CARES Team Event Planning 101

You can never have too much food. We discovered this the hard way when 70+ people showed up to get their picture taken with Santa last December.

Always bring your camera with you, everywhere, even to the most mundane events. And make sure your batteries are charged or that you have spares!

Case in point: Last Thursday morning, Jacob and I arrived at the office to bake cookies. (We hand them out to the kids after school every Thursday.) As we were getting out of the car, we noticed the lake was still mostly frozen over, as it had been for days. The fountain was on, so there was a circle of unfrozen water in the middle of the lake. We also noticed the ducks had returned, but were quite confused by their lack of swimming area. We saw two ducks attempt to WALK ON THE ICE to get to the patch of unfrozen water. Hilarity ensued. It was a shame that the ice melted before we came back that afternoon, camera ready.

Utilize Facebook to network with possible vendors. I've already gotten two promising responses to my late-night last-minute request for a local jazz band, and both are WAY more affordable than the one I originally contacted.

Google Calendar! I couldn't live without it, color-coded events and all. The ability to move events around from day to day and hour to hour with a click of the mouse keeps me somewhat sane. However, my lack of a mobile device or laptop means I have to take printed copies with me when I go out, which severly limits the whole "interactive" function. Your milage may vary, especially if you have an iPhone or other cool cell with internet capabilities and a touch screen. *sigh*

Always, always, have a backup plan. And have MULTIPLE backup hosts if you are expecting a baby within a week of the event date. You know, just in case one gets bronchitis.

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