| .. |
looking
for more party ideas?
Jump
to host on the boards
and talk.
|
copyright ©1999-2004
DigsMagazine.com.
|
to
theme or not
to theme
by Yee-Fan Sun | 1
2
continued from page 1
Unfortunately, creativity
takes effort, and there's no getting around the fact that theme parties
are a heck of a lot of work. If you're going to throw one, be prepared
to go the whole nine yards -- with decorations, invitations, music, food
... and of course, your own costume. As the host/ess, you set the entire
tone for the evening to come -- and if you're not into it 100%, there's
no way you'll be able to motivate and inspire your guests to do the
same.
| Then
there's the cheese factor. Theme parties are unabashedly cheese-a-licious
-- it's what makes them so amusing - and anyone who's hung up on
being cool is going to turn out to be a real party pooper about
this sort of thing. Your guests have to be willing to surrender to
the cheese, to get over any fears they might have about looking
stupid. For many a theme party novice, the idea of getting
dressed up is genuinely stress-inducing -- they worry that
they can't think of anything clever, or that they'll look
ridiculous, or that they'll have to spend a lot of money to find
the perfect outfit. You can help guests get over their costume
anxieties by providing ideas in the invitation, encouraging them
to scour thrift stores and the back of their closets, assuring
them that tackiness is welcome -- and that ultimately, you'll
still be happy to see them if they lame out and arrive in their
normal street clothes. You can even provide a few cheap costume
accessories at the door. But if the vast majority of your friends
simply refuse to play along with your theme, you're going to find
yourself fighting a battle you can't possibly win. Ultimately, the
attitude of your guests plays as important a role in the success
of a theme party as your skills as the host/ess.
A theme party offers the
chance for you to create a one-of-a-kind evening that takes you
and your guests out of their humdrum everyday lives. It's the
ultimate escapist entertainment, provided it's well
done. But aye, there's the rub. In the end, some folks
just aren't made for theme parties. When the commitment to theming-out
just isn't there -- from host/ess and guests alike -- it's best to
stick with the tried-and-true. Theme if you dare, but remember:
with great party potential, comes great responsibility. |
When
to throw a theme party
• To commemorate a really special occasion -- you're turning the
big 3-0, you've just handed in your grad school dissertation,
you've decided to make a career switch, you're moving to a new
city
• To celebrate a holiday -- Halloween, St. Patrick's Day,
Valentine's Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day… holidays, no matter how
obscure, provide both an instant excuse for a party and an
automatic theme
• If you want a big shindig, the sort where you invite everyone
you know, and they invite everyone they know -- theme parties work
best when there are a lot of people involved in the revelry
When
to skip the theme
• If you're trying to keep things small-scale, low-key and
intimate
• If you've decided to throw the party on a last-minute whim
• If your party budget is tiny
• If you have no desire to spend the entire post-party day
cleaning up
• If your friends all think they're too cool to play dress-up
for an evening |
o
check
out these related articles:
come as you usually aren't theme
parties 101 | got
costume?
--------------------------->
lounge . nourish
.
host . laze
. home .
|
