The perfect party from A to Z

Organizing a successful party is not as easy as many imagine. A lot has to be thought through without losing room for spontaneity. You want everyone to feel comfortable and no one to go hungry. So it is always good to think about a few things beforehand. Here we have some important tips to help you master a perfect party:

Big party or cozy dinner

First of all, you should consider the scale of the celebration: more of a cozy gathering with a nice dinner with your closest acquaintances, or an extravagant party with a large number of invited guests? The rest of the party organization ultimately depends on the number of guests. So, first of all, create a list of all the guests who absolutely must come. Furthermore, the budget is an important point; you should calculate honestly here, because nothing is more unpleasant than miscalculating.

Choice of location

If your own apartment does not have enough capacity, you may have to switch to another suitable location. Should loud music be played and should there be dancing? Then you should inquire in good time, as there are many venues that rent out their own rooms for parties. The advantage is that equipment for music and a bar are usually available here, and you only need to take care of the guest list. In addition, no neighbors can be bothered by loud music. If you want to do it at home and you have a garden, you can also rent a tent for an evening. Don't forget to inform the neighbors in good time that it might be a little louder one evening, or invite them along.

Food & drinks at the party

For large celebrations, a buffet with finger food is best. Set aside a table for the platters and everyone can help themselves. For a medium-sized party that can perhaps still be held in the apartment, small snacks, such as sandwiches, vegetables, and a few dips to choose from, will certainly go down well. This usually involves little effort and no dishes are needed; a few nice napkins are enough. Here is a guideline for buffet quantities:

Quantity for an all-evening finger food buffet for a party

Per person, you can count on approx. 12 appetizers (incl. mini salad or soup in a glass, small desserts)

Quantity for a cold buffet for a party

For a cold buffet, you should count on approx. 200 g of meat or fish, approx. 100 g of dips and sauces, 200-250 g of various salads, 150 g of dessert, 50 g of cheese, 150 g of bread per person.

In the warmer season, grilling is a good option, as everything can be prepared well. If you don't want to serve a meal, you can provide bowls of snacks (sticks, Liptauer, chips, nuts, vegetable sticks, sauces, tortillas with guacamole, etc.), which are always well received. Then hold the party from 8 p.m.

For drinks, you should roughly know whether your friends tend to drink more beer or wine. It also depends on whether everyone is coming by car or whether some can take public transport and therefore drink a little more. Always buy plenty of non-alcoholic drinks; especially in summer, many people drink mineral water or lemonade in between.

To keep the drinks nice and cool on the terrace in summer, set up cool boxes and store the drinks there. If you have one, you can also store the drinks in the bathtub with ice and cold water. In summer, punch is also a wonderful refreshment at parties.

Invitations and decoration

This point is not insignificant, because the guests should be informed about the big party in good time. It is also important that you find out how many people will actually attend your party. Depending on the size and type of the celebration, invitation cards or simply emails or WhatsApp messages can be sent out. It is always important to leave a telephone number or email address so that the guest can confirm or decline. It is also important that the invitation states, with a request for a reply by [insert date]. This makes it easier to plan. Especially with larger celebrations, it is essential whether 40 people are coming or only 10 guests show up.

The bigger the party, the more sensible invitation cards are, for example for subsequent celebrations for a wedding or a milestone birthday. Parties with a theme are definitely fun. No ideas for a theme?

Original ideas for a party theme:

• Come green and leave blue
• Color theme party
• 50s party
• 20s party
• Costume party – Carnival
• Hippie party
• Medieval festival
• Witches, magicians and ghosts
• Beach party
• In the galaxy (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.)
• Doctors and nurses
• Aviation – pilots – airport
• Oktoberfest
• Gender swap (all men as women, women as men)
• 80s party
• Mafia party
• Disney party
• Bad taste party
• Horror party
• Childhood heroes party
• Hollywood party
• Crazy socks party
• Après-ski party
• Comic party
• Soccer party
• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient Rome
• Wild West
• 1001 Nights party
• Viking party
• Black and White
• Rainbow party
• Pajama party
• Professions party
• Sporty party
• Couple costumes
• Animal Noah's Ark party
• Heaven and Hell party
• Fairytale party
• Pirate party
• Witch party
• Zombie party
• Underwater party

A lot of accessories can also be found in online shops, toy stores or stationery stores: Party decoration at Amazon, and costumes can often be found at discounters or at Amazon: Costumes at Amazon. If you don't want to buy extra costumes right away but still want to look the part, you can also visit a costume rental shop; here you can often rent very nice costumes for an evening. In Gänserndorf, I can recommend the costume rental Schönauer: kostuemverleih-schoenauer.at.

You can also find some nice costumes or decorative items on willhaben that you can buy cheaply.

Cleaning up after the big bash

If you really want to keep your own party in good memory, you should also make sure that cleaning up the next day can go smoothly. Especially for large celebrations, it is best not to use glasses and plates, but cups and paper plates, as logically no shards can be created. This also serves safety. Especially in summer, when open shoes are often worn to the party, broken glass can be dangerous. In addition, you should make sure that there are enough sturdy garbage bags available and set them up during the party. Because if a bulging garbage bag bursts, you can start cleaning up all over again. And you usually don't need that the day after the party, when the night is still in your bones anyway.

Photos by Sabine and Andreas, meinhaushalt.at

Also read: Everything you need for the World Cup party