Yesterday I decided I wanted to throw a party this weekend. There’s just one problem, it’s already Thursday and I decided to have a party on Saturday. It’s yet to be seen whether it will be the all-night-rager-of-the-summer or a total bust, but it got me thinking about parties I’ve had in the past that maybe didn’t go so well. So here’s the list of reasons why I’m bad at throwing parties.
1. Complete Lack of Planning – Like I said above, I gave party guests just two days to clear their schedules and decide whether they were coming or not. This is not conducive to good attendance. Also I don’t really have a plan for when they get here beyond putting on music and passing out booze. But I’ve seen that work in the past.
2. Not Enough People – I’m the type of person that keeps a small, close-knit group of friends instead of a large and diverse friend pool. Because of this my ‘parties’ often turn out to be five guys drinking and watching a movie. Still fun, but not really a party.
3. Worrying – This is one that I’m getting better at, but in the past I’ve been that guy running around, “Oh! Don’t use that glass!” and, “Everyone stop! We’ve got to clean this drink up before it stains.” Like I said, getting better about that one, worrying less is a good thing.
4. Planning Too Much – On the opposite end of what I said before, I’ve also been guilty of planning too much. I once actually printed out a schedule of activities that would take place at my birthday party. But I’ve found it’s usually better to let things flow more naturally.
5. Where’s the Food? – One party in particular I remember getting everyone together and we started drinking and hanging out, but the party came to an early end when people started to realize that there was nothing in the house to eat! Everyone was hungry, and all I had was peanut butter and jelly, which for the record makes for terrible party food.
6. Where’s the Booze? – While I’m a big fan of putting BYOB on invitations, I wasn’t so bright in college. We had a few friends over for drinks, but quickly ran out of alcohol! My friends and I then drunkenly walked to a liquor store, but much to our surprise, nothing is open at 2:30am.
7. This Music Makes Me Want to Cut Myself – I used to be a big fan of alternative rock and a little emo rock, which is probably the worst thing you could ever play at a party. I take solace in knowing that I’m not the only one who makes this mistake though. The last party I went to was made out to be a ‘dance party’ but there was absolutely no dance-able music to be heard.
8. Bad Timing – It’s bad enough that I don’t schedule my parties until days before, but I always manage to conflict with some other event. The party this weekend is the same day at the apple festival, but luckily that’s during the day and the party starts at night. However, other times I’ve scheduled it on peoples birthdays, holidays that people have to work, etc.
9. Video Games Kill (parties) – I used to be a huge video game nerd. It happened way too often that during lulls in the parties myself of someone like me would suggest we play whatever the latest thing was. (halo, smash brothers, guitar hero…) Suddenly people are having fun again, but only four people at a time. The rest get to sit and wait their turn.
10. Drinking Games – I love drinking games! Almost any of them. But here’s the thing: if you’re not careful, everyone gets drunk too quickly and the parties over! People either pass out or throw up or both. I still like to play drinking games at parties, but at a somewhat slower pace and with more moderation.
