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Top 5 Tips for Hosting the Ultimate House Party

We all know hosting a house party can be quite stressful, making sure you’ve got the best theme, food, drink and games. Follow my 5 steps to the ultimate house party.

House parties are a great way to meet people and have a good time. © 81disasters via Compfight cc

1st tip: Choosing the theme

Themes are a great way to get people excited about your house party; it’s something to look forward to. House parties with a theme provide an atmosphere where you can be friendly with everyone and in some cases, you’re happy to make a fool of yourself in the name of humour. So what themes are fun, require little input and make a house party epic? Here are my suggestions:

  1. Jungle. This theme is great fun and you can have a variety of outfits, food choices, music playlists and games to play. Why not take inspiration from I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here and make your theme I’m A Student … Get Me Out Of Here. The games you can play are endless; no challenge is too outrageous for any student. Also decorations can help create a brilliant atmosphere. Music is to your own taste so I would suggest sitting down with your house mates and choosing some tunes together.
  2. Mexican. The food is the most appealing for this theme for me. The thought of fajitas, quesadilla and enchiladas is enough to get anyone in the mood for a party. Add some moustaches, tequila and sombreros to the formula and you’ve got yourself a recipe for party brilliance. You can find Mexican-inspired outfits at all good fancy-dress shops.
  3. An ABC party. What is that I hear you ask? No it’s not the news channel. Anything But Clothes - this doesn’t mean naked but you can guess that someone will be tempted to wear their birthday suit. The outfit is to be made from anything but clothes: tin foil, bin bags, pizza boxes, anything you can think of that’s creative and funny! This gives you free reign with drinks and food as it doesn’t have to tie into the theme .

2nd tip: Getting the food

Do you or don’t you? It’s always been a big question of mine especially when you’re on a tight budget. You’re the host of a party so do you or don’t you put on a bit of a spread? If you’re going with the Mexican theme, I’d suggest everyone chips in for the food and tequila and if anyone wants something different, they should bring it for themselves. That way you can stick to a budget by dividing the cost and any fussy eaters can cater for themselves.

If there’s loads of guests, buy some food bits for yourself and your house mates and tell people if they want to snack throughout the night then they should bring a contribution. There’s no harm in asking your friends; everyone knows how tight student budgets can be.

3rd tip: Drinks

Whether you’re drinking alcohol or not, bringing your own drinks to a student party is pretty essential for the sake of the hosts’ bank account. If everyone brings a spirit and a mixer and there’s 15 of you, you’ll soon have a full-on bar! You can make the drinks fit along with the themes. So, for example, if you have a jungle party, why not have some exotic cocktails? Have some really great exotic jungle-themed cocktails, which will suit everyone’s taste buds. I’d suggest the Miami Margarita, The Union Bar’s Banga #1 and Royal Orchid.

For your Mexican theme, of course, tequila is your number one choice. But if you want something more delicious to sip check out sunset.com. They have the best recipe ideas for Mexican-themed drinks and they are also super tasty! Their recipes include some exotic fruits mixed with traditional Mexican Tequila.

For any other themes you decide to go with, there are plenty of inspirational ideas on the web and you can even add your own twist onto the ideas you come across.

4th tip: Be nice to your neighbours

Students can sometimes have a bad name with their neighbours: the loud music, the drunken emotional fights that keep them up. If you know you’re having a house party, try to be considerate towards them. Let them know you’re having people over and if things get too noisy, let them know you’re happy for them to come and knock on your door to ask you to keep the volume down. There’s nothing wrong with being aware and conscientious for the sake of the people around you.

5th tip: Games

Drinking games can be the life of the party. The entertainment they bring can be historical moments for many people’s friendships - looking back on the good old days when Joe Bloggs had to down the dirty pint in Ring of Fire. But what about themed games? Be inventive and think of your own games that fit in with your theme. Be as creative as you like or alternatively invest in some great drinking game books.

Here are a few drinking game ideas:

  1. Jungle - this is the animal game predominately played with any kind of animal name. However, in this instance, limit it to specific jungle animals. Here are the rules.
  2. I’m A Student … Get Me Out Of Here - gather with your friends and think of the best challenges you can do. Have prizes for the winners or every time they complete a challenge, they get a free shot, a trophy or something else you think will be a fun reward.
  3. Buzz Words - this works for any theme. Throughout the night pick a list of 5 - 10 words that are banned and if they’re said, it should have serious drinking consequences (Downing a pint? 2 shots? Whatever you want). Maybe even create some forfeits - like a dunce hat (sombrero or a moustache) or having to drink from a coconut for the rest of the night.

There are endless ideas out there for the ultimate house party. These are just a few - so get creative.