If you missed the first two parts of our surprise party series, you can check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here, which focus on the planning of the event. Here’s Part 3, all about the day of the surprise party itself.

• Well done! You’ve made it to surprise party day without spilling the beans. If you’ve managed to keep the surprisee in the dark, the scene will be set for a night to remember …

• On the morning of the party, ring the decoy person who is chaperoning the guest of honour to the location. Confirm all the vital surprise details with them, including the time they should turn up and how they should enter the party location (back door, through the garage etc). You don’t want the surprisee to arrive before the full throng of guests is assembled.

• Make sure you create maximum impact for the ‘Surprise!’ moment – do this by gathering all the guests in one area when you hear the surprisee approaching. Switch off the lights and tell everyone to give a huge cheer when the guest of honour enters the room. If possible, have the decoy person text you with a five-minute warning so you can be totally ready.

• Nobody wants to be surprised when they’re in their tracksuit pants – the special guest will be nothing short of embarrassed and it could ruin their reaction. So be certain that the fake decoy event (the place the special guest thinks they are going to) is somewhere they need to be dressed nicely to attend.

• If you’re hosting a surprise party, you need to be even more organised than for a regular event. Keep food and drink simple and have it all prepared well before the starting time, because once the party begins, your main focus should be on making the surprise moment memorable.
  

• Even though they will be really touched by your thoughtfulness it can still be rather overwhelming to be the unexpected centre of attention. It’s likely your guest of honour will be shocked (that’s the idea!) and hopefully they will respond in a positive way, but do give them a moment to collect themselves before they join in the fun of the celebration.