas with scones, Scottish salmon canapés, traditional Welsh cakes, regional cheeses from Northern Ireland, local fruit and veg, pasties, scotch eggs, sausage rolls, Pimms, British gins, cider and the list goes on. For red, white and blue pick foods in those colours, such as white chocolate cake topped with blueberries and strawberries.
Or simply display, serve and decorate your food with Coronation themed accessories like cake toppers, straws, mini flags, display stands, paper cups, paper plates, napkins and more.
Allergies
When planning all this, make sure to have a note, underlined and written in bold somewhere in the kitchen, that reminds you of any allergies or dietary requirements that you will need to cater for. And remember to keep that food separate from others.
Step 6: Send those invites!
You will then be on to the final stage this Coronation party checklist, which is to send the invitations out! If you want to do it in a quick and easy fashion, then get that messaging group or event page set up and ready. If you want to add an extra sense of occasion, have a look at the different invitation card options. Just make sure that you get the spelling of the names correct! And triple check the date / time and location. Plus, adding an RSVP message will be helpful to finalising the numbers and planning.
P.S. Remember UK weather…
We may have already mentioned this amongst these key steps, but it’s important to consider the weather. Being in the UK, even though this party is going to be placed in the summery side of the calendar, does not mean that it will be dry and sunny. If you have a marquee or a gazebo set up, then this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. But you might also want to consider how you will have your rooms in your house set up if the heavens really open and people want to escape inside. Do you have enough seating options indoors? Will you have to rearrange from furniture to make best use of the space? And would it be helpful to have food and drinks set up indoors as well as outdoors?
All in all, by taking note of these key Coronation party checklist steps, and with a bit of careful planning and prep, we are sure you will carry off a fabulous party what ever the size or style you go for!