You’ve probably heard the rule that you should invite as many kids to the party as there are candles on the cake. Ten friends for a 10-year-old; four friends for a 4-year-old. But not everyone follows this decree.
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Pro Tip: “Four kids! That’s not a celebration, that’s dinner with your family!” says Sharron Krull, party planner and author of That Was the Best Party Ever! How to Give Parties Your Kids Will Never Forget. Krull insists there are no hard-and-fast rules. Party budget, space constraints and your child’s wishes all help determine the size of the guest list.
Parent Prowess: Charlotte Pierce’s daughter had a fairy-themed indoor party for her sixth birthday. Pierce invited 18 kids to create fairy houses out of moss, bark, twigs and dried flowers. But the project and the invite list proved to be too much.
“Some of the kids were really high-energy and just wanted to run around. It was a huge mess,” Pierce recalls. “The twigs collapsed, so I had to use a glue gun, and there was lots of waiting around. The houses were sweet, but I was a wreck and it was frustrating for the kids. Eighteen was way too many kids for such an involved project. Never again.”
“We came up with the idea of splitting the guests into three groups that traveled through the house to various stations for games and activities,” Murray says. “It took a lot of scheduling, but it worked really well. Her older brother manned the craft station, my husband ran the games station, and we were able to comfortably host the entire group.”
Parent Prowess: Parents have mixed feelings about invitation alternatives. “My son once missed a birthday party because the invitation was a message left on our phone machine by the birthday child,” says Emily Twadell, a mother of three.
“I like sending e-invites,” says mom Denise Pons Leone of internet services that allow you to custom-create party invitations with reply options. “You can see who has opened them, people can leave comments – it’s fast and they are cute!”
Adam, age 12, likes a more personal approach: “A couple of years ago, one of my friends had a pirate party and his dad dressed up as Captain Hook and delivered the invitations, which were treasure maps in a bottle. It was cool and made me think that the party was going to be really fun.”
Pro Tip: There’s no shortage of books and websites on party theme ideas. Head to the bookstore or library for ideas from the likes of veteran party planning authors such as Krull, Penny Warner and Vicki Lansky. Search BostonParentsPaper.com for party themes, games to play and planning ideas.
“For my son’s second birthday, I planned a circus party,” says mom Karen Seligman. “Our extended family was coming with older cousins, so I rented a tent for the back yard and a cotton-candy machine. I hired face painters and a clown to do magic tricks. My son refused to have his face painted and then took one look at the clown and had a total meltdown. What was I thinking? I should have just had a few friends over for cupcakes and an hour in the sandbox.”
Pons Leone opted for a much more basic theme for her own 2-year-old: “The party theme was ‘Yellow.’ Everyone dressed in yellow. The cake was yellow. We drew with yellow chalk on black paper and painted with yellow and read stories with the color yellow. It was a big hit and very easy to do.”
“It ate up a bunch of time to walk to the station, talk with the firemen and ring the bell in the truck,” she says. “Then we went back to the house for games and a fire truck cake decorated with licorice hoses and pretzel ladders. The biggest hit was putting out votive candles with squirt guns.”
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But, a lot can go wrong - from broken windows, poor pacing, a dead dancefloor, *missing* drinks (thanks to randoms with sticky fingers), stolen valuables, crashers, crying, cops, ambulances, and shit yarns, are all far too possible at house parties and are a one-way ticket to a bad night and a worse morning.
Luckily for you, we know a thing or two about partying, and we pooled all our collective brain cells together (which was not a lot) and put together this list to ensure your house party is A-1 baby.
The music Look, you've got to have the music plan sorted. If you're hosting tomorrow (or just want to hear killer tunes for 15 hours) chuck on George FM - no ads and high-quality DJs from midday onwards. I mean just check out these set times - impossible to not have a good time with that talent.
Male Strippers ScottsdaleIf you've got the decks ready, have a lineup sussed. If you're going old school with speakers, make sure they're charged and make sure the playlist is sorted and will last the whole night, and finally lock the aux - no requests or 'please add this to the queue' - be brutal.
In a perfect world, this tip would not exist, but we don't live in a perfect world and people may look to pinch a couple of things. People will steal anything at a house party; drinks, phones, vapes, hats, forks, pillows, shoes - literally anything.
Make sure you lock your valuables away, have a place people can put their drinks safely, keep ya wits about ya, and (depending on your friend group) maybe even lock the cutlery drawer. And always, always, keep your wits about you.
Control the crowd Parties, and any large group of people, go wrong when control is lost (I mean have you seen Project X?). Control the crowd at your house party by a) having an obvious d-floor/doof room, b) having an outdoor area, possibly with a gazebo, for people who want to cool down and escape the chaos, and c) having a room to chill in - chuck a couch in there, maybe another UE, and just make it nice and cosy to relaaax in.
In the foreground, a round table with a bright blue tablecloth is laden with roast beef, lobster, salad and artichokes. A woman in a printed dress fixes herself a plate, while a man in a suit, clutching a glass of red wine, looks on with a smile. Two couples chat in the background.
Vintage cookbooks are a curious subdivision of the thriving antiquarian trade. They are, of course, more likely than most old books to be splattered with disgusting substances — maybe even to contain evidence of kitchen pests. They are as vulnerable as college texts to previous owners’ margin notes (“Delicious!”) and suggested modifications, sometimes helpful.
In our gastronomically obsessed age, these are pleasurable not because of the recipes — though many contain a few perfunctory ones — but for their often humorous explication of how to be a good host, or as was far more common back in the day, hostess. They are replete with chafing dishes and towering candelabras, billowing chiffon sleeves and conversational pointers. And culinary shortcuts, a la Eleanor Roosevelt serving hot dogs to the king and queen of England: The Joy of Not Cooking.
Part of these books’ charm is that — unlike classic recipes that are replicated ad nauseam online, lacking much copyright protection — they tend to be out of circulation and therefore feel like special finds. “DISCARD” reads the cruel library stamp on a copy of “How to Do It: Or the Lively Art of Entertaining,” by Elsa Maxwell, from Rizzoli’s 2005 reprint that someone painstakingly uploaded to the Internet Archive.
I can’t remember how I came into possession of a 1957 first edition, marked in pencil at a bargain $10, but “How to Do It” now roosts near my precious microwave with “Hostess” (1961), by the English florist Constance Spry, with an assist from Rosemary Hume (and some adorable cartoon illustrations); “All About Parties” (1968), by Edith Gilbert, a syndicated columnist; “The Party: A Guide to Adventurous Entertaining” (1997), by the Washington, D.C., fixture Sally Quinn; and more corporate but no less compelling volumes from Betty Crocker and Bloomingdale’s.
You already know many of the people assembled, so that's a start. And you know the context: it's supposed to be a lighthearted event, but a quick scan of the room shows undertones of annoyance at the forced bonhomie.
Lisa in sales, on the other hand, is as happy as you've ever seen her. She's got a champagne-fueled personality and is working the room. She's already dipped in and out of 5 different groups and shows no sign of slowing down.
Well, it's your turn to plan the fall party and you want it to be epic! Use this party planning journal with prompts to keep track of all the details. There are 27 lined pages with prompts for you to write theme ideas, menus, guests lists, shopping lists, and so much more.
Memorial Day is a special time to honor and remember those who have bravely served our country. It’s a time to come together with friends and family, enjoying good food, fun activities, and heartfelt conversations. If you’re looking to plan a Memorial Day party that will create lasting memories, look no further! In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through each stage of the planning process, ensuring that your party is a success.
The first step in planning your Memorial Day party is to set the date and time. Memorial Day falls on the last Monday of May, so this is typically the most convenient day to host your event. Consider the availability of your guests and any other events happening in your community. It’s also important to decide on a start and end time, so your guests can plan accordingly.
When choosing the date for your Memorial Day party, it’s important to keep in mind the significance of the holiday. Memorial Day is a time to honor and remember the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the military. Hosting your party on the actual Memorial Day allows you and your guests to pay tribute to these brave individuals while enjoying the festivities.
However, if you have friends and family members who may have other commitments on Memorial Day, you can consider hosting your party on a different day during the long weekend. This way, you can still celebrate the holiday and spend quality time with your loved ones without conflicting with their schedules.