Leaving out the usual occasions – birthdays, anniversaries, and the like – when was the last time you went to a really great party? The kind that made you want to go the next one that person threw. What made it great? What was it about the occasion that was so much fun?
Here are a few pointers to make your next party the one everyone will be talking about – and in a good way.
The Theme
Every party should have a theme. It should be about something. If it’s not a birthday party or a traditional holiday fete, you’ll have to think of something. Make it a Game of Thrones party or a Sixties party. The theme is your guiding light to both how to make the evening entertaining and who to invite.
Suggest that the guests come prepared to participate. There will be something to do, not just watch. For instance, ask them to bring a poem, a song, or a joke to tell.
The Guest List
The key to a great party is the guest list. Come one, come all is not a party, it’s an open house. You should consider who you would like to come and how they will get along with each other. You should also limit your guest list to the number of people your house or apartment can handle comfortably. Think of seating arrangements and the size of the rooms. If the number of guests exceeds a dozen, you will have people splitting up into groups and turning the occasion into several separate parties rather than one.
Think ahead about who should talk to whom and why. You want your guests who just met each other to go away thinking, “That person was so interesting!” Meeting new and interesting people is one way to make a party stand out as great.
Hide the clutter
You don’t have to overhaul your home from top to bottom, but shove all your personal stuff and things that are in the way into your bedroom (where you don’t want people going anyway). In deciding what to move, keep a couple of rules of thumb in mind.
- Nothing should be on the floor. You’re going to want to maximize space.
- Try to remove anything breakable.
- Get rid of anything that can’t handle a spill from the tomato sauce or red wine.
Food
Unless it’s a dinner party to show off your skill in the kitchen, stick with familiar, easy-to-prepare foods. The food should also be easy to clean up when it gets spilled.
Better still, let someone else do the food. Call Subway catering and let them take the whole responsibility off your mind.
Make sure your guests get a drink the minute they step in the door and have snack foods at the ready. Serve everything on disposable party plates and plastic cups. Avoid foods that have to be cooked. Cooking things takes time away from your guests.
Consider whether any of your guests are vegetarian or gluten-free.
Cleanup
If you plan right, you should have your place cleaned up after the party before the guests have even arrived home. Using disposable dinnerware will help with this immensely. Consider having a stack of cheap plastic containers and offer to let the guests take home leftover food. Take a swoop around the home with a big garbage pail and throw everything lying around in it. Sort it out later. Mop up spills with a wet sponge. Leave the sorting, washing and vacuuming for the morning.
You need your rest.
