Any good thing starts with an idea. Pretty random, very vague but something exciting. And this was no different. One of my close friends had her birthday approaching, and I was pretty sick of going out to a club, paying an unreasonable amount to get entry, especially for a person who doesn’t drink. Though normally I could wiggle out of such outings, birthdays present a problem that isn't normally easy to resolve for me.
So I took it upon myself to present an alternative, rather than whining about going clubbing. “Let’s have a house party. I’ll take care of everything. It will be a surprise!” And with this, without having any concrete plan in mind, I set out to organise a party with about 15 of our close friends.
When putting together any event inside the confines of a house, the number of people do not really matter, except if it is unusually high. The effort for 5-15 people just differs in very small increments. The first thing that can easily be sorted for such an event is food. Nothing high-stakes, just regular food-delivery works and some snacks to munch on as the night goes on. If you are feeling adventurous, you could plan to cook too (adds a dimension to the whole event, because it really is something if you decide to cook something for everyone), as I had done - Made some hummus. The thing about hummus or any such dish is that it is super easy to make, and it appears fancy. It can be eaten with virtually anything, and is a great and easy addition to your party menu.
Note: Never ask people what they would like to eat! Any kind of consensus building won’t only just waste time, but you will end up exactly where you are. So just go with something safe: Pizza, Asian, Burgers, anything that won’t create a lot of mess, won’t require a lot of cutlery, and easy to clean up.
Next thing which requires a little planning is the drinks. Here you can let your imagination run wild, and create the bar menu of your dreams. You are limited by your creativity here. It would appear that budget can be an issue, but you would be surprised to know how inexpensive a big, glass drinking dispenser jar that could hold 5 litres of your sangria or that cocktail shaker you always wanted to use actually is (You can see both in the image above!)
Because I know my friends’ preferences, I did the alcohol shopping too. So I bought everything that I know I won’t go wrong with. My shopping list included beers, vodka, whiskey, lemon white rum, red and white wine, and for the people that don’t drink, there was tonic, coke, juices, Red Bull. Because I was willing to go a little extra, I prepared a cocktail menu of drinks completely fabricated by me, experimenting with different things (If you mix 2-3 nice tasting things, there is very little chance you can go wrong!!). A little help from google helped to know what goes well with what, and voila, a cocktail menu is ready with all the customised drink names that are for sure to become highlights of the event.
No matter what you do, if you do not sort out the music, or rely on anyone to plug their phone and play, it is bound to become chaotic, because then everyone wants to be a DJ. Before the party begins, save a few playlists or create your own that will go with the mood, and keep the speakers away from plain sight. Both Apple music and Spotify have some great playlists to get your party going!
We all can appreciate how far the ambience and the decor of the place can go in terms of enhancing experience. Now, you don’t have to convert your living room into some sort of a lounge, but small additions like a party light (because who wants to party in a brightly lit room) or just lighting the room with small ambience bulbs is a great inexpensive way to create ambient lighting for your party. Throw in some cushions, maybe a makeshift photowall, or a photo booth, and you have just upped your game manifold. Anywhere in the world, unless you have a swanky bungalow and high security, you are bound to have neighbours that could be disturbed by your partying revelry. So be sure to go and say hi, tell them you are hosting some people, and ask yourself to be excused for the night. If the neighbours are people you could invite over, then more the merrier! You are all set then to host your very own, personalised, super hip house party!
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