Is there any meal more perfect than dessert? Sure, brunch gets points for combining the best of breakfast and lunch, and few can argue with a savory steak for dinner, but it seems that dessert was specifically engineered to activate the pleasure centers of the human brain. Whether your dessert fix is light and fruity or dark and chocolaty, this post-meal reward covers a wide range of flavors and textures to suit just about everyone's taste buds. In fact, dessert in itself can be enough inspiration for unique birthday gifts or a theme for an entire party. If you're looking for some keepsakes to characterize an upcoming birthday or just an evening with your best girlfriends, consider throwing a dessert baking party! Here are some planning tips to get started.

Guest List
At first you might receive some skeptical remarks about an entire event planned around an activity most people do in preparation for another party. However, you can help the idea sink in by designing attractive invitations that hint at the kind of delicious desserts you'll be creating. You can even float some suggestions in the party cards to get feedback from your guests about dietary restrictions and personal preferences. Of course, if you're hosting the event in your own home, you'll need to make sure you don't overextend your kitchen's functionality. Inviting more people than your space can comfortable accommodate could be a recipe for disaster.

Appetizers
During an event where you're working around delicious ingredients, you can expect you and your guests to develop quite an appetite before the desserts are even ready. To keep everyone satiated in the meantime, make sure you include some dessert-friendly appetizers. Ideal choices for your occasion include a spread of artisan cheeses, crackers and a variety of fruits and vegetables. To go along with these hors d'oeuvres, a few bottles of red and white wine will keep spirits high as you delve into the baking process.

Organize Your Baking Materials
Assuming that you have a decent number of guests arriving and the intention to whip up several different kinds of desserts, you'll need to make sure you have adequate supplies to handle that level of kitchen activity. For relatively inexpensive items like baking sheets, mixing cups, wax paper, thermometers and whisks, consider picking up a few extra on your own. You can then request some of your friends to donate their own kitchenware to the party's cause to cover the expensive necessities.