Perks and Rec: Sneaky planning for your resident NYE under-planner

You love your friend very much. They've offered a warm invitation to a classy New Year’s Eve ado, and there's nobody you'd rather spend the last day of 2023 with.

However, your dear friend is not what you would call a “planner.”  

History is littered with anecdotes of times when their skillset in this area (or lack thereof) has backfired. Remember that dinner party where the baked potatoes went into the oven only fifteen minutes before it was time to eat? Those puppies are supposed to take hours. Even that would've been fine, if it wasn’t for the fact that they’d forgotten the main altogether. 

Or how about the time you dog sat for them when they went on a weeklong vacation, and they only sent one day’s-worth of dog food? Could've been a quick fix, but the dog needed a hard-to-find hypo-allergenic diet food. 

It is an easy decision to say yes to this NYE invite, but there are some things you can do to, as the project managers of the world like to say, mitigate risk.  

Whether it’s our favorite Bluetooth speakers to fill the awkward silence of neglected musical ambience, a bottle of our favorite non-alcoholic bubbly for ol’ Uncle Joe (celebrating 10 years of sobriety on January 1st), or some Liquid IV party favors for those who do drink, we have you covered.

— Ben Garves, Rogue Agent

Reviewed, part of the USAT Today Network