Let's party

“Glory Days… they’ll pass you by, Glory Days…. alright, oh yeah, alright, ah alright, woo hoo… GLORYYYY DAYSSSSSS” -Bruce Springsteen

We miss the good old days of college so we wanted to plan an alumni themed college party for a bunch of us old alumni… wow it has already been 20 years since then… where has the time flown?! Ok, so, we didn’t all go to the same college, so we then needed to combine, several different universities and colleges together for this party. Here is how we organized the party. Perhaps this can help others.

We figured we had about 25 of our friends coming over, so we chose our house as we had plenty of room. We considered a small pavilion at a local park here in Long Island, as well as a community center in town in case we had it grow to 40+ people. We sent out to 40 people but only 25 replied with a yes.

Remember to send out your invites. In this day and age, with this thing that Al Gore invented called the internet, we have lots of online ways to contact people. >From emails to something really cool like evite.com. Remember to email people early but not too early, (4 to 6 weeks seems right) and ask for RSVPs! We didn’t tell them it was going to be a college themed party, so we made sure to scope out where they went to school and took notes on it 3 to 6 months early. We kept a list so we’d know if we had everybody or not

The next step is making sure you get all of the right party accessories. Look for cups, plates, gift wrapping paper, gift bags, grosgrain ribbon, small or large stickers, luncheon napkins (you can pre-order the invitations IF you all went to the same college and send them out via snail mail! And don’t forget the table cloths. All of these should be appropriately college themed. Get different ones for each group of friends of course, and be sure to NOT LEAVE anybody out!

One of our friends played football at college, so we got some extra football accessories for him with a little U of Texas helmet on his plate, a small nerf U of Texas football, and a set of POMPOMs! If you can find some stuffed mascot dolls, you’ll want to place each one of these throughout the party area. And don’t forget your balloons. Be sure to accessorize each table with its own table cloth with the correctly matching colored balloons.

We also found some college candles and had those matched on each table cloth. It was really quite a site and everybody was rather surprised by this inexpensive but rather fun alumni “GLORY DAYS” party.

So what about food? Traditional American fare applies here. We hosted this party in the summer so we had a barbecue with hotdogs and hamburgers, sodas, chips. Nothing elaborate again as this was an informal surprise ALUMNI party. Everybody loved it and wanted to do it for some subsets of their friends as well. Looks like we’ll be hosting an annual ALUMNI GLORY DAYS BARBECUE as everybody had a blast!

Finding the right party venues is an important factor when looking into throwing a party. This is especially the case for parties around Christmas time and the New Year for corporate events. Choosing the right party venues can make the party run smoothly, and make it is as much fun as possible for the attendees.

Finding party venues is not only about finding the place to hold a party. There are other factors involved. This is why, if you are looking into throwing a party, you should use a party venue finding service, which can make it less a hassle for you. With a party venue finding service, they will take care of many things that you didn’t even know had to be taken care of when throwing a party. Some of the things that have to be considered when finding party venues are transportation, cost, parking, the venue itself, accommodation, and event management. If you are looking into party venues, but do not take into consideration some of these factors, then the party may not run smoothly, and you can encounter various problems. These problems can be prevented by using a party venue service. For larger parties, you will need to have several party organizers working to make sure that everything goes according to plan.

Besides the actual venue of the party, transportation needs are very important when looking into party venues. People need to be able to get to and from the party, and there also needs to be ample parking. Many times, depending on the party, the guests will be drinking alcohol, and it may be a good idea to look for party venues that either have shared transportation to and from the party, or is a venue that has, or is near, accommodations. By taking care of these needs, you can be sure that the guests of the party remain safe after they have been drinking. This is another reason why a party venue service can be of help. You can simply let the service know what your needs are, and they can find a venue that will fit those needs.

Many times, when people throw a party themselves, they forget to take care of all the details. From food to transportation, throwing a party is not easy, as it takes a lot of organization. This is especially the case with corporate events. A corporate event is generally larger, and there are more things to take care of when you are hosting the party. A party venue service can make the entire process simple, as the company can simply contact the party venue service, and voila, everything is taken care of from food and transportation to finding the venue.

When you contact a service to find party venues, there are several things that they will do for you. Depending on the service you use, you can find party venues both in the United Kingdom and internationally. A party venue finding service will have employees work for you on an individual basis in order to book the best party venue for you. This aspect can be especially useful when you are booking Christmas parties, since many venues fill up quickly during that time of year. The party venue service will also have contacts to many venues, and they will find you the best price possible for the venue that will fit your party needs. The service will allow you to view all the information on the expenditures of the company for the party and how the money is being spent.

Most party venue finding services will have on staff or know reputable party organizers that will take care of not only the needs of the guests, but the person or company that is throwing the party. It is important, especially for larger parties, that the on-site support staff be there at all times, so they can deal with any problems that may arise. If party venues are not booked by a service, then the only thing taken care of is the venue itself. But, as you can see, there are many other factors that need to be considered when throwing a party. The people, who are at the party, even the ones throwing it, are there to have a good time, and don’t want to worry about every detail of the party. This is another reason why it is a good idea to use a party venue service.

It doesn’t make sense for you to do all the work throwing a party, especially during the busy holiday season, when a party venue service can do it all for you. Services that find party venues are very popular, simply because they organize every detail from beginning to end, allowing you and everyone else time to enjoy the party.

Snow party in the mid summer? Sound Strange? Believe it, it has been one of the success party during sizzling summer evening. If you want to amaze your friends circle, then check out this party and see the positive result.

“To think I ever kicked about winter weather.” Jean sat in the shade fanning herself lazily. “I just haven’t pep enough to even think.”

“Oh, forget the heat,” laughed Nancy. “It could be worse. Besides we’ve got to plan a party for the crowd. It’s our turn to entertain.”

Jean looked at Nancy disgustedly. “I suppose you want me to dream about snow drifts and ice.”

Nancy looked thoughtful. “I believe you’ve got something there. Let’s give a snow party!”

“In July!” exclaimed Jean. And after a moment “It’d be different.”

Thus it came about that Nancy and Jean had the crowd in for a July snow party.

The invitations were cut from white cardboard to represent a snowman. Colored crayons marked the features and round black buttons down the front of his coat. Between the buttons was this invitation:

Come cool off at our snow party July 8, at 7 P.M.

Jean and Nancy.

In preparation for the party the girls hung myriads of sparkling snowflakes from the ceiling of the living room and stuck large ones a foot in diameter on the walls. (The snowflakes were made from folded paper cut many times, dotted and smeared with glue and then sprinkled with metallic flakes.) They were hung with threads, then Scotch-taped to the ceiling. At the front door stood an enormous thermometer indicating below zero. Electric fans created a breeze from every corner of the room.

Their invitation backfired on the girls, however, for when the night of the party came, although it was a sizzling hot evening, the guests arrived wearing ear muffs, mittens, scarves, and galoshes. Even their sense of humor couldn’t force them into winter coats.

Of course, this bit of horse-play started the evening off with hilarity. As soon as the guests had doffed their winter accessories, which we guarantee they did quickly, the girls passed out squares of white tissue paper, and told the crowd the best snowflakes would win a prize. Fortunately for the crowd, some of them remembered way back when they used to fold a square of tissue first into halves, then quarters, and then eighths and then proceed to snip off here and there a corner of the folded tissue. When unfolded, the result looked like an intricate snowflake pattern. It was fascinating to do on a hot night, and soon each individual had four or five unusual snowflakes to his credit. The girls then handed out sheets of colored construction paper on which to stick the flakes. The winner was awarded a snowball.

This snowball was an apple wrapped in cotton and tied with a red ribbon at the stem. When the crowd put up a howl that they were being cheated and that their snow-flakes were superior to the winner’s, Nancy gave each of the guests a snowball apple. She had intended to anyway.

For the arrangement of this party all you have to do is hang many snowflakes from the ceiling, put electric fans to create a cool breeze from every corner of the room and prepare yourself with many cool games.

Planning a graduation party menu and thinking about graduation party ideas sounds like a lot of fun, but creating a graduation open house budget doesn’t sound as exciting.  Is a budget really necessary?  Yes.  Having a budget will help you make decisions as you’re considering various graduation party ideas.  It is very easy to spend a lot of money because there are so many different items to plan and purchase to make your party a success.  I suggest you set a budget and keep track of expenses as you go or you may spend more than you wanted to.

People often ask me if they should include the costs of all the home improvements they are doing to get ready for the open house.  It is a good question.  It could be included, but isn’t home improvement a continual cost to maintain or improve the value of your investment in your home?  Yet, it would be good to know how much you are willing to spend on renovation and remodeling before you start improving your home for the open house.  Remember, whatever work you haven’t completed two months before the graduation party, should wait for another time.

 I would suggest that you first set a budget for the graduation open house that you are comfort with, and

then make your plans fit your budget.  If one item goes over budget, try to trim another item so the final cost remains the same.  Out-of-control spending could create unnecessary stress for you and your family.

 Here is a list of items you should budget for:

  Announcements/open house invitations and postage   Decorations and banners   Flowers and balloons   Food items and ingredients   Dishes (disposable or ones to purchase and keep for your next party)   Paper products   Tent rental   Table and chair rental   Picture display and video   Thank you notes and postage

 Once you have determined your graduation open house budget, you are ready to start thinking about the graduation party menu.

 Laurie Phelps

www.bestgradparty.com