Throw a House Party in Style
Estimated reading time 7 minutes
If you’ve got a big event coming up, then where better to throw a party than your own home?! It’s cheaper than hiring a venue and if done right, can be more spectacular and intimate than anywhere else since you have full control of decoration, music, food and more!
Whether you choose to have a house party, garden BBQ or even hire a marquee, our guide to doing so is bound to have the neighbours banging on the door and begging for an invite…
Invites
First impressions count, so make sure you get your party invites right. They should reflect the vibe and theme that you want your party to have e.g. if it’s a summer BBQ then the invite should be bright and colourful to reflect the (hopefully) sunny weather that your guests will be experiencing!
Remember though, in this age of social media mania and the likes of Facebook events, your invites don’t even need to be on paper anymore! If you’re wanting to save time and perhaps give off a more informal vibe then use the Facebook Events service to let everyone know when/where your party is going to be.
And you don’t need to worry about gate crashers; Facebook allows you to make your event private and ‘by invite only’.
Music
Second only to people, music is the life source of a party – and when you get it right you’re half way to having a guaranteed great night and house full of happy guests!
The tricky part is choosing what type of music to go for; it’s important to remember you can’t please everyone all the time, but you can use a nice mix of genres so that everyone gets a bit of something they like.
If you have a larger budget it’s a good idea to hire a DJ – that way you can just leave all the music to a professional and not have to worry about the technical side of things.
Don’t worry if you don’t have cash to splash on a DJ though, you can always make your own playlist and get yourself some speakers to blast it out – this way you can control the music and even let your guests make requests. You can hire speakers from any reputable speaker company, have them dropped off the night of your party and picked up the next day.
Drinks
Providing your guests with drinks is sure to keep them happy – and ‘home bars’ are becoming increasingly popular due to the fact they bring the fun factor of ‘going out’ into your own home environment.
And it doesn’t need to be complicated – simply lay out drinks and mixers with bottle openers and a cool box filled with ice and you’re good to go!
Your guests will be able to serve themselves their drinks exactly as they like to drink them and you won’t need to be concerned with keeping everyone’s glass full all night long – bonus!
If you can’t afford to provide all the drinks for the evening then why not ask guests to ‘bring a bottle’ and then lay all offerings out on the communal table; you’re likely to get a great mix of alcohol and not have to blow your entire budget on refreshments.
Food
Having a well-stocked home bar without any food is a recipe for drunken disaster; be sure to provide nibbles to keep your guest’s stomach well-lined so the prosecco can keep on flowing…
Unless it’s a dinner party you won’t need to provide proper plates and cutlery or set a table for a sit down meal, but a buffet of finger food is always a good idea – and it’s easy to clean which is a bonus! Things like bowls of crisps and popcorn, dips, pizza slices, onion rings and chicken on skewers are great ideas for the average teen house party, whereas if you want to push the boat out for a big event you could go for platters of sushi and canapes.
Either lay your food out on large tables or hire people to hand it out on silver platters; again, whatever you choose is completely dependent on the theme of your party.
Grand Entrance
It’s important to capture your guests’ attention from the very minute they arrive, and what better way to do this than creating a magical entrance leading them to the party of the year?!
Depending on the theme of your party, the outside entrance can look a number of different ways. If you’re going for the formal, glamourous look then why not roll out the red carpet for your guests? Add post and ropes to complete the look and you can even hire a photographer to snap photos of guests and capture the moment. You can then give these to guests at the end as a memento of the time they attended a Hollywood party (well… sort of…)
If you want your party to be a bit more relaxed and laid-back, then fairy lights or burning torches are a nice touch to add either side of your door.
If you want a much simpler look then you can simply decorate your door with flowers or balloons to let your guests know that this is where the party’s at…
Dancefloor
What’s a party without dancing? No house party is complete without a dance floor for the guest’s to get their groove on, so make sure you clear a space. Remove all breakables and furniture from the main room to avoid any unfortunate accidents and if you have carpet it’s a good idea to cover it to protect from inevitable prosecco spillages!
Party Central
No matter if you’re having a house party, garden party or you’ve hired a marquee, every party should have a central space where guests can come together and congregate. If it’s a room inside be sure to clear a large space and provide seating. Lighting also plays a big part in the atmosphere, so hang disco balls and strobe lighting for a dramatic effect or string up fairy lights if you want your party to be a more relaxed affair.
Outside lighting is also a great idea for BBQ or summer parties; hang garden fairy lights amongst bushes and trees or add candles and lanterns to the walls and surfaces for a rustic look.
Keep Out
Seeing as red wine and cream carpets aren’t exactly a good mix, there may be some rooms you wish to keep guests out of…
Stylish room dividers are a great way to cordon off areas and keep your house looking chic in the process.
So there you have it, our step by step guide transforming your home into the ultimate venue and planning and throwing a house party to remember – Happy house partying!
