How-to-plan-a-party

Sometimesyoujustneedtothrowagoodparty.There’snothinglikehostingandseeingallyourfriendstogetherinthesameplace.Buthowdoyoudoit?Withadequateplanning,therightfoodandmusic,asolidguestlist,andafewthingstodo,yourpartyissuretobeahitandmaybeevenatradition.Pickaplace.Whereareyougoingtohavetheparty?Willitbeabigevent,oralittlegettogether?Couldyouhaveitatyourhouseorafriend’shouse?Didyouhaveavenueinmind,likeaspecificrestaurant,bowlingalley,movietheatre,orpark?Ifyouplanonhavingquiteafewguestsandcan’tdoitathome,youmaywanttomakereservationsatyourvenuebeforehandtomakesuretheycanaccommodateyou.It’sbesttocallatleastaweekinadvancetogiveyourselfthebestoddsofgettingtheokay.Determineadateandtimeforyourparty.Ifit’sabirthdayparty,mostpeopletrytohavethepartyonthatdate.Otherwise,anyweekendeveningornightisgenerallybestsoyouandyourguestsdon’thaveschoolorworkinthemorning.Mostpartiesareafterdinner,butabrunchorafternoonpartyworks,too.Also,makesuretopickadatewhenmostofyourguestsarefree.Doyouknowofanotherpartyhappeningoracommunityeventorholidaythathaseveryonebooked?Youmayhavetodosomeaskingaroundbeforehandtofigureoutifthisisthecase.[1]Youmayalsowanttohaveadurationoftimeforyourparty.Thatwaywhenithitsmidnight,yourguestsknowthattheydon’thavetogohome,buttheycan’tstaywithyou(oratthevenuethat’sclosing).Italsohelpspeoplenothavetoworryaboutanunscheduleddeparture.Decideonatheme.Willitbeforanoccasion?Ifso,thinkwhatwillpleasetheguestofhonor.Otherwise,trytocomeupathemethatmightgeteveryoneexcitedorintrigued.Herearesometips:[2]Dosomethingthat’saccessible,especiallyifthepartythisweekend.Anallblackpartyiseasy;a1940spartyisnot(unlessyougiveeveryoneadequatepreptime).Dosomethingthat’snotclothingrelated.Asandwichparty(whereeveryonebringsadifferentsandwich)couldbequitethehit.Nottomentiontheclassicwineorbeertastingparty,too.Dosomethingwithabroadertheme,likea“golf”or“owl”themedparty.Youcouldthenhave“par”faitsorchickenwings,andotherthemedfare.Ordon’thaveathemeatall.Sometimesit’sjustniceforfriendstogettogetherandenjoyeachothers’company.Planyourguestlist.Thiswillbepartlydeterminedbywhereyou’rehavingtheparty–howmanypeoplecanthevenuetolerate?What’smore,whodoyouwantthereandwhowouldenjoytheparty?Doyouknowanyonewhoisn’tfree?Noteveryonewantstodanceandnoteveryonewantstolistentothemusic;somepeoplewanttotalkandrelax.Ifyourpartyisonekindortheother,takethatintoaccountwithyourguestlist.However,ifyoucan,trytoaccommodatefordifferentinterestsandlevelsofsocialcomfortwithspaceplanningifitispossible,and,ifapplicable,accountfordifferentagegroups.Alsodeterminewhetheryouwantyourfriendstobringfriendsornot.Thatcouldseriouslychangehowmanyheadsyouhavetoplanforandmouthsyouhavetofeed.Decideonabudget.Ifthisisyourparty,you’lllikelyhavetofrontmostofthecost.Youmayalsohavetodecorateevenifyoudon’thaveitatyourhome.Howmuchareyouwillingtospend?Ifit’snotaton,askafewfriendsiftheycanchipin.Theywanttopartytoo,don’tthey?Agoodwaytodeflectthecostsofapartyistohaveapotluck.Thiswayeveryonechipsinandisapartofthefunandyoudon’thavetopayforallthefood.Youcouldalsospecificallyinstructcertainpeopletobringdrinks,ice,plates,napkins,andcutlery.Decideonabudget.Ifthisisyourparty,you’lllikelyhavetofrontmostofthecost.Youmayalsohavetodecorateevenifyoudon’thaveitatyourhome.Howmuchareyouwillingtospend?Ifit’snotaton,askafewfriendsiftheycanchipin.Theywanttopartytoo,don’tthey?Agoodwaytodeflectthecostsofapartyistohaveapotluck.Thiswayeveryonechipsinandisapartofthefunandyoudon’thavetopayforallthefood.Youcouldalsospecificallyinstructcertainpeopletobringdrinks,ice,plates,napkins,andcutlery.Prepareandsetoutyourfood.Yourfoodchoicepacksabigpunchinyourparty.Ifyoudon'tknowwhattoget,askaroundtoseewhatyourfutureparty-attendeeswouldlike.Safebetsarefingerfoods,likechips,veggies,cookiesandcupcakes,minisandwiches,pretzels,popcorn,cheeseandcrackers,andbitesoffruit.Donotneglectdrinks,ice,cups,napkins,plates,forks,andknives,too.You’llalsoneedsomemethodofchilledstorage(likealargecooler)tokeepthedrinkscoldaswell.Ifyou’reofage,besuretooffernon-alcoholicdrinksifyouareofferinganarrayofalcoholicdrinks–noteveryonewantstoorcanconsumealcohol.What’smore,youdon’twantabunchofdrunkgueststrashingtheareaandnosoberdriverstogetthemhome.Alwaysmakesurethatnoneofyourguestshaveallergiesorseriousdietrestrictions;iftheydo,makesurethereisfoodforthemtoenjoy,too.Makeapartyplaylist.What'sapartywithoutmusic?Pickmusicthatyouthinkwillbemostagreeabletothespiritofyourpartyandyourguests.It'sagoodideatohaveaniTuneswindowopenonyourcomputersoyoucandownloadtunesorplayvideosthatguestssuggest.Ifyoudon'thavealotofyourowntunes,askyourgueststobringtheirown.Youcouldalsoplayaninternetradiostationthathaswhateverishot,andjamaway.Setthemoodandtoneofthepartywithlightinganddecorations.Ifyouwanttohaveanenergeticdanceenvironment,havemusic,strobelights,lasers,afogmachineandmaybesomevideosynchronizedwithyourmusic.Ifyouwantaclassywine-tastingparty,skipthestrobelightsandlightsomecandlesinstead.Italldependsonhowyouenvisionthepartyinyourmind.Asfordecorations,thisbitiscompletelyuptoyou.Areyou