A going-away party can be seen as a sad event, but so much fun can be had celebrating all the good times you’ve had, making the most of the time you’ve got left together! If your friend or family member is one of the 403,000 people who emigrate from the UK each year, send them on their way with a proper send-off that showers them in appreciation and support with these five simple steps.

Plan your guest list ahead of time

It can be difficult to know who to invite to your party – some even propose adopting a purely statistical approach to cut through the indecision – but any issues can be avoided with enough time to think.

Planning your guest list well in advance helps you to judge how much food and drink you’ll need to prepare, the size of the venue that must be booked, and gives people plenty of time to RSVP and request plus-ones. It also gives you time to find out if your guest of honour has anyone special they would like inviting you may not know yet, and to make sure if there is a decent amount of overlap and a good dynamic between the different groups of people attending.

Decorate your venue

Whether you decide to host the party at home or in a hired venue, decorating is key to making the event memorable and inviting. Eye-catching party decorations don’t have to eat into your budget to look great and buying pre-made supply kits of tableware and decorations can help the party look well put-together with ease. For that extra personal touch, choose a theme or colour combo loved by your friend or family member.

Personalize the menu

Create a menu of delightful food and drink options based of your guest of honour’s favourite flavours to remind them how much your care and appreciate them. If they’re the more adventurous type, if they’re moving abroad or somewhere with its own culinary culture, incorporate this into the menu to show your support for their move!

Remember to take allergies and dietary preferences into account via your invitations and make the menu accessible for everyone by serving both alcohol and soft drinks and having veggie or vegan-friendly options too!

Dedicate time to a toast or speech

Saying goodbye can be difficult as it can bring home the reality that someone really is leaving but being surrounded by friends and loved ones can make it far easier to say a few words. Dedicate some time towards the middle of the party so it’s not the first thing to set the mood and you’ve still got time to end on a high note. And let all your guests know so they have time to prepare something should they wish to speak.

Give them a memento

While you might have a tough time saying goodbye, being thrust into a brand-new place with few friends or family can be truly isolating. Help your friend by inviting guests to write messages and share photos which you can then combine into a scrapbook they can take with them when they leave, reminding them of the good times!