Have you ever attended or actually hosted a really awkward, awful party? Maybe it has all the right ingredients, but it just doesn't take off. It's a party dud. In those cases, you or the host in question probably spends a lot of time wondering what the guests were thinking. I can help you out a little bit, by sharing the secrets of these 9 things your party guests may think but will never actually say to you.
You may have the best food possible, but if you're throwing a party where there aren't a lot of places to sit, you need to make sure your guests can eat it. If everyone is standing around and mingling, if there are seats but no real table space, and you're serving things that need to be cut up or something, how are your guests supposed to eat that? They're wondering the same thing, but might not be comfortable enough to tell you.
Seating charts and things like that are great. They can help you organize your party, they help your guests mingle with different people, and it can keep guests who don't like each other away from each other. But if you're the only one who actually knows the seating chart, guests what? Your guests aren't going to know where to sit and may end up milling around like little lost lambs.
It's great if you have a ginormous spread of food. Variety is the spice of life, it will be delicious. But you can't take up so much room that your guests don't really have any space to walk around and mingle together. They're not going to sit there and complain to your face about the lack of room (probably), but that doesn't mean they aren't thinking about it.
If you're going to throw a party, you need to put forth some effort. If you don't do anything to make the atmosphere festive, your guests are going to notice. They probably won't say anything directly to you, but I wouldn't be surprised if they start whispering about the decorations – or rather, the lack thereof.
I don't really think that anyone would do this, but you have to make your bathroom look nice – and smell nice – when guests are coming over. Make sure there's air freshener or something in there, and make sure you clean around the toilet. Speaking from experience, you especially want to do this if you have dogs. You don't want people thinking all that hair belongs to you.
This goes without saying, but it's also one of those small yet vital details that you can easily forget. You have to make sure there is plenty of toilet paper in the bathroom(s) your guests will be using. There's nothing more awful than running out of TP in someone else's house. If this happens to one of your guests, they'll be talking about it the whole night – but likely not to your face.
Party games can be fun. Party games can also be incredibly lame. It's better to save party games for guests you know will have fun. If you force your guests to play games, especially those getting-to-know-you games, there's going to be a lot of secret eye rolling going on in the background.
When you have pets, it's a good idea to make other plans for them when you throw a party. At the very least, they shouldn't be running around bothering your guests. Some of them may be allergic to animal dander, and some of them might just not be pet people. I don't imagine it's very fun to have an excitable dog barking and jumping on you the whole night, or having a cat purring behind your head.
If you have a party, things will get spilled. Your furniture may get stained. Your floor will get dirty. Be chill about it. Don't freak out about the messes. If you do, the guest who spilled the dip on your couch cushion is going to be mortified, and won't feel comfortable coping to the accident.
Don't worry, though, it's easy to be a good host or hostess. Then you won't have to worry about what your guests are saying; they'll just be having a good time. What tips do you have for throwing a successful party?
Top Photo Credit: pnoyrckstar