Five Minute Life Lessons » party

Host a Party

lifeskills — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:00:11 +0000

Practice being a host. Plan and host a party or some other get-together.

Make up the guest list
Set the date
Create invitations
Send the invitations
Plan the food
Plan the activities
Make the preparations for the party
Host the party
Have a great time!

Hosting the Party

lifeskills — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:35 +0000

When it is your party, you are now the host or hostess. You may have brought friends together from many areas of your life, school, sports, church, etc. Some of them may know each other and some of them may not.

As a host, your job is to make sure everyone is comfortable. You can’t make everyone have a good time, but you can invite people to join in conversations or activities. You can make sure everyone has food or drink. And you can make sure guests are not being left out.

Pay attention to what is going on around you. Twister may be your most favorite game in the whole wide world, but if your guests look bored, you may want other activities lined up that they would enjoy.

You are not going to please everyone all of the time, but you can gauge how the party is going and change activities if needed.

Also be aware of any allergies that your friends may have and provide food and drink that everyone can enjoy.

Receiving Gifts

lifeskills — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:00:09 +0000

People put time, effort, and money into picking out gifts for their friends. Sometimes they hit the nail on the head and pick out the perfect gift. Sometimes they don’t.

Either way, as the recipient of the gift, it is your job to let them know that you appreciate the time, effort, and money they spent in selecting your gift.

That task is probably pretty easy when you open the great new gizmo that you have been wanting. But if you open a tea cozy when you don’t even drink tea, focus on the person who gave you the gift and appreciate him or her. Let each person who gave you a gift feel acknowledged and appreciated.

Once you have received the gift, it is yours to do with as you please. You can use it, return it, or even give it away to someone else. But just to be considerate of other people’s feelings, make those decisions in private.

After the party, sending notes of thanks for the gifts you received is always a nice gesture.

Sending an Invitation

lifeskills — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:00:05 +0000

When you are sending an invitation to a party or some other get-together, remember that people’s calendars can fill up quickly. Send out the invitations or let guests know about the party as soon as you decide on a date and time.

When you send an invitation, include the “5 W’s” – who, what, when, where, and why.

Who is having the party?
What should your guests bring or wear?
When is the party?
Where is the party?
Why are you celebrating?

Also provide your phone number on the invitation so that guests can let you know you if they are able to come.

Keep a list of all of the people you invited and mark them as able or unable to make it so you know how many guests will be attending.

Leaving the Party

lifeskills — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:00:08 +0000

Before you are picked up, gather all of the items you are going to take with you. This way when your parents arrive, they won’t have to wait while you run around the house looking for your things.

As you leave, make sure you have cleaned up after yourself. Anything you used or played with is put away unless the host or hostess asks you to leave it where it is. Any food or drink is properly disposed of. And any general mess is taken care of.

Finally, as you leave a party, dinner, or any sort of get-together. Let the host or hostess know you appreciate all of the effort they put into hosting the event. When people plan a get-together, they generally put time, thought, and effort into deciding the menu and activities. Let them know their efforts are appreciated.

Giving Gifts

lifeskills — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:00:03 +0000

Whether it is a birthday, wedding, shower, housewarming, or dinner party, when going to a party, it is usually appropriate to bring a gift, and it is generally a nice touch.

What kind of gift should you bring?

If you know the person fairly well, think of what they would enjoy. It truly is not the expense of the gift that counts, but the thought that was put into it. If Tommy is into race cars, it would probably mean more to him to receive one of the $2.00 Matchbox cars he is missing than a $50.00 art set.

If you don’t know the person very well, think of a general gift that you would enjoy receiving…gift certificates, movie passes, or a gift set with a few small items.

I like to give and receive gifts that are consumable. Food, candy, flowers, candles, soap, wine, or coffee are all things that can be used or consumed and don’t add clutter to the house. Granted, you are not going to give a child candles, wine or coffee, and they probably wouldn’t enjoy soap and flowers as much as an adult would, but food and candy are enjoyed by almost everyone.

But while you may put time and thought and money into buying a gift, when you give the gift, give it freely and completely…with no strings attached.

Hopefully you had a good time picking out and wrapping the gift, thinking about your friend and doing your best to pick out something he will enjoy. You may even have wonderful pictures in your mind of your friend playing with your gift. But once the gift is given, it is his. He is free to enjoy it however he chooses. You have no control over that. He can play with it, return it to the store for credit, give it to his friend Ian, or run over it with a bulldozer.

The nice part about giving gifts freely is that you can also receive gifts freely and enjoy your gifts however you would like.