The main ingredients to any party are guests, food, drink and entertainment – and bringing all off the above together cohesively is key to throwing a party that your guests will remember. Entertainment can be as simple or as complicated as you wish, but good music is a minimum requirement, whether that’s background music or pumping tunes to get your groove on to. The iPod has made making party playlists super simple, but you’ll need a speaker system to play them on. Livingsocial.com recently offered a Logic3 i-Station Combo Speaker System for £39 instead of £84, so keep your eyes on the daily deals if you could do with a sound system upgrade on the cheap sushi new York. The best way to compare daily deals is to bookmark www.D3ALS.co.uk. Or alternatively why not subscribe to the D3ALS email for details of all the best daily deals in one convenient place? Guests is one ingredient in the ultimate party cocktail that may seem simple at first glance. However, we all have different types of friends that enjoy, and thrive in, different social situations, so it’s worth giving it some thought before you hit the ‘invite all’ button on facebook. For example, you may not be keen on your work colleagues witnessing you belting out ‘I Will Survive’ on the Karaoke machine after one too many glasses of wine, nor is your party-buddy in crime likely to enjoy being the token single girl at a couples dinner party. Another issue to bear in mind is guest dynamics.
If you have two friends who really don’t get on, is it really wise to get them in a room together and throw copious amounts of alcohol into the mix?As far as food and drink go, budget is a big consideration. Trying to organise a champagne fuelled five course dinner party on a buffet and beer budget is a recipe for frustration – for both you and your guests. You also need to consider how much time you want to spend in the kitchen, or doing party preparation. If you’ve been super busy at work recently then promising your friends ten different types of cocktails and canapés may not be the most realistic idea.One way to make a party go with a bang is to theme it, which makes all the decisions on food, drink, dress code etc much easier to make.
Fancy dress, murder mystery and ‘event’ themed parties (such as the Royal Wedding) are all popular but for something completely different why not look to the orient?The Japanese love to have fun, and a Japanese themed party would be fairly straightforward to plan. When it comes to the food and drink, sushi is an easy choice. Guests can eat it with their fingers canapé style and it looks stunning when displayed. High street shops such as Marks and Spencer do ready made sushi, or you can buy sushi making kits from many supermarkets. Alternatively, why not really impress your guests by taking a sushi making classes such as the one recently offered on the Living Social website?Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in Japan, so that’s simple enough.
And when it comes to dress code many fashion retailers stock beautiful kimono style dresses that your guests can wear again – or, take things to the next level with a fun Harajuku girl dress code (where young Japanese adults dress as anime, magna or superhero characters).When it comes to entertainment there’s only one thing to go for and that’s karaoke. Karaoke is massive over there, and even the word itself comes from two Japanese words shortened and put together. Of course, karaoke is lots of fun and gives a focus to a party. However, it may be wise to give your neighbours warning in advance!A Japanese themed party is just one out of the box idea, but your options are genuinely limitless. The more creative you are the more memorable your party will be, but remember that creative doesn’t have to mean complicated.A theme is simply a fun way to ensure that all the elements of your party gel, and should be a party tool to reduce stress rather than increase it – so grab a piece of paper and a pen and get planning a perfect party that’s sure to go down in history among your friends, for all the right reasons.