Want to host a party, but you’re afraid your place is too small? Think again. Some of the best parties are in small apartments, condos and townhouses. Entertaining in small spaces can be fun for the host and the guests, with a few adjustments and tips for throwing small parties.
What’s Wrong With Crowded?
Don’t be too concerned about an overcrowded party. No one ever complained about being at a party in a home that didn’t offer enough space. Crowded parties are more fun, some would venture to say.
When planning your party, remember you can invite more than you can handle. In most cases, 25 to 50 percent of the guests you invite will not come. If your ideal party size is 25 people, go ahead and invite 35 or more. Chances are you’ll get roughly 25 guests who will show up. Don’t rely too heavily on RSVPs; fewer and fewer people actually RSVP to invitations. If you’re concerned about numbers and want a true count, get on the phone the day before your party and ask people if they’re coming.
Move Furniture for Parties in Small Spaces
To prepare your place for a party, move furniture from the center of the room to the walls, or move it out of the room completely. Clean up clutter so that almost everything in the room serves a purpose for the party. Tables and other surfaces should be cleared off so that guests can set down drinks and plates.
Serve Finger Foods
A lot of modern entertaining is all about finger foods, appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and snacks. Plan your party menu so your guests don’t have to sit down to eat. Serve finger foods that don’t require forks, set out small cocktail plates, and encourage guests to mingle and eat standing up. Friends of mine who throw the best parties told me this rule: Party guests don’t need a chair and a table spot to eat party food, unless the guests are 70 or older. Take the chairs away from the table where you’re serving food (you’ll need the space for people to graze along the edges of the table) and put them in a neighbor’s place.
If you really want a seat for every guest, put your kitchen chairs around the house for seating. For additional seating, think beyond chairs: Footstools, benches, almost anything flat can be used as a seat during a party. Borrowed or rented folding chairs can supplement your seating.
The Drop-In Open House Party
If you’re determined to invite everyone you know to your party, do a drop-in, open house type party. Set a long block of time, about 6 hours, and have people drop in whenever it’s convenient. There should be a constant flow of people arriving and leaving, making it possible for you to entertain more people, just not all at once.
Prepare Food In Advance
Have your party food fixed ahead of time, because your kitchen is going to be crowded. No matter how big your house, guests gravitate to the kitchen. You could be throwing a housewarming party in a 57-room mansion, and still your kitchen would be crowded with guests. Be sure you have the bulk of your food preparation done by party time. If your kitchen is crowded with guests, you may not have easy access to your oven, stovetop, microwave or frig, without asking someone to move. Have food and drinks out and as ready as they can be, by the time your guests arrive.
Use the Great Outdoors
To expand your party space, use whatever space you have outdoors. Weather permitting, party guests often appreciate being able to wander from indoors to outdoors throughout the party. Leave your doors open so guests can walk out onto a porch, balcony or deck. If you have a yard, you can practically double the size of your party space.
More Entertaining Ideas for Apartment Living, Condo Living and Having a Party in a Small Space
Fine Living has five suggestions for throwing parties in small spaces, including this one: “Make the most of a smaller party space. If it's a birthday party, fill up a tiny kitchen or living room with helium filled balloons with long streamers. This makes having less room a positive rather than a negative.”
Just moved into an apartment and want to throw a party to show it off? Among its apartment tips, Apartment Living has some tips for throwing an apartment-warming party.
Digs Magazine tells its 20-something readers to trim their guest lists. “. . . when it comes to entertaining in the quasi-adult years and beyond, bigger isn’t always better.” Choose small groups of friends for more intimate get-togethers in your small place, Digs says.
Washington Post writer Stefanie Berry Stark talked to small-space dwellers on how they entertain, and came up with some innovative solutions for apartment entertaining. One, to kill two birds with one stone, remove a door to open up space, and lay the door across an ironing board for a buffet tabletop.
What’s Wrong With Crowded?
Don’t be too concerned about an overcrowded party. No one ever complained about being at a party in a home that didn’t offer enough space. Crowded parties are more fun, some would venture to say.
When planning your party, remember you can invite more than you can handle. In most cases, 25 to 50 percent of the guests you invite will not come. If your ideal party size is 25 people, go ahead and invite 35 or more. Chances are you’ll get roughly 25 guests who will show up. Don’t rely too heavily on RSVPs; fewer and fewer people actually RSVP to invitations. If you’re concerned about numbers and want a true count, get on the phone the day before your party and ask people if they’re coming.
Move Furniture for Parties in Small Spaces
To prepare your place for a party, move furniture from the center of the room to the walls, or move it out of the room completely. Clean up clutter so that almost everything in the room serves a purpose for the party. Tables and other surfaces should be cleared off so that guests can set down drinks and plates.
Serve Finger Foods
A lot of modern entertaining is all about finger foods, appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and snacks. Plan your party menu so your guests don’t have to sit down to eat. Serve finger foods that don’t require forks, set out small cocktail plates, and encourage guests to mingle and eat standing up. Friends of mine who throw the best parties told me this rule: Party guests don’t need a chair and a table spot to eat party food, unless the guests are 70 or older. Take the chairs away from the table where you’re serving food (you’ll need the space for people to graze along the edges of the table) and put them in a neighbor’s place.
If you really want a seat for every guest, put your kitchen chairs around the house for seating. For additional seating, think beyond chairs: Footstools, benches, almost anything flat can be used as a seat during a party. Borrowed or rented folding chairs can supplement your seating.
The Drop-In Open House Party
If you’re determined to invite everyone you know to your party, do a drop-in, open house type party. Set a long block of time, about 6 hours, and have people drop in whenever it’s convenient. There should be a constant flow of people arriving and leaving, making it possible for you to entertain more people, just not all at once.
Prepare Food In Advance
Have your party food fixed ahead of time, because your kitchen is going to be crowded. No matter how big your house, guests gravitate to the kitchen. You could be throwing a housewarming party in a 57-room mansion, and still your kitchen would be crowded with guests. Be sure you have the bulk of your food preparation done by party time. If your kitchen is crowded with guests, you may not have easy access to your oven, stovetop, microwave or frig, without asking someone to move. Have food and drinks out and as ready as they can be, by the time your guests arrive.
Use the Great Outdoors
To expand your party space, use whatever space you have outdoors. Weather permitting, party guests often appreciate being able to wander from indoors to outdoors throughout the party. Leave your doors open so guests can walk out onto a porch, balcony or deck. If you have a yard, you can practically double the size of your party space.
More Entertaining Ideas for Apartment Living, Condo Living and Having a Party in a Small Space
Fine Living has five suggestions for throwing parties in small spaces, including this one: “Make the most of a smaller party space. If it's a birthday party, fill up a tiny kitchen or living room with helium filled balloons with long streamers. This makes having less room a positive rather than a negative.”
Just moved into an apartment and want to throw a party to show it off? Among its apartment tips, Apartment Living has some tips for throwing an apartment-warming party.
Digs Magazine tells its 20-something readers to trim their guest lists. “. . . when it comes to entertaining in the quasi-adult years and beyond, bigger isn’t always better.” Choose small groups of friends for more intimate get-togethers in your small place, Digs says.
Washington Post writer Stefanie Berry Stark talked to small-space dwellers on how they entertain, and came up with some innovative solutions for apartment entertaining. One, to kill two birds with one stone, remove a door to open up space, and lay the door across an ironing board for a buffet tabletop.
I agree with your first suggestion... almost all of my friends love to crowd it out in a party... well you just have to consider others who don't want to be sharing the sweat with all the people in the dance floor... hehehe
