To-do lists make party-planning more fun and less stressful

November 21, 6:56 AMBaltimore Food ExaminerKit Pollard

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To-do lists are the window to my soul. Photo by Kit Pollard.

I'm kind of a dork when it comes to planning parties. I think it stems from my long-held love of list-making and spreadsheets. My close friends have always mocked my need to make a very detailed list for everything and, well, I've got an Excel problem. 

But these things serve me well when I'm gearing up for a party. The weeks or days leading up to a get-together are so much fun for me because I love to anticipate the party itself. It's like Christmas Eve, over and over again.

I can't lie, of course - I do have a few stressful hours before the start of every party. But all things considered, I'm pretty relaxed, thanks to my tried and true party-planning system. The not-yet-patented steps go like this:

1. Write the menu. Even without a finalized guest list, it's possible to decide on the menu and, for me, what I want to cook usually determines the theme. Take this weekend, for instance. We're hosting our annual Mock Thanksgiving, but I didn't feel like having a sit-down dinner, so we're doing it cocktail-style with hors d'oeuvres. Picking the menu made the rest of the decisions easy.
2. Gather all the recipes in one place.
3. Write a really organized shopping list. I usually write one big one, then write another, with all my ingredients divided into where I'll buy them (Trader Joe's, Giant and Belvedere Market pretty much cover it for me).
4. Get the shopping done at the beginning of the week. But leave a couple of things to the day of or day before, if necessary. Like bread. Nobody likes bread bought a week early.
5. Write the to-do list. This is where it gets really fun for me. I include every general step of every recipe (e.g. "bake crostini" - I'm not so insane that I start with "preheat the oven..."). First I make a list by dish, then I number the steps so I can make one big, huge list of things I need to do, all in chronological order. Only then do I feel like I'll make it through to the party intact. Also, the list should include notes about which platters and serving dishes you'll use. Sometimes I skip this step, mostly because it seems excessive and annoying. But it always comes back to get me in the end.
6. Get stuff done as early as possible. Whatever you can do on Tuesday, do on Tuesday.
7. On the day of the party, get the house clean and dishes set out early, early, early. That way even if people arrive before the food's ready, at least the house looks like it's ready for a party.
8. Don't forget to shower. Seriously. It'll calm you down. (Oh, and do that on the early side, too, so you're not in your jammies when guests arrive.)
9. This one's optional, but if you're like me, have at least half a glass of wine (and something to eat) before everybody arrives. My hysteria kicks into high gear at the 11th hour...but a couple of crackers with cheese and a hit of Malbec generally put me back in party mode.

Well, rereading that list, I certainly do feel neurotic. But I swear, it works! Plus, look at the list in the picture (it's for tomorrow night's party). Doesn't it just look so...satisfying? Doesn't it?