booze.

I always have a signature cocktail. 90% of the people go for the cocktail and it seems to make for a merry event. Margaritas, mojitos, cosmos, rum punch, sangria, etc. served from a big pitcher and easy to make more batches. Great time of year for rum punch!!

some kind of activity -- anything from horseshoes to strip poker to face painting to water balloon fights - all depends on your crowd... it's nice to have something to do to help the evening along.

good lighting- dim enough that people don't feel like they're being interrogated, but light enough so people don't trip over the cat... and good music!

Good food! Even if it's only appetizers. And nice music in the background, esp at first when the early birds arrive.

We did a 'pizza oven party' on the outdoor grill, just gathered together all the ingredients and then let each guest choose their own toppings. (jillions of recipes online). It was cheap, easy, and you can feed a ton of people very easy. We cooked up a couple larger sizes early to chop up as appetizers, then started making smaller individual ones. Dessert too! Several of the guys even took turns cooking; people still talk about my pizza oven party.

fake moustaches, charades, water balloon toss, some type of contest, good music

Agree with the signature drink (even plain old sangria make people happy). Themed food or just something people wouldn't make for themselves on a saturday night is always fun.

I feel like guest really respond well when I do something like slightly different (grilled fruit kebabs for dessert or pumpkin pie martinis before Halloween) becuase they know I care that they are there and want them to have fun.

I just had a great low-budget bash this weekend (it was my birthday too - yay Leos :). I figured out how many people approx would be there (we had about 40) and then designed a seating area on the lawn for everyone to eat/drink around. I bought cheap straw mats from Pearl River Mart (available on their website) to sit on alongside some long low tables I made out of cheap materials from Home Depot: cinder blocks and MDF boards cut in half. I stopped at IKEA and got cheap twin sheets for tablecloths, and tin pots for flowers I cut from the garden. It was super low budget but turned out really well and looked pretty polished for what I spent! I think the most important thing is to make sure everyone feels comfortable - ie, enough booze, good music at a good level, and enough space for everyone to not feel cramped :) Good luck, and have fun!

Yes, Kimberlina - Always. Offer wine, beer, random spirits, but mostly: The Signature Beverage. Most recently I served Whiskey Sours, but have done Gingerbread Martinis (holiday party) and mojitos on more than one occasion.

I also think food is critical. If your party is mostly about the laughing and boozing, serve something fun and high-impact, but easy! AND CHEAP!

In the winter chili is great. Put a pot on the stove, stack bowls and cutlery, grate cheese, an assortment of breads, crackers, etc. - Let everyone serve themselves throughout the evening.

I served meatball sandwiches the same way (hot from the stove, self-served) with the Whiskey Sours - It was great!

But mostly just keep everyone's drink filled.

ooh - i forgot to add that my loving and wonderful friends made 5 GALLONS of white sangria for the party... we were good to go. :)

Please share about how to make these pumpkin pie martinis! Sounds different and like it could be really yummy - Is there booze in it?

I like to have BYO- parties. Usually we'll offer up our cooking apparatuses and serve some side dishes, appitizers and drinks, but if it's a BBQ type of party we usually say bring your own meat. That way people get to eat what they enjoy and everyone can hang out outside cooking together.

I also like to have pot-luck parties too...
We usually have a "Festivus" party every winter and pot luck is always the best way to get everyone's family traditional meals brought to one table.

I know this isn't the kitchn, but here you go!

Pumpkin Pie Martinis (this recipe is from Rachael Ray's Everyday Food magazine)

Ingredients

Ice cubes
2 ounces (1/4 cup) vanilla vodka
2 ounces (1/4 cup) crème de cacao
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Whipped cream, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes. Add the vanilla vodka, crème de cacao, heavy cream and pumpkin pie spice and shake well.
2. Dip the rims of 2 martini glasses into a bowl of whipped cream. Strain the cocktail into the glasses.

I found that the pumpkin pie spice didn't mix in well enough for my liking, so this year I'm thinking about infusing the vodka and pumpkin pie spice for a few days before hand. I'm also planning on taking these tailgating this fall. Yum!

the aussie style shindig

1 - 50 of your closest friends (lol)
2 - grog
3 - fire
4 - finger food you simply heat from the frozen isle
5 - a tarp for shade (if day time)
6 - did i mention grog??
7 - oh yeah the cake!!! :P

the rest takes care of itself... until one of your particularly rowdy patrons who has had too much of items 2 & 6 decides they are going to start a nude wrestling ring in the centre of your yard... believe me it has happened at more than 1 rugby league party we've been too... sigh.

Booze with signature drink (sangria or punch is easy because people can help themselves), fun music mix, theme of some sort (if you have time), tasty treats (salty and sweet) and finally any sort of activity to get people to mingle (sort of cheesy but really great hosts are good at introducing different groups of people "have you met So-and-So they also share your love of scrabble").

I also find it nice in the middle of the party to make a general toast and thank everyone for coming.

Good luck. Oh remember to have a blast. Don't stress and enjoy yourself. People will pick up on that and do likewise.

Addressing "pulled-together" get a theme going! It doesn't have to be cheesy, it doesn't have to cost a lot! If you picked a signature drink like sangria, instead of serving chips and dip, try the Spanish tomato bread (a crostini rubbed with tomato, instead of topped with). If you keep a theme in mind, you won't have any overtly disparate elements (decor, food, events, what have you)

Entertainment that lets people interact keeps it memorable. Better yet, have your peeps bring the entertainment: your friend who plays guitar? Another plays? Introduce 'em and tell them to bring their instruments? You have another who's wild about his croquet set? Invite people to bring activities.

Since to me, it's the people that really keep it memorable, the party's and hostess's job is to make sure those people are happy and can relax and mingle. The party just facilitates a good time (it isn't the good time)! (Hence why alcohol is so important- it facilitates relaxation and social interaction) Think about food, drink, and entertainment- but also about trash receptacles and layout! Don't put one table in the center of a site- it forces those without a seat to reach over others to get to your chili dip! Smaller groupings work well for large groups, force ppl to move around and interact while still providing a place for people to set down anchor. Good luck!

I agree on Signature Drink and tasty munchies. Also, drinks and food on opposite sides of the party area keeps people moving and mingling. I usually shoot for enough chairs for about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the guest list, so that there is healthy rotation and chair poaching.

Last Party was Bluberry martini's and Grilled lamb chops!! Since most people are used to steaks $12 a pound lamb chops really impresses, and they loved my homemade pickled beets, but I kicked it up a notch with Jalapenos! they also loved the mushroom and onion puffed pastry tart.. If anyone needs info on how to make email me at stephanie at 31 islandview.com

Jell-o shots!

I think it's fun to have sort of a dress up, whether that's all formal or dress like the birthday person or some costume thing (depending on your pals and how they are). I had a plaid party once that was great and fairly easy.
Also, not cheap, but fabulous is a photobooth. I had one for my wedding and it was the hit of the event - unlimited photos and everyone was game no matter what age. The pix are great. If that's too pricy, maybe a polaroid fest which will be history soon.

Signature Beverage, ALLLLLL the way. I provide the basics: rum, vodka, whiskey, and gin. A few mixers. Some beer, a red and a white wine. But mostly, I make several pitchers of my signature margaritas (on the rocks) and people always go for those.

i absolutely love the pizza party idea!!!!
although as a college student who's kept her distance from alcohol, i'm always baffled and disheartened by people who seem to think that it's such an important part of socializing . . .

The German volunteers I lived with in Northern Ireland rolled this way:

- Potluck dinner
- Booze
- Dance party in the kitchen
- Dress-up clothes "borrowed" from the day care center next door. (It wasn't a party until someone wore the tutu)
- Guitar sing-a-long featuring the Eagles, German pop-tunes from the 80s, and Irish drinking songs.
- Circus performers, including a fire eater.

I feel like my parties are lame in comparison.