Holding Surprise Parties: Is it a Good Idea?

As humans, we are inclined to participate in parties and celebrations. Commemorating important events in life often quenches our need to interact with society. Of course, these celebrations are also a perfect way to spend time with our loved ones. 

But sometimes, people love to put twists to these parties to make them more interesting. These can help people have more fun during these celebrations. Also, they are creative ways to keep the entertainment factor of the entire experience. 

The Surprise Party 

One of the most popular things that people do during celebrations is surprise parties. These are celebrations wherein the person being celebrated has no clue about the party being held for them. People do this because they want to elicit a candid and genuine positive response. 

The usual process starts with the guests often gathering at the party venue before the person’s arrival is celebrated. These places would be decorated with all sorts of foil paper and party banners. A person, typically someone who is close to the person being celebrated, would then find natural ways to lure them into the party. Everything is hidden until they arrive, not to raise suspicion.

Our Enjoyment of Being Surprised

The expected reaction from these surprise parties would be joy and, of course, shock. These raw emotions are often elicited during these surprise parties, and every person in attendance finds enjoyment in them. Of course, the targets of these surprise parties may also feel positive emotions. 

This may be connected to how our brains enjoy these unexpected situations. A study found out that the reward pathways in our brains responded strongly to unexpected stimuli. This may explain why many people love surprise parties that are meant for them. 

Some even see these surprises as necessary to live a better life. With that, it can be hard to deny that these surprise parties bring an exciting element to our celebrations. But while many people see these surprises as positive experiences, are they always a good idea? 

Are Surprise Parties Always a Good Idea?

A surprise party may be fun for the most part. But there will be times when these parties do not attain their intended effects. Let’s break down how a simple surprise party can be a bad idea for celebrations. 

A Ton of Deception 

For one, this type of party will deal with a lot of deception. In many cases, people will have to lie to get their target person to attend the party. Also, to avoid spoiling the surprise, everyone involved will have to stay quiet about the party. 

While this is not inherently harmful to anyone, some people are just not comfortable lying to another person. Keeping the party a secret can also be hard as well. People like this may end up telling the person about the party, effectively spoiling its element of surprise.

With that, these parties may require more work for the organizers and participants. They need to work on the party itself and exert effort to keep it a secret. Some people essentially have no patience to do all this. 

No Control Over the Planning 

People who celebrate something often want to have complete control over the celebration that will happen for them. They want to invite certain people to their parties or serve specific types of food to their guests. In surprise parties, they will have no control over all of this.

Since they won’t know about the party until it happens, they have no say in the party’s organization at all. They may not fully enjoy the party because it may not satisfy their preferences. When this happens, all those days of planning can easily be wasted. 

Surprise Parties Can Easily Be Derailed 

Surprise parties have several flaws. But their biggest flaw has to be the fact that they are incredibly easy to derail. For one, if the target of the party has other plans for their celebrations and refuses to go to the party, everything will be wasted.

It is highly likely that the person who will be celebrated will be incredibly late or will not attend at all. People spend a huge amount of energy, time, and even money on these parties. It can be highly disappointing when these parties do not go as planned.  

With that, people who want to have a surprise party for someone should be patient. They need to plan for everything well. Also, this plan needs to be executed properly to work. 

Planning a surprise party may not be for everyone. These types of parties are risky and need to be planned well. Despite this difficulty, surprise parties can have high rewards and incredibly effectively create a fun and memorable gathering.