The work, Rodning says, is fun. Most of it can be handled right from her home, where she makes dozens of phone calls tracking down exactly the right venue, food or product for a party. The fact she can do that on her own time is important to her because she also helps her husband with the bookkeeping for his trucking business.

And, of course, she has her own parties to plan as well. Her oldest son graduates from high school this spring, and she admits feeling a bit of pressure to make his party perfect. But already, she has a few fun tricks up her sleeve to make it special.

The first, she says, are the crock pots of wild game — deer, pheasant and duck — that she’ll set out for friends to sample (her son is an avid hunter). And the second is the life-size cardboard cutouts of her son standing around the party, an idea she stole from the movie “Step Mom.”

“I took seven pictures of him at different stages of his life and had them blown up,” she says. “So next to the table with the crock pots, there will be a picture of him at age 7, holding up his first duck.”

Such original touches have become her hallmark, whether at her own parties or someone else’s. “It’s all about finding an idea,” she said, “and then figuring out how to execute it.”

At A Glance

What

Gala by Gayla, a home-based business in St. Peter

Services

Gayla Rodning plans weddings, graduation parties, holiday gatherings, corporate functions and other events. Rodning also makes custom baskets and boxes for special occasions.

Contact

(507) 931-6902 grodning@hotmail.com