When I was growing up, my parents were big entertainers. In general, things would be pretty serious and sedate in the house. We would get our work done, my parents would read the paper or a novel, then everyone would go to sleep. Parties were the chance to cut loose. My parents never had particularly unconventional party ideas. They certainly never believed in birthday party themes. Nonetheless, we always had an excellent time at any of the parties that they held. Their philosophy was that you don't need a good party idea. Just having your friends there is enough.
I think that I put a lot more thought and energy into party ideas than my parents did. Nowadays, I have to have party ideas for my kids. Almost every party that we have is a theme party. Usually, the kids get to choose it. They are always filled with ideas. Last year, we had a G.I. Joe party theme. My son Jason has always loved the show, although I have tried to discourage it. It always gets him in a pretty rowdy hyper mood, but what can you do – a birthday is a birthday. We put up G.I. Joe style decorations, had action figures in the goody bags, and even had a G.I. Joe birthday cake.
Of course, just because I'm a grown-up now doesn't mean that I can't have any fun. There are plenty of party themes that are good for entertaining adults. One of the best ways is to have a game party. This is different than a normal poker night. It is much more involved. You set of different boardgames at several different tables, put several kinds of different snacks, and have people dress up as their favorite game mascot. Some people come dressed up as video game characters, others as the guy from Monopoly or the mouse for Mousetrap. It takes little imagination, but if you have the right kind of friends it works wonderfully.
The very best party ideas are the ones that people remember for years to come. One of the easiest ways to have a memorable party is to get everyone to dress up for Halloween. Then, all you have to do is set the right ambiance. If you have the type of friend who make good Halloween costumes, you can have an amazing time with everyone. All you have to do is add some drinks!
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