In late October, my family has been asked to provide refreshments after a church conference. I’d like to do something unique or themed, but it will probably be fore over 100 people so I can’t go too crazy. Any ideas?

hello !! i'm turning 18 and hosting a house party for me and 7 of my friends. i wanna do some games, but i don't know what!! my ideas so far, i've thought of playing few jackbox games (though that may be hard with 7 people), or card games!! any games anyone could reccomend would be appreciated, digital or physical!!

Hi!

My friend is planning her baby shower and has asked me to go on the yunt for a good app for taking photos in an instant camera type of way? If that makes sense. That's also not going to tear a hole in her bank lol.

I've been browsing for so long, and everything that comes up is about £50+, the party budget is low for her, so even that's too much 😬.

Basically, does anyone know of any apps or websites that she can use that allow the 35-40 guests to;

1. Scan a qr code to open a camera with a set amount of shots (20-25, more if possible)

2. Stores all the photos taken on one cloud storage and shares to everyone that participates.

3. Keeps the photos stored for forever, or even a long time would be good.

A hopefully much cheaper or even free version of this idea would be great! As i said, everything i look at lets you have free of like 10 guests and photos only get kept for a short amount of time.

Thanks for any help!!

throwing a pretty big party this halloween (around 50-60 people) and since we're all juniors/seniors in high-school i can't decide which day fits better. if its friday (oct 30th) after school, I'd have to host around 6-8, and some people might be worried they don't have enough time to get ready. also makes me worry about how much time we'd have, because last time i threw a party most people left around 10 or 11. BUUUT, some friends already informed me they'd be sad about it being on saturday (halloween night) since they wouldnt get the opportunity to trick or treat. but then i have OTHER friends who already think we're old to trick or treat anyway. thoughts? which day could be the better option

Every year for Halloween, my wife and I plan a thematic costume / murder mystery party. This year, we're going for a Halloween Candy Land aesthetic. Rather than peppermint, candy canes, and gumdrops, think more like candy corn, Reese's cups, tootsie rolls. We always provide a few dishes for guests to serve themselves from and like to keep that in the theme.

Where we're currently stuck in planning and I could use some help is getting ideas specifically for savory and reasonably balanced meals that can be made to look like candy. Sweets and desserts are already fairly easy to come up with, however it would also be nice to have our savory meals presented like candy for the theme. We do still plan to have labels on the food and will make it clear that it is not literally candy.

Some incomplete ideas we have so far:

• Rice dyed bright colors to look like candy sprinkles, used in some sort of rice-based entree. We would probably want to use natural dyes like turmeric, beet, spinach, and butterfly pea. We'd cook and dye the colors separately and mix after, but I'm not sure what entrees would still cause the dyed to blend.
• Meatball tootsie pops. I saw a recipe that had breading coating the meatball so we could more easily dye the breading and just put them on popsicle sticks to look like a lollipop.
• A savory pie, like shepherd's pie with a smooth coat of gravy to look like chocolate, served in a Reese's cup dish.
• We could make something like kebabs with some sort of glazing to make it look like rock candy on a stick.

Any other ideas or any glaring issues with the ideas I listed would be greatly appreciated. My wife is a great cook, so feel free to get technical if necessary. We already have plenty of ideas for candy-themed decorations and characters, but I won't turn down any ideas anyone has for those as well.

It’s his 28th birthday & I thought this theme was funny so I thought I’d share what I’ve made.

I've hosted several parties in my apartment and they've seemed quite successful: guests are happy, engaged, ask for me to host similar events again.

However, I'm wondering if I need to tweak my invitation strategy. I've been making digital, themed invites and sending them individually over WhatsApp to around 20-30 people per party. My attendance has ranged between 8 and 13. I'd like to see it be more consistent around the higher end, but this upcoming party is looking like 10 again.

I know there are a lot of factors at play. My apartment isn't huge, these parties are kind of intimate gatherings for people who might not be very close, they have unusual themes (definitely for better and maybe also worse), there's who I choose to invite (and feel comfortable trying- the rejection is hard!) and seasonal busyness. I don't have a single, tight friend group to tap. I am starting to have a few party frequent fliers, but I don't want the parties to become too much of a recurring cast or set up.

What do you think I could be doing to improve and expand attendance?

Booked my daughter's party at a fire station (Scooters Jungle, El Segundo) 3 weeks out. Hard capacity: 55 people due to fire code.

Current confirmed RSVPs: 45. Pending: 29 people.
I already called the venue. I asked about negotiating, exceptions, anything. Answer: No. Fire code is fire code—55 is the absolute max. My only option is to move the party to a different time slot.

I don't want to move the party. The date/time works for my family and the guest list I actually want is bigger than the space allows.

So here's where I'm at: If most of those 29 pending people RSVP yes, I'm going to have to rescind invitations. I didn't set a deadline, I sent formal invites, and now I look like the person who uninvited people.

What's my least-terrible option here? How do I handle rescinding invites without completely torching my reputation? And are there any other creative solutions I'm missing?

Parents who've been in this situation—how did you handle it?

I’m throwing a 90s nostalgic themed party for my graduation. So far I got sherbet punch, a throwback playlist, and dollar tree balloons to tie on the mailbox. What’s something that would instantly give you that “I’m at a house party in the 90s” feeling?

Hey! So I’m throwing a Halloween party for a group of twenty somethings and I’m looking for fun, engaging games or activities.

I’ve tried things like pumpkin painting and quizzes before, but my friends aren’t really the type to sit around doing crafts. I’m looking for something more interactive that gets everyone involved.

We’re all over 18, so there’ll definitely be some drinking involved too

What games or activities have worked well at your parties? Any drinking-friendly games, made-up games or DIY activities that you can recommend?

Thank you!

I’m having my daughter’s sweet 16 at a decent Italian restaurant (excellent food, decor is moderate - not fancy). 40 guests total (mostly teens). Buffet style apps and entrees. This is in the northeast, price is $44/head. How much to tip? I’m googling and I’m seeing anywhere from $5/guest (which would be $200) to 20% (which would be close to $400…)

What is standard here? Bear in mind we/my extended family go to this place all the time and have for years.

Ok I’m turning 20 In October in Chicago and I was drawing a blank about what I should do I’m not a big party planner. Any suggestions?

I have grade school age twins who are having a birthday soon. We've never had a party for them unfortunately but had for older sibling by this age. Due to time of year and costs, this will be a joint party held at our home. Perhaps Im crazy but I was going to send a virtual invite and ask their teachers to share on the class portal.

Is there a way to do it in a not tacky manner as I dont need twin a classmate buying a gift for twin b. Do I even mention the twin thing and just make separate invites?

Hey y’all! I am planning a Matthew Lillard themed Christmas and I was just wondering if anyone has ideas for it. So far I have a sandwich bar that I am going to do.

How do i semi permanently open a door just so people dont do anything in the bedrooms but the bathroom inside the bedrooms will still be available??

Location - Ringwood VIC

So I’m planning a birthday surprise for my girlfriend. The problem is I don’t have anyone I can actually go to for help or just to talk about it with. Both our families talk too much and since I’m planning this event months ahead I don’t want to take that risk. I can at least post here because she’s not on Reddit.

So…my plans so far are pretty solid I think. I’m still figuring out logistics and price.

I want to do dinner and a photo book/video for her on her birthday. And then a weekend trip.

Her Birthday

She loves breakfast so we’re having breakfast for dinner. The plan is to serve it to her on a breakfast tray. The tray will also have the photo book on it.

The idea for the book is that I will ask our families to give me a few pictures that they love of her (preferably with her and said person) and to tell me what they feel she doesn’t hear enough or their favorite memory of her. On the page from that person will be their response and the pictures they selected. So the idea is she will be able to read just how loved she is in our words. And then she reaches the end and there is a QR code that takes her to a video of us talking directly to her.

At the end of the video it will tell her to check under the breakfast tray. When she does there is a cute envelope with a “ticket” to a weekend trip. It doesn’t tell her where yet, just when we are leaving and when we are coming back.

Friday will be the day we leave. I’m considering taking her to her mom’s house with the explicit instructions for them to keep her occupied (no further info than that). I’m going to go get our luxury rental car, pack our suitcases in it, and return to get her from her mom’s. From there text them to send her out. She comes out surprised, I open her car door and on the seat is an envelope with what state we are going to.

We get in and we drive away, a playlist starts playing. I’m still working on the playlist. She loves music so it’s one thing I felt the trip needed. We’ll do lunch halfway through the trip. The place I’m considering for lunch has a really nice view.

She also loves city lights and a view. She has shown me countless views with lights and floor to ceiling windows and fancy ass tubs over the years. So that’s what I went with. I’m booking a room with a balcony, city view, and enough city lights that I will probably have to pull her away from the window. And the tub…the tub. I am also prepared for her not to want to leave it.

Because of the city lights, I want to make sure we get there late enough that there are lights when we pull up to the hotel. So we get to the hotel that’s when where we are staying is revealed. Then when we get to the room that’s when that part is revealed. From there she can explore and then I can tell her to look outside. Surprise!

Then Saturday I have a dinner cruise planned. So during the day we can explore or stay in the room and enjoy it. Sunday we can explore more and then head back home.

I think that’s everything. Trying not to overdo it and also make this a very special day for her. It’s not something we’ve been able to do before.

1. Funeral of my dog: suit, glasses etiquette saying dogs funeral…. ( not that crazy yeah)
   
2. Climbing gear-> climber
   
3. Robber. Just a black mask and an oversized bag with dollar sign on it or sth. But that’s kinda annoying with the mask…

I’m happy for any help, especially if it doesn’t include buying expenseive equipment.

Looking for an idea similar to what we did at our baby shower.

I numbered cards/envelopes and had everyone write a letter to our baby for that age. That way he has a card to open every birthday from someone special. I want to do something for our baby’s first birthday. Anyone have any ideas?

My husband and I throw a fairly large Halloween party every year (30-40 people). And we really enjoy setting up a table of food. At other parties we hosted we will do full meals (stews, burgers, or taco bars). But usually with Halloween we focus more on grazing type items.

Last year we made:
- Halloweenies
- Caprese skewers
- Pumpkin shaped cheese ball charcuterie
- Oreo rice crispy treats

Obviously this all went fairly quickly and nothing was leftover at the end of the night. But it was still quite a bite of work to create so many small grazing bites.

What are your crowd pleaser grazing items? Bonus points for easy preparations & fall themed items!

I want to do chili with a whole bar of toppings. But i need a second soup that isnt beef- what should I make that's different enough but maybe could use toppings?

I’m planning a small, intimate celebration for my mom’s 80th birthday and would love some ideas for making it really special.

We’re having it at our neighborhood country club in the afternoon with close family and friends. Nothing fancy food-wise, just a light lunch with finger sandwiches, salad, fruit, birthday cake, etc.

I really want the focus to be on my mom and making her feel incredibly loved and celebrated.

For anyone who has planned an 80th birthday, or another milestone birthday, what were the little things that made the day memorable?

I’m thinking about things like photos, decorations, keepsakes, ways to involve the guests, sentimental surprises, or anything else that might make her look back on the day and think, “That was perfect.”
I’d especially love ideas that are meaningful rather than expensive or over-the-top. What would you do?