6. Have Activities
“An interactive activity gets your guests mingling quickly,” says Camille Styles, an event designer and founder of the lifestyle blog camillestyles.com “Bocce Ball for a backyard gathering or Jenga for an indoor party will loosen everyone up. And don’t forget to plan activities that women enjoy, too. As much fun as it to watch dudes standing around playing ‘washers,’ we’d probably rather compete with you in a rousing game of Catchphrase or Apples to Apples.” Conversation is an activity too — and it’s your job to make sure it happens, especially at the beginning of the party. In addition to mingling and introducing people to each other, you can make conversation starters a part of the theme. An example? A “No Regrets” themed party, in which people walk in the door and write on nametags one crazy thing they’ve done that they don’t regret. Wearing those gives strangers an immediate thing to talk about.
7. Get Help
It’s your party, so you should enjoy it. One of the best ways to do that is to get someone else to aid with some of the heavy lifting. You can ask friends to help you DJ or to make sure there’s ice in the freezer. But you can also check out a service like TaskRabbit.com, where you can find relatively inexpensive bartenders who come complete with verifications that they actually know how to mix a drink.
