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Facts about throwing good parties

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Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#21

Post by brianpan »

dlisboa wrote: post #14

I feel like this is really an American culture thing where parties or dinner parties are mostly the responsibility of the host. In movies or TV there’s even a common theme of guests judging the host’s hosting abilities. In Brazil you throw a party to people you like and they all have a hand in helping you, sharing the load. Everyone will be responsible for some part of it, all of it is organized informally, there are…

Even potluck parties tend to be better on average when someone or a few people are "in charge". In my experience, even when people are just getting together for dinner out, there are people who step up more to organize.

Are you sure there aren't certain people driving these "informal" parties?

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#22

Post by evilduck »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #11
buildsjets wrote: post #7

I sure miss the kind of parties where they have to get an emergency court order to cut power the building at 3am. I learned everything I need to know about throwing parties from Dave Barry. If you throw a party, the worst thing that you can do would be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw another party next year. What…

Posts like this really make me feel like I'm living in a completely different reality from some people. I can't tell how much of this is exaggerated for comedic value and how much of it is genuine.

It's written comedically but you mostly live a different life.

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#24

Post by bitshiftfaced »

dlisboa wrote: post #14

I feel like this is really an American culture thing where parties or dinner parties are mostly the responsibility of the host. In movies or TV there’s even a common theme of guests judging the host’s hosting abilities. In Brazil you throw a party to people you like and they all have a hand in helping you, sharing the load. Everyone will be responsible for some part of it, all of it is organized informally, there are…

> In Brazil you throw a party to people you like and they all have a hand in helping you, sharing the load. Everyone will be responsible for some part of it, all of it is organized informally, there are no real formalities to the event. No one cares about making a science out of it.

> I’ve never heard of a person complaining about party quality or comparing hosting abilities.

This is all true in my experience as well, and I live in the US. Maybe I don't go to enough parties, though.

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#25

Post by mingus88 »

johnsillings wrote: post #16
dlisboa wrote: post #14

I feel like this is really an American culture thing where parties or dinner parties are mostly the responsibility of the host. In movies or TV there’s even a common theme of guests judging the host’s hosting abilities. In Brazil you throw a party to people you like and they all have a hand in helping you, sharing the load. Everyone will be responsible for some part of it, all of it is organized informally, there are…

sounds way better that way

They are called potlucks or cookouts in the U.S. and they happen all the time.

In fact, they are probably a lot more common than having a huge party (so large that you have to invite people in batches of half a dozen at a time) completely planned and executed by a single person.

This article is good, don’t get me wrong, but this type of event planning is not really representative of how folk in the U.S. get together

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#26

Post by dlisboa »

lanfeust6 wrote: post #20
dlisboa wrote: post #14

I feel like this is really an American culture thing where parties or dinner parties are mostly the responsibility of the host. In movies or TV there’s even a common theme of guests judging the host’s hosting abilities. In Brazil you throw a party to people you like and they all have a hand in helping you, sharing the load. Everyone will be responsible for some part of it, all of it is organized informally, there are…

> you throw a party to people you like How many is that? It's comfortable being with people I like, but I just consider that "hanging out". The appeal of parties to me is it's a social expectation to mingle with new people I otherwise would never have had the opportunity to speak to.

Could be a handful or a couple dozen, depends on the person really. Birthdays are more packed.

There’s no real expectation in a party here. Usually you’ll call up people you know from different parts of your life. People bring plus ones so someone from work will be chatting to your family member, a high school friend to someone’s plus one, etc.

That’s usually how people strike new relationships after a certain age.

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#27

Post by beerandt »

tcoff91 wrote: post #12
sbuccini wrote: post #8

22) Turn the AC wayyyyyyy down when the party starts 23) Buy frozen finger food and put into oven in staggered batches. When a batch is ready, immediately transfer to serving tray and walk through party offering people food. Great task to delegate to that one attendee who doesn't know anyone! 24) Polaroids/Disposable cameras are cheap and seem to be universally adored. Get a few and scatter them throughout the party.…

If you give people glasses instead of solo cups, I find that partygoers will tend to treat your house with a lot more care and respect. We have a set of glasses that have little black stickers on them that are a material that works well with chalk, so people can label them. Yes, there's a risk of breakage & having to clean up, but overall I think it sets a better tone.

Dixie cup / glassware divide will tell you a lot about the type of party, but not always along the lines you might think.

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#28

Post by johnsillings »

mingus88 wrote: post #25
johnsillings wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sounds way better that way

They are called potlucks or cookouts in the U.S. and they happen all the time. In fact, they are probably a lot more common than having a huge party (so large that you have to invite people in batches of half a dozen at a time) completely planned and executed by a single person. This article is good, don’t get me wrong, but this type of event planning is not really representative of how folk in the U.S. get together

I live in the US, and the type of party in the article is way more familiar to me than potlucks or cookouts – but that's just me

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#29

Post by AmbroseBierce »

mingus88 wrote: post #25
johnsillings wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sounds way better that way

They are called potlucks or cookouts in the U.S. and they happen all the time. In fact, they are probably a lot more common than having a huge party (so large that you have to invite people in batches of half a dozen at a time) completely planned and executed by a single person. This article is good, don’t get me wrong, but this type of event planning is not really representative of how folk in the U.S. get together

Yes but it probably has a bigger overlap with the kind of people that would use Google to find an article that says how to throw a good party.

Re: Facts about throwing good parties

#30

Post by luqtas »

buildsjets wrote: post #7

I sure miss the kind of parties where they have to get an emergency court order to cut power the building at 3am. I learned everything I need to know about throwing parties from Dave Barry. If you throw a party, the worst thing that you can do would be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw another party next year. What…

guess you should be adding some elements of this book [0] when it goes on how to throw parties!

[0] Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to Executive Manners

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