When it comes to hosting events, there’s so much to think about that it can get overwhelming. Luckily, there’s a secret formula and specific elements you can include that guarantee a memorable, spectacular party. From meeting people’s catering needs to curating the perfect guest list, our tips on how to throw an amazing party can help you throw the best family celebrations in town.
What Do Attendees Remember Most?
The first and most important thing to do is take the pressure off yourself. The more intent on perfection you are, the more stressed you feel and the worse your party will ultimately turn out. Give up on the idea of throwing the perfect party and avoid overpacking the schedule and making it feel more like a chore than a celebration.
The secret to hosting the best parties and family celebrations is knowing which elements make a party memorable. By interspersing the night with big-impact moments and keeping the rest casual and natural, you get the best results. Remember though, even a casual and natural atmosphere requires planning.
Let’s take a look at the three key moments for throwing an amazing party.
1. Start With a Bang
We all know how important a first impression is. The first five minutes is one of the times people are going to remember the most. This starts from the moment they get to your party location, so make it as easy as possible.
- Location: Give clear directions in your invite, leave the door unlocked and use fun signage to direct people where they need to go. This removes the potential for one of the major sources of anxiety and stress when coming to an event.
- Welcome: Create a clear welcome area and position yourself and any other hosts here to meet and greet. A warm, relaxed and confident greeting puts people at ease right away. a personalized compliment to make guests feel special and you’re already winning.
- Something to hold: As soon as people have received a warm welcome, make sure they have instant access to drinks and something to nibble. A fun cocktail or specialty seasonal beverage (like hot chocolate with marshmallows or mulled wine in winter) is a great way to set the tone for an exuberant evening and people feel more at ease with something in their hand.
2. Create Highlights
Instead of trying to jampack the evening with entertainment and non-stop action, plan highlights around the schedule. On the other side of the coin, you don’t want to leave it all up to your guests and expect them to mingle non-stop for hours on end. To strike the perfect balance, break your party up into highlights.
Highlights are activities or bouts of entertainment that you curate around serving food and drink:
- Introductions: Once most people have arrived and have a drink and some tasty appetizers in hand, consider an ice-breaking game to introduce everyone.
- Main entertainment: You might use your main entertainment as a selling point on your invites. For example, a jazz singer, magician, group activity, or game. Organize this for just after the main course to keep the momentum of the evening up.
- A fun surprise: The very best parties always contain an element of surprise. It might be a performance-based cocktail or an interactive dessert such as chocolate fondue, S’mores, or a flambé.
- A treat for the stragglers: Once dessert is over, you’ll probably lose most of your guests. However, there’s usually always a few people who love staying until the end of the night. Arrange some sloppier fun for these guys, like a game of Cards Against Humanity, Heads Up, or drinking games.
The main reasons for planning these high-impact moments are to create memories for guests and offset any negatives that might crop up. The main party downers to avoid include:
- Feeling out of place
- Not having anyone to talk to
- Being surrounded by people you don’t know
- Not knowing where to sit or what you’re allowed to eat
- Being empty-handed
3. Lasting Impressions
Last but by no means least is the final impression. In fact, the last impression is often the most important. One of the reasons for this is that people traveling home together are most likely to discuss the events that are most recent in their mind.
There are some ways to cultivate a good lasting impression, no matter what point guests leave, including:
- Make it clear that people are free to leave whenever. Imploring people to stay longer than they’re comfortable could put a major downer on their evening
- Be clear about the order of service so people know where they stand and can easily plan their exit
- Let people know when you’re moving onto the next phase of the evening so they can either get hyped about it or take their time to say goodbye
- You might offer a small parting gift or some tasty treat to take home to cement that positive last impression in their mind
How to Throw an Amazing Party
Now you know the secret to hosting a memorable event, let’s take a look at a breakdown of the elements required to throw an amazing party:
- Inviting Invitations: The very first impression your guests have of your celebration is the invite. Whether you opt for a quirky e-invitation or elaborate card with beautiful calligraphy, make sure it’s tailored to your audience.
- A Curated Guest List: Think carefully about who you plan to come along. Keep in mind that you can’t talk to everyone at once, so be sure to seat people in close proximity to people they know and strangers they’re likely to get on with.
- Be Confident: The top-secret to hosting is confidence. Your mood and vibe sets the tone for the atmosphere, so plan enough that you can be a swan during the event. That means working tirelessly behind the scenes while appearing to glide gracefully through the party.
- An Unforgettable Playlist: While it’s tempting, don’t just throw on your favourite tunes and hope for the best. Do a deep dive into your friends and family’s Spotify and YouTube playlists and include some of everyone’s favorites in addition to tons of party classics that fit the mood of the evening.
- Top-Notch Catering: No party is complete without delicious, on-trend food for people to munch. The food and drink is always one of the most memorable aspects of a party, so get this right and you’re 80% of the way there.
Let The Refuge Take Care of the Food
With so much planning, preparation, and consideration to do, why not let The Refuge take care of the food for your party? We’re one of the best restaurants in Long Island and catering extraordinaires, so we’ll take care of your food and drink while you take care of your guests. Get in touch to find out more.