Friday, August 17, 2012

812 reasons this Halloween party is going to be the best EVER.

For those of you that don't know me, I like to throw some pretty kickass parties.  They range from the small and lavish to the huge and wild, and feature my incredibly eclectic group of friends ranging from 20's to 60's. But this... this will be the one party... TO RULE THEM ALL.  Last years' Halloween party rocked, but it wasn't as big as I had expected - based on previous party attendance I was planning for a TON of people.  I had a great turnout, but not the massive quantity of people I had anticipated.  I believe I have figured out the reasons for that and rectified them for 2012.

1. No cover charge this year.
 - Last year I had been throwing a party on a somewhat monthly basis.  It was becoming a line item in my budget.  And being 29 and single, that was getting to be a bit spendy.  This year, due to medical reasons and other obligations, I've only thrown 1 public party.  And that was the first week of January.  I'm ready to rock again.

2. No complicated party theme.
- Last year's theme was "7 Deadly Sins". It was great - the house was broken up into different themed "zones" based on the different sins - greed was the poker table, gluttony was the buffet, envy was a special room with top shelf booze and food that had a higher cover charge, etc.  It was fantastic in theory, but in practice it was overly complicated and a lot of people were put off by the cover charge.  So everyone ended up just gathering in the kitchen as usual.  This year the theme is Halloween Party.  Ya.  Everyone can just chill and have a good time without being forced to adhere to some crazy party rules.  If I wanted to have a bunch of stupid rules I'd just play King's Cup or something like that.

3. I moved the date up a week.
- Having a Halloween party on the Saturday before Halloween is awesome.  So awesome, in fact, that EVERYBODY ELSE does it too.  Even the bars.  Guests had to either choose me over something else or party hop.  So, this year, I'm moving everything up a week.  That way I won't conflict with everyone else's parties and festivities.

4. I'm keeping the things people loved.
- The Tarot card reader was a huge hit, and she will be back this year.  I'm also keeping the costume contest and adding on an extra category.  I love winning things, so I'd love to have more prize opportunities for this years' guests.  I'm even considering adding a game or two (something simple, you can't get a group of costumed drinking adults together and ask them all focus).  Maybe a simple scavenger hunt to get people to explore the house and see all the decorations and they win a fancy jello shot or some knick knack.

5. I started a poll of the guests to see what THEY want.
- Before blowing my whole budget on decorations or booze or whatever, I started polling the guests.  I actually found out that they were more concerned with snacks and hors d'oeuvres, followed by desserts, than fancy cocktails or bulk booze.  So, instead of my typical cheeses and dips and saucy meats; I'm putting some real time and effort into choosing some nifty spooky appetizers and such.

6. I hired a DJ.
- This way, I have ONE person that is in charge of music.  He's a pro.  He can read a crowd.  Guests aren't going to dick with his equipment.  He isn't going to blast the volume on a song and deafen an entire room because he wants to hear it two rooms over.  He can choose songs that will please the crowd and honor requests rather than everyone trying to decide what everyone else wants to hear.

7. Rearranging the furniture.  Again.
- Gonna move the basement office to the second guest room, the media center to the basement office, the dining table to the media area, and that leaves the main floor open.  This can serve two purposes - setup space for dj/band, or dance floor.  Or, I can just buy a pool table.  Either works for me.

8. Hopefully it won't be colder than a witches' titty outside this year.
- Exterior decorations and furniture weren't really used last year because it was freaking freezing outside.  I do have two fire pits that I'll be sure to fire up before the party, but hopefully the exterior temps won't keep everyone inside this year.

9. Inviting a much wider range of guests this year.
- I've noticed a few things about my parties - the socially awkward tend not to show up in the first place, and  pretty much everybody I know is pretty cool.  No one is easily offended and the faint of heart tend to leave early anyway.  I don't have to regulate/decide who is going to have fun and who won't - they can take care of that on their own.  All my friends are inclusive of strangers and I've never seen anyone at my parties sitting alone or looking lost/frightened/bored.  I'm accustomed to hearing things like "Hey, your dad is really cool" and seeing a 25 year old and a 55 year old having an excellent conversation.  I don't like the idea of anyone feeling uncomfortable worried that they're too old/too young/too conservative to have a good time.

10.  More decor.
- Since I already have plenty of decorations from last year, I have a bit more time this year to focus on crafting and actually doing some fantastic hand made stuff. I've already started clearing out my stuffed animals and collecting fantastic ideas.

11. Craft Wines
- I tried my hand at a few different wines last year that turned out extremely well.  Nothing like a bottle of homemade hard cider to capture the fading sunset and autumn air.

12. I already have a ton of RSVP's.
- This is one of those events where the more = the merrier.  Seeing this much interest generated already freaking rocks.  So hard. This party needs to go viral.  I want Bill "Fucking" Murray there.

13. I've already started decorating.
- enough said

812.  I am MOTIVATED.
- Due to some severe and unforeseen medical issues, the entire first half of this year sucked.  Now I'm healed up and ready to get back in the game.  I haven't had any parties since March/April and those were all small and private.  January was my last big hurrah and I got less than a week afterwards.  So, even with 2 months left to go, I am freaking READY to ROCK.  I'm pouring my heart and soul into crafting an event that everyone can enjoy.  I feel like I have a purpose again - to make Halloween awesome.  I feel like I'm planning Waynestock.  Good food, great beverages, fantastic music, and amazing company - I have all the components of a magnificent night.  All I need now are a few bottles of blood and a box of body parts and I'll be good to go.

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