Surprise parties are pretty much the best kinds of celebrations. Nothing beats the sly, hidden secrecy leading up to the event, plus the payoff of your beloved friend being shocked out of their pants when the surprise actually happens. But surprise parties don't just happen; they require careful and discreet planning. Here are some steps for pulling off a successful surprise bash:

1. Spend a good amount of time with your party person.

If you don't notice their preferences, how are you supposed to know what kind of cake they like? Their favorite color? Helium or lame air? Buttercream or the other stuff?

2. Find a few people to help organize it.

It's pretty much impossible to pull off by yourself because you can't be distracting the person and overseeing the arrival of the party-goers at the same time. So grab another friend or two of the person being surprised!

3. Figure out a distraction.

How will you keep the person away from the party? Maybe one person will take them to dinner or maybe they'll be in class or work. Follow the accomplice on Find My Friends to see how close they are.

4. Get creative.

Parties get all the better when they are tailored to that specific person--

Lauren loves Beyoncé so her bash included Bey's music, pictures of her face, and this cake.

Christa was headed to study abroad in Honduras so we made it slightly Central American with warm colors and chips & salsa.

5. Invite people.

The party's no fun without any surprise-ers. Make sure they all know that it's a surprise!

Our floor gathered to watch a good-bye video we made for her.

6. Take pictures!

Don't forget to capture the moment.