A free RSVP for the end-of-year party
To get a headcount for the end-of-year party, send one link where everybody answers yes, no or not sure, says whether they are bringing anyone, and tells you what they cannot eat. The page adds it up, so the number you give the caterer is the number of plates you need.
This template asks the two food questions every party ends up asking anyway, and lets people add a guest.
What you get
Yes, no or maybe, with an optional cap on the yeses.
- Yes, I will be there
- No, I cannot make it
- Not sure yet
The number beside a line is how many people it takes. Everything here is editable, and nothing has a date on it until you set one.
How to run it
Send it the first week of November for a party in December: the calendar fills fast, and a date people hear about early is a date they keep. Set the closing time to the day the caterer needs the number, so late answers do not change it.
Two weeks out, remind the people who have not answered. One reminder is enough; most people simply forgot.
Dietary needs, counted
"Dietary needs" is a short list (none, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, other) rather than a box to type into, because a list can be counted and a box has to be read. The free-text question beside it catches the allergy that matters most.
Everyone who answers sees only their own answers. The list of who eats what is yours.
A worked example
A team of forty: thirty-one yes, four of them bringing a partner, five no, four not sure. The caterer is told thirty-five, plus a few for the not-sures, with three vegetarian and one gluten-free, and the night has enough plates.
After the party
Download the list as a spreadsheet for the expenses claim, then delete the page. What is deleted is gone for good thirty days later, names and dietary answers included, which is right for a list that says who eats what.