Tip Diva | Top Ten Tips - Throwing An Enjoyable Party At Home

Top Ten Tips - Throwing An Enjoyable Party At Home

By Tip Diva | Dec 31, 2007

Categories: Activities, Budget, Celebration, Cleaning, Decorating, Drinks, Etiquette, Food, Friends, Fun, Hiring, Home, Household, Music, Organization, Party, Shopping, Tips

Throwing a party at your home can be a lot of fun - that is, if you plan ahead of time and not stress out over every little detail. Here are steps you can take to assure smooth planning and, ultimately, an enjoyable party:

Send Out Invitations Early - Six to eight weeks early is a good rule of thumb; send out the invitations even earlier if many people are going to be having parties around the same time, such as Christmas or the Fourth of July. Make sure the RSVP date is early enough that you’ll have time to go shopping and prepare for the party. And be clear on the guest policy - you do not want more people at the party than you can handle.
Make Lists - Making lists will allow the planning process to go much more smoothly. Make a budget, set a timeline, create a menu and make a shopping list. The timeline will especially help for shopping and getting the house ready.
Examine Your Space - How many people can your house comfortably hold? If you’re going to hold the party outside, is there enough room inside if it rains? How much seating and table space do you have? Do you have room for a dance floor? These all factor into the type of party you’ll be able to hold. For instance, if you do not not have a lot of seating and there will be many guests standing around, you wouldn’t want to serve foods like lasagne or steak - you’d want to serve finger foods. You also don’t want the house to be crowded to the point where no one can move. Make sure to move any breakables or valuables away from the party space.
Make Sure There’s Enough Food And Drink Beforehand - Scrambling to find more food and drinks is quite stressful, and who wants to leave the party to go buy a case of beer or a bag of chips? The Party Good Planning Guide offers a great food and drink calculator to estimate how much fare you’ll need for the party. Also, if you know many guests don’t drink or eat certain types of food, factor that in, as well; for instance, you may find you’ll need more soft drinks than liquor.
Prepare Your Music - If you’re going to have music at the party, prepare early. Will you need to hire a deejay, or do you have a stereo or iPod? Pick music that will be enjoyable to most guests - perhaps oldies or instrumentals - and keep it at a volume that will allow people to have conversations without screaming. If people are going to be dancing, pick appropriate music to dance to.
Hire Help - Face it, you’re not Superman or Wonder Woman. If you’re going to work the entire party, you won’t be able to enjoy it. Hire help to pour drinks, distribute food, keep things clean and to organize guests’ coats. Teenagers are great, affordable help - if you don’t know any, just call your local high school’s guidance office and note that you’re looking to hire some help for your party. You may also want to try Craigslist’s Gigs section. Always check references and discuss payment ahead of time. Don’t forget to tip them!
Delegate Tasks - If someone offers to bring food, help set up the party or help clean up, don’t feel bad by saying yes. The person genuinely wants to help you. However, do not turn them into a work horse. Make sure they can enjoy the festivities.
Don’t Prepare Everything The Day Of The Party - Get everything done as early as possible, including shopping, cleaning and setting up. This is also where hired help and delegating tasks makes your life easier. Make sure you leave enough time to shower and get dressed, so you don’t look harried when guests arrive.
Introduce People - Parties always have guest who don’t know each other or others that are shy. Make it a point to introduce those who don’t know each other. And note a common thread, if any - for instance, Jane and Bob may both be in the banking industry.
Just Enjoy Yourself - You’ve done all this hard work, so sit back, relax and enjoy your own party!