Penny's Top Ten Tips #3 Party Prep for a Graduation Ball (or some other special occasion!)

Hi and welcome to the third Penny's Top Ten Tips! I hope you enjoyed last weeks post. This week I'm focusing on party prep. I've been and gone to my own Graduation Ball it seems like a good idea to tell you my top ten tips for being uber organised before and on the party night itself. Of course this can apply to any special occasion or party.

1. Sleeping Arrangements...-
Ok keep your jokes to a minimum here by sleeping arrangements, I mean having a place to stay for the night. If the venue is not near home then you need to make some early arrangements for where your going to crash for the night. Find a hotel near you or stay with a close friend that you feel comfortable with, as most likely you'll be getting ready for the party here.

2. Dress Sense-
Dress for the occasion by selecting a suitable outfit-dress, playsuit or whatever. In this case, this occasion was a graduation ball, so formal and dressed to impress. Although I'm going to offer some advice here as much as a big puffy dress would have been lovely, and princessy, its sadly not practical. I knew Was going to bust out some moves on the dance floor so a long puffy dress... not so good. If your planning on dancing, short or 3/4 length dresses are perfect. The same applies with shoes, if you know your on feet (or doing the macarina) high-heels are the enemy. If you must have killer heels carry some blister plasters and a pair of roll up shoes that can get stuff into a purse for emergencies. 

3. Save Money-
As much as you want to pay for the £350 dress that you know is perfect and you'd so wear it for other occasions. No. Put that purse down and move your mouse away from the PayPal button. Look at other options, check out Ebay, Amazon, charity shops, or ask your sister really nicely to borrow that nice dress that your lusting for or do what I did- pop to a dress hire shop and check the options. Reuse jewellery that you already have to glam up your outfit. I purposely chose blue and silver as I have tons of silver coloured jewerally and I look damn good in blue. 

Dress Hired £30 from Cinderella's Lifestyle (£20 deposit which I got back) 
Shoes-Dorothy Perkins £15 (marked down in the sale from £22)
Bag- Dorothy Perkins £0 (Already had this bag and just reusing it) 
Earrings-Accessorize £0 (Anniversary rom my boyfriend 2 years ago)
Bracelet- Accessorize £12 (I think it was a little while ago I bought this.) 
Ring-Accessorize £0(Christmas present) 
Total outfit cost: £61 

4. Saving money on party prep-
If you can do the party preping yourself then you'll save mega bucks on expensive treatments like facials. If you have a beauty therapist friend who needs to practice on, be the test dummy. It will cut costs and help out a friend. If not be your own beauty therapist. Here's what I spent when I did it myself. Again like tip 3, I used make-up that I already have so I didn't need to spend loads. 

The Prep:
Body Shop Shower Gel in Grapefruit  £0 (Already had this but otherwise £4) 
Nivea Invisible Black and White Clear Deodorant £0 (Gosh I really hope you  have deodorant but just on the off chance its £1.64)
Lush Love Lettuce £0 (Free as I brought back 5 black pots into Lush- normally £6.25 but can be used for more than one facial) 
Veet Hair Removal Cream£8.99 (Great investment as its a massive bottle which will last a while)
Revlon Nail Polish in Blue Eyed Girl  £0 (Already had this-Normally £3.69)
Barry M in Silver Foil Effect (Already had this and I think it was a limited edition however Rimmel has an alternative for £3.69) 
Hair Styled £17 (I knew a professional hairdresser who was happy to offer a friends and family discount)
Lush Shimmy Shimmy £4.75 
Total Cost: £30.74 (If buying new £42.63 in total)

Make-up
Benefit the POREfessional Primer £0 (Already have this-normally £24.50) 
No 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation £0 (Already use this-but £13.50) 
Benefit Theyer Real Mascara £0 (Already use this- £19.50)
Benefit High Beam Highlighter £0 (Got this as a Christmas present but normally £19.50) 
Benefit Hervana Blusher £0 (Again another Christmas present-normally £23.50) 
Urban Decay colours £0 (Received this as a present for my birthday) 
Total Cost: £0 Spent nothing on new make-up as I felt I had enought to get me through (If buying new its a massive £100.50!! If you use the products often and they work for you its a worth while investment.) 

5. Pack what you need for the evening-
Obviously if your staying somewhere overnight pack a sensible bag of toiletries, party prep stuff etc. In your going out bag or purse you will need the following: phone, ticket, to get in venue, keys to house/hotel, hairband, lipstick/lipgloss, facepower and plasters. That is it. Don't be tempted to chuck everything in, its a hassle to worry about if you've got a purse full of make-up.

6. Have some spare money just in case-
There's nothing worse then realising you don't have enough cash on you for food and drinks out. I don't bring my cash card as it can get lost or stolen more easily on a night out. Take out the cash you plan to spend for drinks, transport home and at least £10 as emergency money. Keep this money somewhere different from your purse, so if your purse gets lost you still have some cash to help you get home. 

7. Fully charge your phone before the night-
Common sense really. I mean you are most likely going to take photos, update your facebook status, texting and the list goes on...   

8. Don't forget to eat!-
You know those people who say before a night out- "If you're having booze, eating is cheating". You know what I say to that? Screw you. I love my food too much to give it up for alcoholic drinks. You go out on an empty stomach, you get drunk easily. You get drunk easily, you look like someone who can't handle their drink. And who looks stupid now? Don't ruin a good night because you forgot to eat beforehand. Have a meal with pasta or rice to absorb the alcohol. Also milk is good before a night out as it lines the stomach and helps absorb alcohol. 

9. Stay as a group while partying -

This is a kind of safety in numbers type of hint. Stay in twos when going from place to place like restrooms or getting taxis home. In my opinion partying as a group can be a laugh as well as safe. 
  
10. Arrange your transport home-
Arrange beforehand when your planning to get home and how. Booking a head of time takes the hassle out of fumbling around for a taxi number in the middle of the dancefloor. Also its one less thing to worry about. Little hint, book your transport 15 minutes later then you normally would, just so you can round up your group or have one last dance.

Most of all, have an excellent time and remember the party prep should be fuss free and add to the excitement.

What's your favourite party tip?

Penny Top Ten Tips #1 Graduation Week Tips

Welcome to week 1 of Penny's Top Ten Tips. What to focus on this week? As it's graduation season, I thought I would put up some advice from someone who has got through the university process. Its also a kind of wrap up of the last 4 years of balancing work, socialising and studying. The only way to describe it is like finishing a chapter of a book and moving onto the next one.

So that was uni. Also just like to point out I graduated with a 2:1, I know-I'm just so amazing (ha! Don't lie Penny).

So follow these tips on how to deal with leaving university and your graduation.

1. Attend your graduation-

My class had a lot of international students. From Hong Kong to Romania, they all made the effort to come together and celebrate as a class. I really recommend going as its a good opportunity to celebrate with family, friends and classmates. Also you get to dress up like a super hero and wear a cheeseboard on your head... very pretty.

2. Attend your graduation ball (or another night out with classmates)-
I can't describe how much fun my graduation ball was. I got my arms done all with snowflakes, I got to see a snake, I saw a lion dance- and had a little too much to drink. Wild night. It was such an enjoyable night. If in the unlikely event that your university doesn't do a grad ball then organise a night out for you and your classmates yourself!

3. Stay calm-
Its very easy to get stressed out with graduation ball and your graduation. Make sure that your super organised and that everyone knows what they are doing. I had to organise 4 people who were arriving at different times to get to one venue. Its not easy but it can be done especially if everyone knows what the plan is. Also, don't get upset when one of your party forgets the plans. No matter how many times you explain the plan, you will have to explain it one more time.

4.Get emotional-
University is a massive part of a students life. It eats up 3 to 4 years of your life and all of a sudden its not there anymore. Its completely normal to cry or go a bit crazy with excitement because, (unless you're doing a post graduate degree), you only get to do graduate once.

5 Enjoy your moment-
Your graduation should be a selfish moment. You've worked so hard, so yes, you deserve it.

6 Don't lose touch-

Keep in contact with classmates, friends, tutors, and even the university. Most universities have a alumni, which is when you finish you will always be part of the university and can still offer career services. Send the odd email or even better send a letter. People love getting post :)

7 Enjoy that last student summer...-
This is the only summer you may get as a student, so really enjoy it. Go on holiday, see as many friends as you can and live in the moment. You get this opportunity to really enjoy yourself before the full-time job sets in.

8...But don't forget to look for a job-
While your enjoying your summer, put aside one hour dedicated to career-time. This can be updating your LinkedIn profile, organising your CV,general job searching and networking. It will save you the panic, when you're asked: "So have you got a job yet?"

9 Arrange a meet-up in a year-
Its sort of like a university reunion, send out a message hinting to meet up with everyone at a suitable location. (Maybe at the university students union?) It will be nice to see everyone in a year to see what you have all been up too!

10. It will be a mixture of a feelings...it totally normal-
You may feel overwhelmed, excited, or down because its all over. The journey you did a few years ago has finished. Its the end of an era. Its been such a big part of your life that its hard to let go of it. You may find yourself walking away from the graduation and thinking: "Was that it? Its over?" Its sad but there is so much to look forward to. Holidays, a new career, moving out of your parents house, and well, moving out into the big wide world!

Congratulations and thank-you to all of my classmates, tutors and friends for making my years at university and graduation special. Do you have any tips for planning a graduation?