Here's my not-often-heard tip for getting a party started (right).

Resist the urge have everything perfect and finished and ready to go at Official Party Start Time. Leave a bunch of things that still need doing undone until the witching hour. Then when the first few people arrive, you can give them some sort of job to do, like stock up coolers with ice and beer or get the grill going or light candles or whatever.

This way, you don't have the awkward-milling-about at the start; things are Happening from the get-go and the energy's up. The early people feel important, and like it was a lucky thing they got there early so they could help poor disorganized you, and then as others come in and see people involved in stuff, there's already banter and activity going on.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. If you come to parties at my place and I don't seem ready, remember, it's All Part of the Plan.

Waking up naked from the waist down on the roof of a house overlooking the pool Apparently in a genius moment of alcohol induced bliss during relieving myself in the second floor bathroom I noticed it was sunrise. This was enough to make me shuck off those damn annoying trousers, climb out the window and watch the sunrise from the roof ledge.

Much to my chagrin, I awoke with a pounding headache at 3pm the next day with a crowd of ten below me swimming and laughing at my plight. Haha, it was strange day after that. It took about an hour to find my trousers as some comedian hid them in the master bedroom closet!


Sigh. that was the last night I ever drank shots of what was called "liquid cocaine". If i remember right, its bacardi 151, jeger and some other over proof booze. Purely disgusting.

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Tell me what elements make a party awesome, or what you do when you throw parties.

• It's always good to have an escape route, probably through the backyard, for partygoers with bench warrants out to use when the cops roll up and start pepper spraying people.
• Have someone who is the designated Responsible Person Who Won't Get Too Drunk so they can deal with the cops and kick out people who trash the house or start oozing the unwanted sleaze at people.
• If there are out of town bands playing, make sure to collect gas donations before people get loaded and make their second or third beer run.
• Keep your booze in your bedroom and keep the door locked
• If people want to fight, they can take it down the street because we don't need that kind of shit around here, goddammit.
• If you set your beer down even just for a second, check it when you pick it back up to make sure no one extinguished their cigarette in it.
• Statistically speaking, at least one couch in North America is urinated on every 10 minutes. Don't let your couch become just another statistic.
• If you wake up the next morning and there's That Guy on the couch who just won't leave - ask him to collect the empty cans and put them in the recycling bins. When he's out of the house, lock the door behind him.

Tell me what elements make a party awesome, or what you do when you throw parties.
Tell me how to deal with meeting a cute internet boy for the first time.
Tell me a good party story.

- Great music and some location other than the kitchen where everyone gathers naturally and no one is separated by some odd housing geometry.

- When I throw parties I usually get nervous about some detail and get drunk superfast and make a big ass out of myself while the night is still young. Try not to do this.

- I deal with it [cute internet boy] by diving right in.

- Man, I think I missed the best party I've been invited to in a long time a few weeks ago. I'm thinking very hard about this request for a good party story and am coming up blank. How about you have a great time and come back and tell us a good story? I know you will. Have fun!

Here's my not-often-heard tip for getting a party started (right).

posted by Miko 26 August | 14:43

Miko, that's brilliant. We don't give many parties anymore, but I am totally taking this advice the next time we do.

Miko, I had guests put the lights on my Christmas tree one year, cause I hadn't gotten it done. Total win-win.