Preparing For Your House Party
Out of the all the places you can think of to throw a party, hosting one at your own home is the best way to invite someone into your world. It’s personal, warm, and extremely hospitable. You shouldn't be overly concerned about the type of home you have; a mansion or an apartment, built this year or fifty-years ago. Whatever the case it’s your space and you can make it work with a little creative planning. Keep in mind the amount of room you have to work with and coordinate around it. Now, assuming that you have already chosen which type of party you would like to host, let’s talk about what it takes to get it ready.
Call the maid
OK, maybe you don’t have a maid, so break out your white gloves because you’re going to work just as hard as one. You couldn't’t possibly think of having guests in your home unless it’s absolutely spotless, right? Polish the furniture and clean the spots that are not so fun (like the toilet bowl!). Also, you should expect someone to spill a drink or two during your special event; so the two things you must be the most concerned about are couches and rugs. If you have area rugs, remove them until the party is over. Pick up a can or two of scotch guard and generously spray your couches with it. Another area you should keep in mind is any surface that will be covered with tablecloths. Lay a sheet of plastic underneath the tablecloth to protect these areas from possible spills that will seep through and ruin the surface.
Preemptive Measures
Guests (10 or 500) will be roaming through your home unsupervised. If there is anything you don’t want your guests to see or break, put it away, including your pets. Not everyone is a dog or cat lover. They could be allergic or just down right scared. Any personal financial info should be out of sight as well (bank statement, credit card bills, etc.). If there are rooms that you want to keep off limits, make sure they are locked. Nothing is more uncomfortable than walking in on inappropriate behavior happening right on your bed! Toilet paper-enough said. Smoke free home? Post a sign visible to your guests asking them not to smoke inside, and offer them an alternative area outside.
As much as you may not want to think about it, accidents do happen at parties. Someone slips on the pool deck or trips over a chair and next thing you know, you’re being sued. I strongly suggest contacting your insurance consultant and asking them to write you a special event policy covering liability. The policy will expire after the party and it will cover you in case (God forbid) a lawsuit takes place.
Sound Check! There is nothing worse than throwing an awesome party and having it crashed by the police because of a sound ordinance violation. Usually, the neighbors will be the ones ratting you out. If you can’t beat them, ask them to join you. Invite them to party even if you don’t care for them. Chances are they won’t show up, but they may think twice about complaining about the noise.
Crowd Control - get that furniture out of the way! Move your furniture around so that it will complement the flow of the party. Remove objects that are going to obstruct the natural flow of traffic and deter guests from roaming freely.
Everything is for rent
Martini glasses, the dance stage, state of the art lighting, smoke machines, robots that pass drinks to your guests - they are all available for renting. Simply hit the internet and do a keyword search. For example: “Party or Event Rentals Florida” or “Party or Event Rentals Tampa”. Get as specific as you can. Looking for table centerpieces? Do a key word search for “party décor” or “event décor” in your area. Most rental companies will deliver and pick up your rental items.
May I offer you…?
All the basics are covered but what about help? Can you run around filling drinks, picking up trash, and passing out hors d’oeuvres while hosting your party? Of course not! Obviously there are other alternatives than you doing this by yourself. You can leave out hors d’oeuvre trays, set up a self-serve bar, and place trash receptacles in convenient locations. However, you can consider hiring help, too. By help, I mean hiring a staff of people that will do all of these tasks for you. I can’t begin to tell you how classy this is. Even if your party is on the smaller side, the statement it gives is that you spared no expense. Not only is this a statement, it’s more practical then the previously mentioned alternatives.
Your servers don’t have to cost a fortune. Find local college students that are in need of cash and ask them to help you out. They might find it a lot more fun working for you than babysitting the next door neighbor’s kid. Another great idea is to ask for help from your favorite wait staff at restaurants you frequent. You already know the kind of service they give so no guess work involved here. Students and local wait staff are just a few ideas that can be an inexpensive option compared to hiring professional servers and bartenders.
If you do hire help, make sure you fill your servers in on all the details of the party. For example, they should know anything and everything from what the ingredients of the food they are serving are down to the year of the wine they are offering. Give them a dress code. Black and white always works. It can be a nice pair of black jeans with a freshly pressed cotton t-shirt or nice slacks with a long sleeve button up shirt. Between your servers’ dress code and being well informed on all the details, your guests will assume you hired high-end servers and bartenders.
By: Michael Bassolino
