As an event planner, if I waited until Wednesday to start planning a party on Saturday, I wouldn’t be much of a planner, would I? Waiting until the last minute to pull the elements of a party together generates unnecessary stress.
At my house, party planning starts weeks before the event. Implementation can start days before the party. I’ve been known to set the table a week before a big dinner party.
It’s the same with planning your own bon voyage party. Why would you subject your family and friends to the stress of last-minute party planning and implementation? Would it help to think about it as preparing your own farewell party, rather than funeral planning?
The big questions to be answered are what do you want done with your body and what kind of send-off do you want? Some folks will want a religious service, others will not. If you harbor some special plans, don’t keep it a secret to yourself! If no one else knows about it, the secret stays with you after you can no longer speak.
Are there specific items you own that you want to give to particular people? Do you want to record your own words of wisdom on audio or video to be played for others to hear? What songs might you want played?
Talk to your people and let your wishes be known! Party planning IS pre-planning.