The six P’s of American Legion event planning

The holiday season is approaching. When you see stores put out Christmas decorations in October do you think to yourself, “Who the heck is thinking about Christmas in October?” Well, they might be on to something. 

A well-executed event takes about two months of advanced thought and action.  The Internet has countless event checklists to fit all needs so it’s a good idea to look at several and customize a plan for your specific needs. This is useful for the holiday season and throughout the year for any events your post is planning.  
When planning an event, regardless of size, follow the six P’s — Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. 

Proper. Identify what kind of holiday event you want to conduct and what’s appropriate and realistic for your group. Do you want to provide gifts and a meal to children and families in your community, or host a black tie fundraising dinner? If it’s fun and celebratory, and agreed upon, then that is proper.

Prior. Ninety days is the ideal amount of time to adequately put an event together. Consider logistics, who will do what, when and how. Think ahead about every physical action that needs to occur and write the name of who’s going to check that box. Every event needs to have a before, during and after plan. It takes a team so work together and delegate. 

Before the event, consider how you will get the word out. Will it be in your post newsletter and on social media, as well as in the local newspaper and over the radio? Identify who will make announcements leading up to the event. And during the event, create a schedule and identify who will take ownership of each step, who will clean up, and who will follow up with those in attendance. 

Planning. Being early in the planning process will help you Prevent things that could have been avoided and promote the best event. Overall, think things through with enough lead time to avoid Poor Performance. And start planning your holiday events now.