Plan a Halloween party with Google Docs, Slides, Gmail and more

2. Gather guest information with Google Forms.

It’s not always necessary, but in some cases it’s helpful to get some intel from guests before you even start party planning. For my Halloween party, I wanted to know what day worked best for most people, whether they planned on eating beforehand, if folks preferred going potluck-style or chipping in for pizza and most importantly, if they’d be entering the costume contest. Using Forms is far more organized than sending a group text or email and hoping you can follow answers as they roll in. On Forms, you can customize each question to be multiple choice, checkboxes, free text and more, and answers can automatically feed into a Sheet to help you keep track. Sending questions out with Google Forms allows people to answer anonymously, too, so no one feels put on the spot.

3. Keep it all in the Google doc.

It’s not a Google doc; it’s the Google doc. No matter what I’m planning, I’ve got a Google doc for it. Personally, I find it easiest to just throw it in the doc — whatever it may be: Costume ideas, recipes, links, anything. In addition to being my brain dump tool of choice, I also use it in lieu of a group chat or never-ending email thread. So instead of pinging everyone with updates about where to park or what dessert to bring, I just keep all the information in the doc and update it as it changes. This is also particularly useful if a few of us are planning things together and need to stay up to date on who’s in charge of what. (Pro tip: I love using pageless formatting when I’m brainstorming in a doc.)