The Art of Entertaining - The 10 Must-Know Tips for Hosting Great Parties
Party hosting is part art, part science. You need to find the perfect balance between organization and spontaneity. On one hand, you have plans for your food, music, entertainment, and theme; and you’d like to stick to them. On the other hand, you don’t want your guests to feel like they’re being directed and ordered around throughout the entire celebration.
Without the right party hosting skills, your shindig is doomed to fail. Luckily, the AUXGOD team is here to help! Here are our top 10 tips that will help you master the delicate art of entertaining guests and being an awesome party host.
1. Prepare for What’s Coming
If you’re preparing or ordering food for the party, there will almost always be a brief period between when the guests arrive and when the eats are ready. With that being the case, you need to make sure that any early arriving guests have something to do while they wait for the party to get rolling.
If you are hosting a shindig, try to have some activities ready so that the guests can enjoy themselves the moment they arrive, instead of awkwardly sitting around and waiting for you to do something. This will help them to feel at home, get comfortable, and also let them know that you have prepared for their arrival.
The easiest way to keep your guests entertained while they wait is to play some background music and offer a small appetizer buffet on the dinner table. That way, your friends have something to do while you get the celebration going!
2. Set Expectations
When it comes to parties, spontaneity is fun, but ambiguity is irritating. What do we mean by this, you ask? Your guests should know what to expect when they show up to your party. This includes things like the genre of your party, dress code, and the general etiquette expected throughout the celebration.
Another crucial thing to include in your party invitations is whether or not your event is a kid-friendly event. Although it may seem harsh to tell your party guests that their kids aren’t welcome at your party, it’s much better to set these expectations beforehand than it is for an 8-year-old to accidentally take a sip from the spiked punch bowl.
3. Cool Down Your Venue
When it comes to planning and hosting a house party, room temperature is seldom included in the conversation. Despite this, adjusting the temperature of your house is a crucial step in ensuring guest comfort during your shindig.
The more people you have in a single room, the faster it will warm up from all of the talking, moving, and extra body heat. As such, you need to adjust your room temperature accordingly to prevent your house from turning into a sauna. We suggest lowering your room temperature by a degree for every five house guests attending your party – this will ensure that your house temperature remains stable despite the extra people.
4. Help Guests Entertain Themselves
As the host, you’d like to spend time with your guests and entertain them as much as possible. Unfortunately, if you have more than a handful of friends attending your party, trying to hang out with all of them can get out of hand.
The solution: helping your guests entertain themselves. If you have people who don’t know each other attending your shindig, find a common interest they share and introduce them to each other. That way, you can focus on running your party without worrying about your guests sitting around bored. You can also take this strategy to the next level by pairing introverts with extroverts. This ensures that everyone is happy – the extroverts get to carry the conversation while the introverts get to listen and contribute from time to time.
5. When In Doubt: Food
Food is one of the few things that can transcend cultures, religions, and political beliefs. No matter who’s at your party, you can bet that they love having a bite to eat. Offering snacks is a great way to keep guests busy, facilitate conversation, and help people feel more comfortable at your event!
6. Be Mindful of Neighbours
Going to a party is great. But hearing your next-door neighbor’s shindig while trying to get some much-needed shuteye isn’t. The last thing you need as a party host is for your disgruntled neighbors to come banging at your door. So make sure you take some time to give any nearby neighbors some advance notice of your upcoming party so they can prepare. Better yet, invite them to your celebration and avoid the crisis altogether!
7. Keep it Simple
One of the biggest reasons why house parties are so fun is that they are an opportunity for people to break away from their daily schedules and let loose. With that said, the last thing you want as a host is for your guests to feel like their every minute is precisely scheduled and engineered.
Parties need some spontaneity, so keep it simple! It’s okay to plan some party activities and have a general itinerary for your shindig. But make sure your guests still have an opportunity to chill out and do their own thing at the party.
8. Do Something Original
We don’t want to sound snobby, but let’s face it: some party ideas are cliche and overused. From ugly Christmas sweaters to murder mysteries, we’ve seen these a million times before.
If you want to host a memorable party, you need to create an original vibe that will make an impact on your guests. Need some help thinking of your next party theme? Click here to read the AUXGOD blog about our Top 10 Party Ideas for 2022!
9. Ask for Help
Hosting a party can get overwhelming. If you feel your celebration getting out of hand, there’s no shame in asking a few of your trusted party guests for some help getting set up! Not only will this help you get the celebration started faster, but it will give your guests something to do while waiting for the party to get rolling.
10. Games Make the Party
Games can make or break a party. They set the vibe for your event, get your guests engaged, and provide some interactive entertainment that involves a healthy touch of competition! There are tons of options out there for what game you play at your next celebration, but the best games are the ones that let your guests showcase their unique personalities.
What party game lets your guests be themselves, you ask? We might be biased, but in our (no so-) humble opinion, AUXGOD is the game you need at your next house party. It’s the hottest music party game of the season that combines improv, trivia, karaoke, and a dose of competition to create the perfect party activity! Make your next celebration with friends a memorable one. Visit our shop and get your hands on an AUXGOD deck now!
