Part I covers mostly planning. Part II dives into the details.

**Buffets**: Set up a few separate buffet tables so that there’s not one long line to one table. Also make it possible to have two lines per tables (on each side). If there’s a chef serving station, try to break it up from the other tables as it can take longer to get through this.

**Vendor management**: DJs, photographers, button makers, tattoos — these are the vendors. Most of them require 50% payment to save the date and the rest at or right before the event. This is a lifesaver for two reasons: You ensure you have them for the date, and you spread out the bills instead of paying for everything at once.

If they make you sign a contract, verify there are no catches. Someone I know tried to get a sports venue. The contract stated that if a bigger event comes along, they can cancel at anytime. Just what we need — a cancellation after ordering invitations. That would be a big “No” unless you like playing with fire.

**Programs**: If your event uses a program, ask for program samples. For a wedding or bar mitzvah, ask the temple for samples or request making copies. Search the Internet — I found a few this way.

**Internet**: The Internet isn’t just for buying stuff and finding vendors for your event. It’s a great place for ideas, examples, and pictures. I used the image browser to look at New York and Broadway-themed cakes for ideas.

Our cakes turned out wonderful except for an unfortunate misspelling of one word… which was our fault as we wrote it down wrong — check your spelling and ensure your handwriting (better yet — type it) is clear for anything with print including invitations, programs, and cakes!). It’s wise to have a minister, rabbi, or other official to review the program or anything related to the service.

**Decorations**: Weddings generally use a florist to manage the table decorations. Theme parties use decoration to represent the theme. In my family’s event, the theme was New York and Broadway.

Each table had a four-sided New York skyline cutout placed on a round mirror, a mini-sign with the title of the musical that had a stick holding it inside the skyline, and items related to that musical. The skyline also had a number on it to represent the table number. The Oklahoma! table had mini cowboy hats, horses, and western confetti. The Phantom of the Opera table had two roses, two masks, and two Eiffel towers.

Notice in both photos there are also New York skyline candleholders. No one took them home! They were for the guests. Since I couldn’t be there to give direction, I would’ve suggested putting them ON the plates or by the exit for guests to pick up. Now I’m stuck with over 100 of these things.

I bought most of the decorations online at New York and theater specialty stores and party stores. I also bought ticket-sized envelopes online (very hard to find) and lucked out in finding.

Doing a bris? Throw all these out of the window and just run around like mad. The good news — it’s over in a week.

What the hey? This blog may cover a variety of things … but planning a party? I used a lot of technology to make the party planning almost effortless. Anything with technology qualifies, right?

**Sign up for a reminder service**: When I planned a big event, I lucked out and found a Web site that sends e-mails on milestone dates (one year before the event, nine months before the event, six months, and so on) that explained what to do in that timeframe.

**Invitations**: Most events come with an invitation in two parts: One for the service (like the wedding ceremony) and one for the party. Try to put both parts on one invitation (unless you’re inviting a lot of people to one event and not the other). That way, you don’t run into a situation where someone grabs only one part of the invitation and not the other and gets stuck not having the address to the other event.

**Manage guests with a spreadsheet**: One of the biggest problems is figuring out how many will come as vendors generally need this number to prepare. I haven’t found a formula that works (i.e. expect half to attend, expect 60% to attend). In this spreadsheet, I created columns for:

• Number of invitations: This column typically has all 1′s).
• Number invited: One invitation might cover a family of five.
• Number of adults.
• Number of children: Especially for occasions where children have their own food. stations — if not, you may not need this unless you need to account for babysitting.
• Out of town: This can help with determining how many will attend as out-of-towners are less likely to attend than in-towners. It also helps you track how many treat baskets you might need should you decide to do one. Treat baskets contain a welcome letter, drinks, food, flyer with weekend agenda, etc.

(more…)

The inspiration for the book comes from the Web site (barmitzvahdisco.com) in which the authors tell the story of a generation through collections of Bar and Bat Mitzvah pictures and stories from friends, families, and strangers.

The people who wrote the Foreword are perfect for the job. They’ve probably played a part in every Bar or Bat Mitzvah since the ’70s: The Village People, the group behind “Y.M.C.A.” Though short, the Foreword kicks off the book nicely.

Those embarrassed by their Bar or Bat Mitzvah pictures will feel better and maybe even proud after flipping through Bar Mitzvah Disco’s hilarious photo album as the book represents “every Jewish teen” who hit puberty in the ’70s, ’80s, or early ’90s.

Anyone wishing to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah that reflects one of these decades has a great source in this book. If not for inspiration, the reader will get plenty of ideas of “what not to do” in party planning and those famous bar and bat mitzvah photo poses.

Be prepared for poofy dresses, high hair, Benetton, Vuarnet glasses, Day-Glo necklaces, dancing with a crush, boys shorter than girls, boys in fancy suits, sign-in boards, socks, food, giant shoulder pads, DJs, the money machine, lines from ’80s songs, and break dancing.

Whether or not you’ve gone through the Jewish rite of passage, if you’ve attended a Bar or Bat Mitzvah between the ’70s and early ’90s, expect to flash to the past and laugh as you see the infamous styles from those decades and memorable moments.

The book comes with photos from over 90 bar and bat mitzvahs, commentary from the teens behind the pictures, short essays from celebrities and the unknown, and photos with the famous and infamous including O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and a few cheesy impersonators. While 90+ sounds like a lot, many pictures come from the same event and more photo variety would enhance the book.

The book ends with an update on some of the brave folks who appeared in the book. These folks work on Will and Grace and The Family Guy do stand up comedy, and hold hot shot positions. They probably begged for the update section to show how successful they are as a way to save face from the embarrassing photos and stories. But seriously, it’s good to know what became of those pimply kids with braces.

While reading the book, don’t be surprised if you pull out your albums or start dancing to “Y.M.C.A.” Children of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s — especially those who enjoy VH-1′s I Love the ’80s series — will appreciate the stories and photos.

Title: Bar Mitzvah Disco: The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party’s Never Over
Author: Roger Bennett, Jules Shell, and Nick Kroll
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 1400080444
Date: November 2005
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Cover Price: USD: $23.95 Amazon: $16.29