Anatomy of a Book Launch Party part 2

How to Plan a Book Launch Party: Part 2

The weekend before the launch, my friend Terry and I went to Party City and Michaels to pick up some items:

tablecloths and table decorations
little cookie bags
plastic cups, little plates, etc.

We chose the colors of the Four Directions: Yellow, White, Red decoration colors, and black table coverings.

My daughter made the tall decorative poles. She painted symbols from the book: an eagle, a buffalo, a horse, and tied red, yellow and white ribbons on a black post. We used these at the door entrance and next to the author signing table.

I ordered a cake from our local Cake Coop. The cake sculptor created a beautiful cake. (see previous post)

My sister, SILs and DIL all baked about 50 cookies each. The grandkids and nieces helped package the cookies in little bags the night before. (Yes, they washed their hands!!) I printed out some thank you stickers to close the bags.

We arrived at the Fireman Exempt Hall early in the morning, around 10am to set up. We arranged the tables as shown below.

We had a sandwich tray for family members at noon. And we ordered pizzas (cut in bite sized pieces) for 1pm and 2pm. The cake was cut and served at 3pm.

I concentrated on the people standing in front of me. I also found out no matter who it was or how easy their name was, I had to have the name spelled out on a post it note right next to me. I didn’t make a mistake that way.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a line forming from the door entrance. I tried not to get distracted, but it was exciting to see everyone! I really appreciated the support from family and friends! My writing friends from RACWI showed up in great numbers. What a great surprise and wonderful gift!