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If you decide to throw a party at your house, there is a whole host of practical things you’ll need to think about before breaking out the party hats and mixing some potent homemade punch.
Keep it down
If you live in a flat or in a built-up area, you’ll have to take into account your immediate neighbours.
One good way to soften the blow is to simply knock on the door and tell your neighbours about the party the day before -” people are less likely to complain if they feel they’ve been given fair warning. You can always invite your neighbours -” they’d be even less likely to complain if they were the ones at the party making all the noise.
Either way, you should be aware of the laws surrounding noise complaints. These work both ways: while it’s unreasonable for a neighbour to tell you to turn off your music at 9pm on a Saturday evening (it’s legal to play it until 11pm), it’s also unfair -” and illegal -” to ignore requests for quiet a few hours later in the night.
Prepare for the worst
Unless your party involves Scrabble, a wheel of brie and an after dinner mint, it’s best to prepare for stains and spills.
Coating the couch in plastic, nanna-style, and running around screaming at people to use coasters doesn’t exactly promote festivity, so it’s a good idea to do everything you can before guests arrive.
Put away any breakable ornaments that could be taken out by ill-advised drunken gesturing, and put an old rug down if you’re concerned about getting stains on the carpet.
Music
Unless your friends are unusually patient and understanding, you’ll need to choose a crowd-pleasing mix.
A party is the time to break out Thriller or The Immaculate Collection, rather than prove your musical worth by playing Radiohead’s collected B-sides and rarities.
Make a playlist on your computer or iPod, and pump it. But don’t be too precious about your guests changing the music -” dictating what people are allowed to dance to will just make you come off like the creepy Reverend in Footloose.
Sort your seating
One of the most common mistakes made when organising a party is to push all the chairs and sofas to the perimeter of the room.
Space for dancing, people think. However, until people get -˜jolly’ enough to bust a move on your lounge-room floor, you’re left with a lot of slightly awkward people, sitting in a large circle, staring at each other. It feels like an AA meeting.
It’s better to arrange seating in a few smaller clusters around the space, encouraging conversations between groups of people. Seats can then be pushed to the side of the room later in the night, when the place gets more packed and the dancing begins.
Tags: noise, party at home, safe
