monpetitlistou
All templates

Organising a weekend away with friends

The organiser's list, in the order the decisions actually have to be taken. Dates before the house, the house before the money, and the food last, because you cannot shop for a number you do not have yet.

37 items

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

The items

  1. Propose two possible weekends, not oneOne date splits the group into those who can and those who cannot. Two dates find the weekend that works.
  2. Set a deadline for answersA week. After that you book for the people who answered, and say so when you ask.
  3. Count the firm yesses, with namesReactions in a group chat are not a number. A name on a line is.
  4. Agree a budget per person before looking at housesSixty euros a head and a hundred and sixty are different weekends. Decide which one this is first.
  5. Decide what kind of weekend it is
  6. Walking and fresh air, or a house and a fire
  7. Cooking together, or eating out
  8. One big night, or two quiet ones
  9. Children coming, or notThis one changes the house, the food and the hours. Ask it early, out loud.
  10. Book the house
  11. Enough real beds for the number, not sofa beds counted as beds
  12. Check the check-in time and whether anyone arrives before it
  13. Read the deposit and cancellation terms before paying
  14. Send the address and the access instructions to everyone the same day
  15. Set up the kitty
  16. One shared pot for the house, the food and the fuel
  17. Everyone transfers their share before the weekend
  18. Agree what is in the kitty and what each person pays for themselves
  19. Sort the journeys
  20. Who is driving and who has a seat
  21. A meeting point and a time for anyone travelling together
  22. Tell the drivers who is in their car
  23. Plan the meals as meals, not as shoppingFriday dinner, Saturday breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday breakfast. Six meals, and everyone can see which one is theirs.
  24. Share the bring-list so nobody brings a fourth bag of crisps
  25. Ask about allergies and diets once, in writingOnce, so the answer is in a place people can read on the Saturday morning.
  26. Pick one thing to do, and one to fall back on if it rainsOne anchor per day is plenty. A timetable is a way of making friends late for things.
  27. Agree who cooks and who washes up, before anyone is hungry
  28. Check whether the house supplies bed linen and towels
  29. Send the practical message two days before
  30. Address, arrival time, and what to bring
  31. The nearest supermarket and how late it opens
  32. Phone signal, and a number that works if there is none
  33. Bring a speaker, a card game and something for the quiet hour
  34. Agree the Sunday departure time on the Saturday night
  35. Leave the house as you found itHalf an hour, everybody, at the same time. The alternative is two people doing it for an hour and a half.
  36. Settle the kitty within the week, while it still makes sense
  37. Put the photos somewhere everyone can reach them

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

Questions people ask

How far ahead should a group weekend be booked?
Two to three months for eight people. The constraint is never the house, it is getting eight diaries to agree, and every week you wait is another person who books something else on that Saturday.
What is the single thing that goes wrong most often?
Nobody counts. Fourteen people react to the message, nine say they are in, and six turn up. Ask for a yes with a name against it, set a date by which the yes costs money, and book for that number.
Who should pay for the booking?
One person pays, and everybody else transfers their share the same week, before the weekend rather than after it. Chasing money from people who have already had their weekend is how friendships get quietly dented.