Okay, it's less than two weeks until my son's 21st and now he decides he will have a party. What do I need to do first: invitations, a 21st key (so outdated) order a cake, plan a menu?

Personalise your own balloon arrangement by changing the age and colours
I'm pondering this dilemma when my friend told me that I can plan a party without thinking by contacting The Party Pantry. It sounded too good to be true.
I could have even done this over the phone but I decided to go to The Party Pantry and was pleasantly welcomed by Karen. She gave me her checklist for things to think about and said with a laugh 'We will help you spend your money'. Actually, it was very unbelievably inexpensive.
When I had a look at the checklist I was surprised because there were so many things that I needed but had not even thought of. To my defence I hadn't had much time to do so.
I think the best thing about The Party Pantry was that Karen had great advice based on experience. For example, she was able to tell me that kids love puffy dogs and what other things people of different ages and sex would be likely to eat. I hadn't really considered that there were foods that would be more appropriate for particular ages (apart from toddlers). Karen was able to make recommendations about how many pieces per person and particular items like colours of the candles, balloons etc.

What colour did you have in mind?
Karen was extremely helpful and patient despite the fact that several other people came in to be served. I was able to purchase all I needed, choose a unique cake, and pay for everything in less than 1 1/4 hours.
Karen suggested that I might like to hire a waiter for four hours who would come with all of the cooking equipment, prepare and serve food and clean up for only $190. Actually this was one of the biggest expenses but well worth it. I swear my kitchen was cleaner at the end of the night than before the waitress arrived. The stove top certainly was.
What a wonderful idea so that I could spend time talking to guests and enjoying the party rather than slaving over in the kitchen and possibly burning some of the food. I don't know how she juggled everything (we had 13 different finger foods) in the oven, fryer and steamer so that it was all served hot and in a timely manner. She still had time to cut up the fruit platters.
Another thing I liked was the food was a little more unique than the junk food I considered buying at the supermarket. For example 30 mixed savouries for only $17.90, gyoza and a unique pack of tiny cakes (tiramisu, lemon tart, berry shortcake and a peppermint cake for about $24 a dozen).

Everything you could need for a great party
I thought that I had a small amount of notice, but apparently some people come in on the day of their party and because The Party Pantry has many freezers they can supply enough food for the party, even of that short notice.
If you can't decide what you want they have a number of suggested package deals for 50 people from only $2.54 per head. This includes eight different items and the total is only $127.
When we went to pick up all our food on the day it was already packed and was carried out to our car. At the last minute my youngest son persuaded me to buy a $20 pinuata. It was a big hit on the night (pardon the pun).

Mix 'n' match
The party was the biggest we have had but easiest to plan and enjoy. I would highly recommend The Party Pantry for all your party particulars. I doubt that you could think of something for a party that would not be there.