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Parties/celebrations

Whether you're planning a birthday or a hen do, you'll find plenty of ideas for your celebration on our Party forum.

Original poster

what are your top tips for a successful adult party ?

32 replies

brimfull · 10/08/2009 22:16

have invited about 45 people

need ideas for ;

decorating the house

food

music

any other great ideas to make it a good night?

OP posts:
Overmydeadbody · 10/08/2009 22:18

plenty of lube and condoms?

Overmydeadbody · 10/08/2009 22:19

oh, not that kind of adult party

plenty of booze

SpawnChorus · 10/08/2009 22:20

Lots of booze

Esp Champagne.

SolidGoldBrass · 10/08/2009 22:21

If it is that kind of adult party I wrote a feature about how to do it a few years ago, can dig it out and post it on here if you would like?

Overmydeadbody · 10/08/2009 22:22

tumblers half filled with pebbles with a tea light on top make lovely decorations.

Hellium balloons anchored down in groups of three in the corners of the rooms looks great too.

Overmydeadbody · 10/08/2009 22:22

Solid post it here please, I am interested

SpawnChorus · 10/08/2009 22:22

Re: decorating the house - lots of candles and/or twinkly fairy light things.

Food: yummy canapes like smoked salmon blinis and tasty little sticky sausages

LadyMuck · 10/08/2009 22:23

I think that you need to consider what your guests would like. Do they all know each other, and if so what activities have they enjoyed together before? Or will there be people who know only one or two others, and if so do you need something a bit more ice-breakerish.

If the former then I find a good selection of drinks, and some good music works wonders. Don't forget non-alcoholic drinks especially if your guests have kids. I tend to find that if a couple have paid for a sitter then they don't also pay for a taxi and so one will be driving.

If you have a group that don't know each other then something like a hand magician can be a good icebreaker. We hired some casino tables plus croupiers for Dh's 40th which worked very well given I suspect that may of the guests only knew a handful of the others.

PerArduaAdNauseum · 10/08/2009 22:23
  1. Don't invite my sister
  2. um, no, that's it really
SpawnChorus · 10/08/2009 22:24

Hire reliable teenagers to do the drinks topping-up and canape-pushing.

Original poster
brimfull · 10/08/2009 22:26

arf at the condoms -no not that kind of party

ok I have about a milion tea lights

do I need to find a million tumblers to prevent people burning themselves.

helium balloons-it's not a birthday party,it's a no reason to celebrate lets just have a party party

is it still ok to have balloons??

OP posts:
Original poster
brimfull · 10/08/2009 22:28

spawn -good idea baout the teens but they will all be at the reading festival.

ladymuck-how much were the croupiers,am trying to keep costs down.

It's a mixture of friends,some will only know a handful.

OP posts:
Overmydeadbody · 10/08/2009 22:28

tumblers are good for containing the tea lights, you can get them very cheaply from sainsbury's. Or pint glasses or jars would work too.

Balloons can look cool if just a few colours, but may be a bit birthdayish.

Make sure the food is all stuff you can eat with fingers.

AnotherFineMess · 10/08/2009 22:30

What's the occasion? Can you choose a loose theme around the occasion that will help decide music & food? Eg James Bond themed cocktail & casino party, Australian BBQ, black & white etc etc?

Original poster
brimfull · 10/08/2009 22:33

well no theme really

just a party,invites have gone out already

OP posts:
Original poster
brimfull · 10/08/2009 22:34

could make a theme up though

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DottyDot · 10/08/2009 22:42

if you've got the space, a room where the music's good and loud for drunken dancing and another room where it's quieter for drunken gossiping is good.

as much alcohol as possible and carby food (pizza/garlic bread etc) later in the night for when the munchies kick in!

SpawnChorus · 11/08/2009 08:12

No theme = GOOD IMO (bloody hate themed parties)

Agree with Dotty re: dancing & gossiping rooms.

SpawnChorus · 11/08/2009 08:18

If you don't have teenage helpers, make sure your canapes are as easy as poss re: heating/preparing. Entrust a guest or two with topping up drinks (gregarious ones often love it...gives them an opportunity to flit around like a social butterfly...and have first dibs on the booze ).

If you're aiming for raucousness, get some tequila and / or proper minty mojitos in.

nikki1978 · 11/08/2009 08:41

Depends on what your friends are like really! If I have a party I usually just get lots of booze in and some food for the BBQ and much fun is always had. I wouldn't waste much money on decorations to be honest - a few tealights dotted around will look nice. Are you having it inside or outside? Is there enough space for everyone to sit down or is it the sort of party where people are just spread about the house? If most people know each other it will be easier atmosphere wise but if not you definitely need something to break the ice or to have everyone sitting together so they are forced to converse!

MmeLindt · 11/08/2009 08:52

We had a party for DH's birthday recently. Things that went down well were:

We had a kind of "champagne reception" (with prosecco as we were not on a champagne budget) at the front of the house. Lounge music, lots of bubbly. The fact that there was less space meant that folk started chatting to each other, whether they knew each other or not. It really broke the ice. I had made bite sized snacks to serve. The champagne was in a big bucket with ice.

Playlists on iPod of different music for the different parts of the party. Lounge for the champagne reception, easy listening for the BBQ, dance music for later.

We took the dresser from the kitchen outside, put the champagne bucket and drinks trough on ice, lots of glasses and ice bucket so folk can help themselves. I bought a thing for the drinks at a second hand shop, it is a metal fish poacher so a long metal bucket.

Fairy lights and candles on the trees later on. Try IKEA. Or jam jars with candles in them.

It was a fantastic party.

SpawnChorus · 11/08/2009 09:20

MmeLindt - your party sounds PERFECT

Original poster
brimfull · 11/08/2009 16:10

Thanks ladies

Def no champagne budget here either.

We are open plan but front is prob a bit quieter where the couches are.

I do expect it to get rather raucous (knowing some of the people coming)

What are mint mojitos?

Was going to get some beer from local brewery and loads of wine.

Now where to farm ds...

OP posts:
Original poster
brimfull · 11/08/2009 16:14

I have bugger all on my ipod ,any ideas for some download collections? Does that sort of thing exist?
The thought of spending hours on itunes trying to find stuff fills me with dread.

OP posts:
Gmarksthespot · 11/08/2009 16:20

We had my dh's 40th a couple of months ago and it was brilliant. We had it outside and had tealights in jars all through the garden. I asked neighbours and friends for old jars. I also put fairy lights up in a few places.

I think the key is to be super organised so that you can enjoy the party. We had drinks organised in an esky for everyone to access and cooked sausages, chicken kebabs/skewers and spring rolls an hour or so before the party and kept them warm in the oven until ready to serve. We also had heaps of dips/cheeses/crackers and crisps scattered on a few low tables in various spots. I personally think heaps of a few foods rather than lots of different foods is much easier.