So You Are Hosting
I will be throwing my friend a surreal graduation party. It is surreal because I had taken over her apartment after she’d moved, and her party will be in this same apartment that she had left that I’d taken over.
A bunch of her furniture is still here. But it is rearranged. The place looks entirely different, but it is the same apartment.
A bunch of her friends and family and boyfriend’s friends and family are all coming. It will be a jolly affair.
Anyway, I am hosting.
I have hosted enough parties that the question of “do I get to party at my own party” is very important to me (especially if it is my birthday party) and so I have come up with a set of moves that I repeat. I like making hosting as easy as possible. Here are my own reminders to myself:
Have a bunch of drinks. Make them self-serve.
People should just see the drinks. They should be in a pretty clear area that this is the drinks that are expected to be taken. Have water, and sparkling water, and whatever you are hoping people to drink. Maybe it’s beer. Maybe it’s tea. Maybe it’s decaf tea. You can kind of guess that if it’s out there people will go over and take it to drink because they aren’t sure what else they are going to be drinking.
They aren’t going to go inside of your fridge. Nobody goes to somebody’s house and just starts going through their fridge unless they know them really well.
The choice of drinks is important, because people will be talking about the drinks and getting into a mood from the drinks. If you don’t want to put the very important deep thought into this, just go with a bunch of variety, but don’t not have anything.
Better to have things you yourself like drinking, because then people can share your mood, or to stock up higher on things you anyway normally buy. That way also you know that stuff you want to serve people is stuff you generally have around anyway.
Have a bunch of napkins, have an obvious trash can
You can’t want to answer questions like “I need a napkin” or “where’s the trash.” Just have it be obvious.
Have some food
Everyone is happier if there is some food. Some people would have eaten already, some would not have.
The same rules about “not bothering” apply to food. Make a giant salad, a giant thing of pasta, a giant thing of pulled pork with mustard. Bread, boom, done.
If you are putting out a charcuterie, get two loaves of bread or two things of crackers. Things of cheese and things of sausage are big, and dense, and bread and crackers are floofy and whateverful, and so the ratio of density to floof is worth considering; you want to get more bread and crackers than you think you may need for the folks who are low key going to be making little hummus sandwiches.
Have blankets
People who otherwise were going to be weird and antisocial now can be cozy and cute instead.
Have music
People who otherwise were going to sperg out now have something their mind can process to triangulate their social anxiety against.
Have an outfit
It doesn’t have to be amazing, but yeah you do need clothes, and what clothes you pick can set your own mood a lot.