How do you make a party unforgettable?

[InTheNameOfAllThatIsHonest]

We love having friends over and regularly entertain. We want to have a party this summer to get all our friends and family together since we haven't really had a proper get together since Covid started, and want it to be truly special. We will have caterers, a face painter, a magician, and a DJ. The party will be in our garden and there will be 40 to 50 of us. Dress code will be cocktail dresses and equivalent for the men.

Can I ask what you'd recommend to make this party extra special? Yes of course the people are what matters most but, besides that, what would you say makes a party really fun and one everyone will think back fondly to? We are in the UK, so hopefully the weather will cooperate - thank you!

I always find a streaker makes things memorable

Seriously, unless your garden is Blenheim palace, ditch the dress code. PLEASE ditch the face painter (who will want their makeup wrecked?) and the magician. It sounds like a combo of a fairly formal adult party and a kids party that is a bit odd and it won't work, it won't be special, it will be annoying.

Lots of nice well timed food, lots of booze and alternatives for drivers, some good music, sorted.

PS make sure you have a back up plan for rain

The best parties I have ever been to have been super-relaxed (so no dress code), lots of food for all (including veggies/vegans), plenty of 'help yourself' style booze, musicians and dancing (I'm Scottish, so this amounts to session-style, including having instruments available for folk who can play, and ceilidh dancing).

I'm also not a huge fan of children under 12 at parties, but I appreciate I may be in a minority on this particular forum.

You could hire a lookalike to mingle with the guests. A modern take on the stripagram of yesteryear

Oh god - no! I went to a wedding with a pair of those ("Patsy" and "Edina") and they were a total pain - followed everyone around and wanted responses to their "amusing" work. It was like being stalked.

I had a tarot reader at my big party, and she was really, really popular. I wish I'd booked her for longer, because not everyone who wanted to see her got to see her.

A party that isn't pretentious would be one of my requirements.

Keep it simple, and do the simple stuff well. No dress code or magician! Get good music, good food and good drink.

Butlers in the Buff?

Seriously...

Hire a Casino - people can play with fake money or chips, doesn't have to be about gambling as such

Definitely not cocktail dresses. I like to arse about after a few drinks so would love to wrestle in sumo suits, ride a bucking bronco thing or even a good old space hopper race.

Another vote for no dress code- stresses people out for no gain!

DH had a party and Mate A was upstairs shagging Mate Bs wife.
Mate B found out and ran upstairs, Mate A had to jump out the window naked and was chased down the street by Mate B who also jumped out the window.
Then the kitchen caught fire.
It was 30 years ago and very memorable.
Ask away if you need anymore party tips.

Sid Little and The Krankies mingling.

Cocolapew
DH had a party and Mate A was upstairs shagging Mate Bs wife.
Mate B found out and ran upstairs, Mate A had to jump out the window naked and was chased down the street by Mate B who also jumped out the window.
Then the kitchen caught fire.
It was 30 years ago and very memorable.
Ask away if you need anymore party tips.

I definitely would like to have been at that party.

Hire a large chocolate fountain, I hired one for my wedding and it’s the one thing our guests remember the most and still talk about years later. Someone came with it to set it up and staff it through the night, it had a light up base that changed colour and some fairy lights, it looked incredible and it was such a treat, it made our evening reception.

I would also suggest dropping the dress code.

For me, the best parties that we have thrown have been brilliant because of the people invited.

We tend to have separate parties for family as they are more of a sedate affair.

For friends, children are always invited - and we hire a huge hot tub or bouncy castle so they can have some fun.

Then we usually bbq an array of food, have some great music on and have a really lovely chilled experience.

Your idea sounds great, if that’s what you and your guests expectations usually are though!

I'm a retired raver so gor my party I'm getting a uv light and giving out glow sticks

Make all the guests take part in 'Knees Up Mother Brown' and 'Postman's Knock'. That's what happened at the party I remember 60 years later.

Lots prep then relaxed atmosphere. No dress code. Somewhere covered incase it rains. Space outside and in for the DCs with toys. Caterers in to do bbq mid afternoon then left overs/ cold meat buffet plus puddings later in evening. Water heater for DIY hot drinks (away from DCs). Pay a couple of people to wait on, clearing up and serving drinks so that you and DH are free to enjoy your guests. Get everyone to bring toothbrush and sleeping bags for sleepover then you can all kick back and catch up. Lots bread rolls and bacon, sausages to bbq breakfast and again DIY while you have a relaxed goodbye

Definitely no dress code, it’s quite rude.

The correct etiquette is for guests to glean the expected dress code from 3 things.,.

The nature of the event.

The styling of the invitations.

The venue.

A garden party for a family and friends get together will not suggest cocktail attire.

Hate to say it, but I used to work on aircraft where face painting was “entertainment”. Virtually impossible to sterilise and a recipe for bacterial infections. I really wouldn’t…

We've thrown some excellent parties over the years & the things we've learnt they need are:

Military precision planning behind the scenes in the preparation, which gives a v laid back, relaxed event on the night as ever detail has been thought of & provided for

Really thinking about the mix of guests - interesting people who are great company make for the best parties. We think about stuff like making sure each guest knows at least one other person so they don't feel awkward

Being good hosts & introducing people to each other particularly in the early stages of the party

Lovely lighting - candles & fairy lights. No harsh overhead kitchen lights

We always make 2 really good cocktails & we hire the appropriate glasses for the particular drink as well as water glasses. Last party we had just before covid we had 30 people & we served passion fruit martinis as well as a champagne cocktail so we hired 50 coupe champagne glasses as well as 50 champagne flutes & slim jim glasses. All the relevant garnishes etc
We set up a cocktail station & dh makes them up as people arrive. It's a good icebreaker & gets a party mood going straight away. We have enough for everyone to have several cocktails if they wish. Everyone have at least 2 - one of each but most have more than that!

We also have an area set up for guests to make g&ts/ beer / wine & all the glasses & garnishes ready & waiting

Think about the flow of people in the space when setting up areas for drink/ food / seating etc - this helps to not have everyone clumped in the kitchen initially

Lots of lovely food - we tend to have platters of canapes ready to bring out when guests start arriving. Later in the evening we'll bring out big bowls of more substantial food. We've had great success with things like a huge dish of hot pulled pork served alongside huge bowls of food quality coleslaw & twice or three times the amount of brioche buns as you think you'll need. Plates, napkins & let the guests make their own sliders- easy to serve, easy to eat etc

A selection of desserts already portioned.

Good music set up & plenty of alcohol

I'd say no to children. Our best parties are grown up affairs. We don't usually mix family either as we live far away from then so have seperate family gatherings which do involve kids.
No face painting, no magicians , no been dances, no games, no hay bales, no dress code

Barn dances

Nailpolish that does indeed sound like the perfect party.

Most memorable I've been too...

Stand at the top of the stairs & invite the fastest up those stairs for a shag. Come back & do it 3 more times & on the last one, projectile vomit down said stairs on top of hopeful next conquest & then tell them your not shagging them as they've puked on themselves ... the rest of the party ended up skinny dipping in the nearby river... still talked about 40 years later 😂

Free bar, but give drinks out in pints... eg: a pint of g&t, rum & coke etc & refuse anything smaller, stage set up with instruments for a jam session & just watch it all unfold, especially encourage naked performances for the giggle... that one also still talked about 40 years later,

Or spike the punch with drugs, that party was an interesting one

In seriousness though, no strict dress code. The best we've seen on that front was a 70s dress code where everyone went to town & dressed up as anything from punk to disco. That worked, cocktail dresses etc doesn't

I disagree about no magician, someone booked a magician as a gift for our wedding party, we were a bit 🥴 to begin with, but he just mingled with the crowds as a guest doing his thing, everyone loved it & he was brilliant & he is still talked about decades later.

@Cocolapew 🤣🤣

Ditch the dress code. It needs to be less formal if it’s a garden party.