Are you hosting a work party? Here are some tips to ensure it’s the best it can be.
1. Allow Others To Help
You want to allow others to step in and help. Don't be too prideful to get some help with your party. If someone offers to bring a dish, don't stop them. While you may feel as though you are failing to be a good party host, that's not the case. When it's just about time for the party to start, you'll be very glad you accepted the help. Everyone wants to feel like they are doing something and feel useful. Allow them to provide even the slightest help and it can go a long way for both of you.
2. Set Expectations
One of the things a lot of people do wrong is they don't set expectations for the party beforehand. When planning your party and inviting people, you want to set expectations for what the party is all about. Tell everyone what's going to take place at the party. By being clear about what the party is for and what's going to happen at it, you'll avoid having a boring party with everyone sitting around talking.
3. Account For All Of The Children
A key thing you need to do is figure out if there will be children at the party. If there will be kids at the party, you need to supply them with a place to sit. The last thing you want to do is not account for them only to have them balancing a bowl of clam chowder on their laps. Likewise, you don't want bored kids that are going to get in trouble. Plan activities to keep them busy. However, if this is an adult-only party, you need to advertise it as such. Make it very clear that kids aren't supposed to attend. While this may seem like a jerk move, it can be a good way to ensure that you don't have unexpected kids join the party when you didn't plan for it.
4. People Want To Be Together
Don't forget why you are throwing a party. While you may be planning a movie night, you'll find more often than not, you'll have people talking throughout the movie. You may even forget you were there to watch a movie. A lot of activities you may be planning can simply get in the way of having a great time with people you care about. If you are catching up with old friends and planning a party with people you enjoy spending time with, you may want to skip the activities altogether. Sometimes, sitting around and talking with one another is the party!
5. Do Something Different
Are you thinking about throwing an ugly sweater party? It may not be the best idea. These ideas are boring and overused. Everyone and their grandmother is having an ugly sweater party for Christmas. Try to come up with something different and unique buy a confetti cannon to add some fun to your theme. When you plan a unique party, you generate more interest and more people will be excited to attend. Don't even think you need to have a major holiday coming up just to throw a big party. It can be even more fun to have a random party that everyone can go to and enjoy without having a holiday as an excuse.
6. Strategically Place Food
When you are throwing a party, you don't want to place food just anywhere. Instead, you want to be strategic with your food placement. Ideally, you want to place food where you want people to be. Everyone is going to follow the food. If you have food in the kitchen, everyone is going to flood the kitchen. Try to situate the appetizers in the living room where you want people to gather. They will always gravitate towards food. Strategically placing appetizers and food are some of the best ways to tell people where to hang out and gather without actually vocalizing it.
7. Enjoy Yourself
When everyone arrives at the party, don't try to make everything perfect. Don't apologize for not decorating enough and don't talk about what you don't have. Instead, give yourself a break and enjoy yourself. No one wants to hear that the party planning process completely stressed you out. Instead, they want to feel like you are having a great time along with them.
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