Planning a party to commemorate an event is great fun whether you are celebrating the New Year, a new job, a birthday, or even just to celebrate the end of a long time in lockdown. Whether you are planning a dinner party at home or a large event at a venue, what people expect from a party event stays roughly the same – good company and a dance at the end of the night to round off an enjoyable evening.
Guests
When it comes to planning a fantastic party, the most crucial ingredient to make your night fantastic is the company that you have invited to celebrate with you. Having a large group of friends and family with you will always create a fantastic event. Making sure you invite a group of people that either know each other already or have similar interests will ensure the evening starts on a high note. Setting up stations around the venue with ‘conversation starter’ cards can also help everyone get to know one another.
If you want a large group to be able to attend your event, it is crucial that you send out your invitations at least a few months in advance, especially if your guests will be travelling a long way to attend. If they are travelling long distance, they may need to arrange accommodation overnight, which takes time to accomplish. Many venues have accommodation available; if you talk to the staff at the venue you can direct any guests that want to book a room for the night.
Activities
Often when you are hosting a party, planning a few party games to entertain your guests is one of the most entertaining parts of party planning. There are a range of activities to try that can create a good atmosphere for your event and get your guests engaged.
Here are a few fantastic party activities to try:
- Making Cocktails – Cocktail making parties can be a lot of fun. Making (and tasting) a selection of cocktails with your friends can be a great way to kick off an evening. This is often an activity best suited to smaller parties rather than large events where there would be too many people for the instructor to supervise.
- A Quiz – A quiz can be a great way to enjoy the evening. If you split your guests into groups then the quiz can be played in a sociable way with a large number of players. Using trivia, or having a range of different topic sections can help to ensure that everyone can contribute. More specific quizzes can be tailored to fit a themed event, such as an ocean themed party with questions about sea creatures.
- Musical Chairs – This game is great fun for those of all ages to try. With a set of chairs (one fewer than the number of players) placed in a circle, the players must walk around the chairs while the music is playing. When the music stops they must all dash to sit on a chair. The player left with no chair is out, and one chair is removed. The player that is left without a chair by the end is the winner of the match. This is a high energy game to play after the food has been served at a party, to wake everyone up.
- Dance Floor – No party would be complete without a dance floor for the guests to enjoy and dance to some great tunes. Whether your party is a more formal affair or a casual event, dancing is something that guests of all ages will participate in and enjoy.
Function Room
If you are holding your party at a venue, selecting a function room that will work for the event that you have in mind can have a big impact on what your event will look like. Creating a beautiful space using decorations and the function room itself to create a party atmosphere will bring your event to life.
From autumnal table centrepieces to multi-coloured streamers placed around the room, the end look of your party venue will generally be influenced by the type of event that is being held. The décor chosen for a party to celebrate a 16th birthday party will look very different from the decorations selected for a corporate Christmas party, for example.
Menu
Whether the party will be serving food or not should be made clear on the invitation so that guests can make food arrangements themselves if necessary. Depending on when the party is held, a lunch or dinner are often the meals served to guests. When it comes to your party menu there are four main factors to consider.
- Three course meal – Often at a party a three course meal will be served, with a starter, a main meal and a dessert for each guest. Most venues will have an entertainment menu with a selection of different dishes that guests can choose from. If the event is large, sending the venue your guests’ meal choices ahead of the event will help the party run smoothly. Any dietary needs, such as vegan meals, can then be prepared for in advance.
- Crudités – If you are not serving a main meal at your party, then having nibbles for guests to snack on while talking is a must. Crudités should be small enough to hold in one hand and eat in a bite, so that guests won’t need to carry around plates and cutlery. Having a few vegetarian and vegan options available will help make sure that all your guests have a few dishes to try.
- Desserts – Whether it is a birthday cake for an adult or cupcakes to be handed out to children at the party, there are very few people who don’t like a good pudding. If your party is going to go on through the whole evening, then having a dessert to serve to guests towards the end of the night when everyone has been dancing, will help to end the night on a high note.
- Drinks – When planning a party, it is important to ensure there are enough drinks for everyone invited. It is often expected that the host will provide drinks for the guests throughout the night. Having a few bottles of wine for each table and serving a limited amount of drinks on the bar, such as beer, cider and wine, will ensure that all the guests are served without spending money on a range of spirits. Serving non-alcoholic drinks, such as lemonade and coke for any guests who are not drinking alcohol, will ensure that everyone is covered.
If you are interested in booking a party at Salomons Estate, then please contact us here. Our staff will be delighted to discuss which of our function rooms and services are available to you to create a fantastic party event.