Squeee! Adorkable Nikki Maxwell, star of Rachel Renée Russell’s bestselling Dork Diaries series, shares her top tips on throwing a DORKTASTIC party!

OMG this is so exciting!!! Me and my BFFs love a good party. So here’s our dorktastic party plan to make sure your party is beyond awesome!

Choose a theme
All the best parties have a theme. If you like the outdoors why not try a garden party with a BBQ or roasting marshmallows on a bonfire. If you want something a little more low key how about a movie night pyjama party?

Write a guest list
Once you’ve decided on the perfect theme, you’ll need to write a guest list. Write a list of all the friends and family you would like to come and don’t forget to invite your crush!

Send out invitations
Now it’s time to send out invitations! You can either buy them or, even better, create them yourself! Just get your BFFs together and get crafting. Remember to put the date, time and location of the party so that everyone knows where to go.

Time to decorate!
This is our favourite part. Your theme will help you choose some appropriate accessories, but if you’re keeping things simple, there’s all sorts of fun banners, balloons and bunting you can put up.

Cake!
Every good party has to have a cake, but you don’t have to do a big birthday cake, cupcakes are just as yummy or go crazy and get a delicious pie or cheese cake instead.

Party Food
Your guests are going to be hungry and need a bit more than just a cake, so depending on your theme get some little nibbles for them to share and some nice drinks too. Mini sausages and mini sandwiches are classic.

Party outfit!
SQUEEE! The most important thing of all, your party outfit! It’s mandatory you look SUPER cute. Are you going to wear a gorgeous dress? Relaxed dungarees? Or, if you’re having a super cool pool party, a glamorous swimsuit?

A fun activity
It’s your party, so why not do something you really love? Like singing, have a fun karaoke. Love playing games, have a big game of hide-and-seek. If you want something a little more wild, get a piñata! Our favourite game to play is the Cringe-o-meter! Ask your guests to reveal their most embarrassing moments or the most embarrassing thing their parents have ever done. Then rate their stories on the Cringe-o-meter scale of one to ten (ten being mega-cringe).

You’re now ready to throw the best party ever and always remember to let your inner DORK shine through!

Nikki J. Maxwell xxx