A Fetch Day: planning for a Mean Girls Viewing
My take on the Mean Girls-inspired marshmallow treats originated by Taryn Camp.
I’ve been attempting to watch the 2024 Mean Girls movie (an adaptation of the musical adapted from the original movie — a la Grease) for quite some time — and the time has finally come! I’m hosting a few girls at my house, and wanted to add a little pizzazz to the activity. Read below for my approach in planning this relatively small, yet themed, event.
I aimed for a simple event with minimal decor & F&B. I like to be efficient with decor, applying of the Just in Time (JIT) principle that I learned in college many moons ago. It’s a strategy to “deliver materials and inventory when, and only when, they’re needed/ordered, without holding excess” (read more here).
Though this doesn’t directly pertain to my event, I believe that business concepts can loosely apply to many life aspects. The goal with my viewing party was to buy enough F&B and decor to make the event fun & entertaining without a significant amount of leftovers, unused ingredients or decor to store.
My initial plan (brainstorming stage).
I gathered inspiration from the web and an assist from ChatGPT :) Ideas are scattered in a somewhat disorganized manner — but it was a start, nonetheless. One of my planning fundamentals is to start ASAP, even if you don’t have a well-vetted outline. Once the framework has been drafted, the details should fall in place fairly easily. Collect as many nuggets of inspiration as you need to get the creative juices flowing, then organize, prioritize and eliminate as necessary until you have a streamlined plan.
You can also mix & match aspects of different inspirational elements. For example, perhaps you’re drawn to images you found of marshmallow treats and candy canes. Instead of making the fruity treat recipe you saved, you can make a peppermint version with a modified look and/or flavor profile.
When planning an activity with food & beverages, it’s important to have a healthy balance of savory & sweet to provide a variety for your guests. Once you’ve completed your initial brainstorm, I recommend creating specific categories for each food group to ensure nothing is overlooked. For a more in-depth event, you can incorporate categories other than “sweet” and “savory” such as
finger foods vs. plated dishes vs. passed hors d’oeuvres
advanced flavor profiles (e.g., spicy, salty, fruity, umami)
textures + temperatures (e.g., creamy, crunchy, cold vs. hot)
alcoholic vs non-alcoholic beverages
If you don’t have a lot of time or money to curate specific themed items, select an appropriate color scheme which may be easier to implement. For example, knowing I would not likely re-use Mean Girls themed paraphernalia, I wanted to limit the amount of purchases that fell within that confined theme. However, pink decor conveys Mean Girls, has widespread availability and may be applicable to any number of future events (birthday or bachelorette parties, Easter, generic themed events like rainbow or disco, etc).
My refined plan (planning phase).
Because of the simplistic nature of my event, my intermediate plan closely resembled my initial brainstorm. I reorganized the content, crossed out some ideas and vetted my to-do list.
Once your plan is mostly documented, you are ready to start executing. Note — you do not need to wait until you have all of your ducks in a row before you start implementing your plans. In fact, I encourage you to complete tasks while you finalize your strategy as some actions may impact the trajectory of your activity. For example, say you decide to order Mean Girls themed popcorn boxes early to ensure they ship on time. When on the Amazon or Etsy page, you may find recommendations for other items that are a perfect fit for your event. If you’ve established a budget for your event, purchasing these additional items may mean you have to pare down other elements you’d “locked in” to your plan.
It is key to continue documenting your plan of action as you navigate the execution phase.
Track actual spend vs budgeted costs
Jot down new ideas (possibly to save for a future/different event)
Track online purchases to make sure everything arrives & is correct
Schedule remaining tasks
Create a timeline of events for the day-of. This can be as detailed or high-level as needed, but should be a general guideline to ensure everything is ready to go by the start of the event. Consider conflicts you may need to workaround (e.g., trainer appointment in AM), cook times (e.g., treats need to set for x hours prior to eating) and other contingencies (e.g., don’t leave cheese out for too long before guests arrive) when arranging this schedule.
My working-level plan (execution phase).
Throughout the execution phase I like to add a few checkpoints to assess overall status. Do a visual evaluation of the items you’ve received to date & determine if it will be sufficient for your event. If you think you’re light on decor, consider purchasing a few supplemental pieces. If you think you have too many beverages and not enough food, adjust accordingly.
Be prepared for unforeseen hurdles as you approach your event date: food may go bad, packages may be late, the weather may shift, etc.
Tweaks will be necessary as your finalize your decor and spread. You may need to change the central focus of your event to another section of the room due to the angle of the sun, or increase the number of place settings to accommodate extra guests. Be flexible, rely on your plan - and remember that your guests do not know what you intended or planned for the event, so they will love and appreciate your effort no matter the final product.
My “table-scape”. The only action remaining at this point in time was to pull refrigerator items out prior to guest arrival. Though this example was simple, the procedures mentioned apply to events of varying levels of complexity. More elaborate events require more time and discretion, but as long as you follow the principles, you’ll be set for success!
One last piece of advice is to hold an informal post-mortem for your event to capture lessons learned. For example:
Guests preferred savory food over sweet — include more savory options at next event
ChatGPT was a good resource for theme-specific brainstorming — ask more tailored questions
ADDENDUM (MY RESULTS)
Event: 8/10 My table-scape was smaller than I imagined, but was well-received and the theme was clear.
Movie: 7/10 The original reigns supreme, but I laughed at several lines and enjoyed the music.
Plan: 10/10 I remained in budget and had the perfect amount of food. Leftovers transitioned into my meal plan for the following week and most of the decor can be repurposed.
