Moving to a new area can be a very overwhelming experience, and you have so much to think about. You have to find somewhere new to live, move all of your worldly possessions across the country (or to a different one entirely), and make sure that you have all of your utilities set up in this new location.
You may also be worried that you know pretty much nobody in this location, and even if you did move for a new job, the only faces you will recognize will be the ones you saw at your interview. In time, however, you will start making new friends, whether at work, neighbors, or people you have met while pursuing a hobby. If you want to show your gratitude to these people for taking you in and showing you the finer points of your new location, then a party could be the best way to go about it.
This can present more questions than answers as you will be asking yourself exactly how to go about it. To make the process easier, there are some key steps you need to get right, and once you have completed these, the rest will fall into place much easier.
1. Get organized and start planning
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The first thing to do is to decide what type of party it is going to be; it might be a celebration of your being in the area, a period of time like six months, or just a casual get-together. If it is to commemorate some kind of anniversary, then the date takes care of itself, but for a more casual get-together, you can be more flexible so as many people as possible can attend.
You will also need to have a fair idea of how much you will be spending, which can also shape the numbers and style of party you go for. Once this box is ticked, you can decide on how you are going to invite people, either by word of mouth, email, text, or general announcement on social media.
2. Pick a theme
Parties with a theme tend to be more memorable, and as this will be the first one you have thrown, you will want it to stick in people’s minds for all the right reasons. Fun themes that are quite easy to pull off might include:
- A 70s or 80s disco theme is probably the simplest as you can ask people to raid the back of their wardrobe (or their parent’s closet) and dress up in line with the era in question. Along with the flares or leg warmers, you might also want to provide nibbles from the time periods like vol-au-vents or mini chicken Kievs. The music will be easy to find, and you could set up a Spotify playlist or nominate somebody with vintage vinyl as the DJ for the evening.
- A casino evening is also quite easy to set up and can have a fun dress code depending on whether you want to go for a Vegas or Monte Carlo look. You also don’t have to worry about making space for the games, as you could simply use what is available at an online casino instead. Looking at what is available at (https://au.crazyvegas.com/high-roller-casinos/), you will see there is no shortage of available options to keep everybody occupied. Again, the food can be provided according to the theme, so you should see what nibbles are available and if you need to go for chicken wings or something a little more highbrow.
- Hollywood night – this third option is also quite a low effort as you can simply ask everyone to come as their favorite movie star or character. You could set up party games like charades so your guests can literally ‘act out’ the names of their movies. To make this more interesting, you could, as part of your planning, go online and source some pretend Oscars to hand out to the best participants. Of course, the food here will have a cinematic theme, so provide popcorn, hot dogs, and nachos.
3. On the night of the party
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Once you have all of this planned out, you can give yourself a pat on the back, but the work is far from over. You need to set everything out, like seating, whether you are holding your party in your new home or in the garden if there is more space there and the weather allows. If you are going to be short on furniture like chairs, then you should look to borrow or hire some, even if you are expecting people to spend most of their time on their feet dancing and enjoying themselves.
You will also need to be aware that while you know everybody who is coming, they may not know each other. To avoid awkward silence, you can break the ice by acting as a waiter, going around with a tray of drinks or nibbling and introducing them to each other as you go around. You probably know these people well enough to be aware of who will get on with each other easily and let the rest take care of itself as the fun commences.
4. Extra considerations
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You might think that you have every box ticked, but you should also be aware that you need to be a responsible neighbor and let all of those who aren’t coming to the party – but are likely to hear it – what is going on. With this in mind, you also need to consider parking and perhaps ask neighbors attending if they can give up any additional parking spaces for other guests.
To sum it all up
Throwing a party for new friends can be a big deal and fraught with difficulties if you do not know where to start. As with all things, planning is an essential first step, and picking a theme will allow many of the finer details to take care of themselves. You need to be aware of logistical issues such as seating and parking, but the one thing that you absolutely must make sure of is that you enjoy the party yourself.
