Brainstorming ideas for a themed debut

Second part of my "How to Plan a Debut" series

Now that we have settled the difference between the Western notion of the debut and the Filipino debut, we are now safe to proceed to the first, and arguably, the most important part of planning any event—brainstorming.

The first—and trust me when I say that the least asked—question to keep in mind when planning a birthday celebration is… “Is this my party?” Oh, I could feel you shrugging and exclaiming, “that’s ridiculous, of course, I know that!” over here. But really, some people need to be constantly reminded.

Not your party, honey

Photo credit: The Frisky

If you really want the debut to achieve its goal of making the debutante the happiest person of the night, this question should bug you every step of the way. Why? Simply because people who plan party for other people, wittingly or unwittingly, tend to organize an event that they want and not what the celebrant wants.

But hey, I’m not trying to dampen your confidence and excitement about your very important task. You were entrusted with the honor of masterminding a significant event, one that the debutante would remember for as long as she lives, and that could only mean that she and her family believe in your creativity, taste and sensibilities. But that still doesn’t make the party yours. You might be oozing with bold and edgy ideas for the programme that would surely pump it up on the dance floor, but maybe—just maybe—the debutante likes a more laidback, all warm and fuzzy kind of stuff.

I bet you’re thinking, “What about the guests? Don’t they have a say about these?” Well, if you could ask how each of them feels about your burlesque-inspired party this early, then by all means, do it. But that seems a little futile, isn’t it? So who else should have a fairly accurate, general assessment of the kind of party that the debutante’s guest would enjoy as much as she would? Hint: It is the birthday celebrant. She knows these people best and she has stuck with them for, at most, 18 years of her life so chances are, they might have similar interests and personality.

Aha! Magic words appearing as I type—“personality” and “interests”. Those are your best friends, if not, your muse, or the wells from which your creative juices flow. And there’s also the debutante’s basic information such as where she lives, what her religion is, or what her college major is. 

Chum the debutante

That tiny creature on the left is me with the debutante and two common friends. 
I look tired, I know. But, heck, that was fun.

The last debut I organized was for a classy teenager who is taking up a degree in tourism, and also wanting to become a travel journalist. She likes the color pink and she likes to go to Paris more than any place in the world. I trust that after reading those, I only need to count to ten before I say that you have already come up with a party theme, or at least, have envisioned what the cake should look like. That’s your germinal idea.

If you are good buddies with the debutante then figuring out who we’re celebrating for won’t be a difficult task. However, I would still advise that you chat her up over a cup of coffee just to capture, firsthand, what excites her the most. If you want, you can make things a little more convenient by asking her to fill out a short questionnaire form before you meet. That gives you time to research for initial inputs and tangible ideas before you meet face to face. Here are some questions to consider:

-        Is this a big party? How many guests are we expecting?

-          Do you have a particular concept, idea or theme in mind? (Who knows if she    already has it all figured out?)

-          What are your current hobbies?

-          What is your favorite book, movie, TV show, music, food, color, __________?

-          What do you like to talk about the most?

-          Who inspires you?

-          How would you describe yourself?

 

If you feel like you already know the celebrant that you could actually imagine yourself strutting in her shoes, then you are ready to embark on an intricate process of sifting through all these information and coming up with a single, all-encompassing theme for the night. And when we say “single”, that means, “only one”.

One party, one theme

Again, this is a common issue with most of the debuts I have been to. The event has no driving concept other than celebrating a birthday. Everybody celebrates one every year in whatever manner or form. But this, this is a debut. It only happens to this young woman once in her life and if she thinks something like this should happen then it should be the best she could ever have because it is about her, not her birthday, but her.

At first, you will find yourself bombarded with a lot of theme ideas but eventually, and also with constant coordination with the debutante, four will boil down to three and then to one. Try to find that one germinal idea with utmost consideration of the following: timeframe, budget, human resources, supplies and logistics, and last but not the least, nature.

The latter are the topics I would discuss on the third part of my “How to Plan a Debut” series so keep yourselves posted, lovelies!