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 When setting up the party venue, make sure that areas of transit are well-lit and free of trip hazards. Survey the party area before and during the party to identify any potential risks such as objects that can easily fall or spillages.

 Don’t freak out. When planning a party, don’t waste your time worrying. I promise you, you’re going to screw something up, something’s going to go wrong, someone’s going to do something, and that’s all there is to it. Embrace the disgrace. You’re not going to buy enough bags of ice or you’re going to buy too many bags of ice, and the one leftover bag will loaf like an AP Biology fetal pig in your freezer for months until you man up and sentence it to death by melting at a glacial pace in your sink. You’re not going to buy enough booze or you’re going to buy too much booze and then you’re going to drink that leftover Rosé All Day and drunk dial a friend at 9:00 p.m. on a Wednesday and tell her what you did with your bunkmate after lights out at summer camp. The cheese ball you food-colored Kermit green and molded to look like a four-leaf clover isn’t going to be the big hit you thought it would be. Same goes for the liverwurst pinwheels. Not to mention the shave-your-own-gyro station that nobody touched because they “didn’t feel safe.” Hey, there’s no accounting for taste. You tried something fabulous. Next time, you’ll defrost cocktail weenies, squirt mustard in a ramekin, and be done with it.

 Stop worst-case-scenario-ing yourself. Nobody’s going to jump off your roof and miss the pool. Nobody’s going to eat a peanut who’s not supposed to eat a peanut and need an emergency Bic ballpoint tracheotomy in the middle of your bonus room. The worst thing to happen at one of our parties was a woman’s hair caught on fire, and the tarot card reader clapped it out. No, nobody said a word about it to us until the party was over. Olympic gold medalist guests? I think so!

 Some guests will arrive early (perhaps catching a glimpse of you halfway into your Spanx, lying prone on the edge of your bed like a Central Park sea lion), and some guests will overstay their welcome (perhaps not taking the hint to leave until you appear in a doorway like Mrs. Doubtfire, your face coated with so much cold cream you look like a lemon meringue pie with eyes). But don’t hold it against them, because these revelers came.

 No matter how many times you prod some invitees to RSVP, they won’t. Count on five people you didn’t plan on showing up, and count on ten canceling the day of, right up through the first hour via text or outright calling you “so you can hear how truly sorry” they are. Count on someone coming with a runny nose “that definitely isn’t COVID.” Count on inviting someone you shouldn’t have and forgetting to invite someone you absolutely should have. Apologize, accept apologies, forgive yourself, and move on.

 At least one guest will want to “be helpful.” He’ll move a centerpiece, rearrange seating orders, straighten picture frames, and insist on taking off his shoes to protect your carpet. When another guest drops and breaks a glass, he’ll sprint to your pantry, grab a brush and dustpan, drop to his knees, and sweep. This person would rather rodent-proof your kitchen than mingle. And you’re the hostess, not Miss Manners, so just let him do what he needs to do.

 Here’s what you need to do: Put out plenty of toilet paper, hand soap, and disposable towels. Dim the lights. You don’t have to rent a bouncy house or hire a DJ to show your guests a good time.

 Uncover It! Put twenty items under a blanket. Lift the blanket and let everyone look at the items for one minute. Re-cover the items and give points for what guests remember. “A postage stamp” gets a point. Bonus points for correctly answering “Which First Lady is on the stamp?” and “What jewelry is she wearing?”

 Dare Bag! Write down dares and put them in a bag. Guests get points for performing dares according to level of difficulty. Five for opening a window and yelling, “Are you there, Judy Blume? It’s me, [insert your name here]!” Ten for putting on Ray-Bans and white compression socks and sliding Risky Business–style across the room. Fifty for swapping your entire outfit with someone else’s.

 Sure, I have a recurring nightmare that there’s a party in an hour and I haven’t prepared, but it’s better than the dream where my teeth are falling out. The truth is: Nobody is coming to your party because they want to have a bad time. So relax. Have the party. I dare you.

 One way Patrick Dunne, proprietor of the New Orleans shop Lucullus, puts people at ease “is to ring the bell in our old bell tower. It puts a smile on guests’ faces as they come up the drive.”

 A memorable evening can hinge on whom you invite (and, if it’s a seated dinner, how you arrange them). “My best friend has always advised me to have close friends who are ten years older and ten years younger, and I’ve cultivated that for years,” says the Charlotte boutique owner Laura Vinroot Poole. At parties, “it makes for very interesting conversations across generations. And at the table, I always split up couples and mix the seating. There’s nothing worse than one side of the table discussing golf and the other side discussing preschools.”

 If you’re considering allowing alcohol at the party, you first need to check whether this is legal and then decide whether it’s something you’re comfortable with. In some states and territories, you could be legally liable if a problem comes up during or even after the party. You might talk with your child about the possible risks and consequences of serving alcohol.

 Provide and serve the alcohol yourself, and consider serving it for only a short time – for example, for an hour near the beginning of the party. Offer drinks with a lower alcohol content and serve small amounts.

 If you have young people under 18 years at the party, make sure they can’t take alcohol away from the party. You could be held liable if you give alcohol to a child who drinks it after leaving the party and then gets into trouble.

 There’s no safe level of alcohol consumption for children under 18. Their bodies and brains are still developing and can be easily damaged. You can find more information in our article on preventing or limiting teenage alcohol use.

 The holidays are juuuust around the corner. Don’t think so? Blink your eyes. Before you open those lids, you’ll be elbow deep in gravy then eggnog then trying to remember the lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne.” Our point? Party season fast approaches, and riches such as wild fame in your friend group and widespread admiration are yours to be had.

 We’ve asked four of the city’s top event planners to hit us with their tips and tricks, do’s and don’ts for planning gatherings that guests will remember. We even got a couple disasters, because hey, we’re all human. No matter how good you are, sometimes the masters are no match for a mighty wind.

 Kevin: Before you start planning anything, ask yourself why you’re even having the party. It can be a profound reason, like celebrating 30 years of marriage. Or it can be trivial, like you have a fabulous dress hanging in your closet that isn’t getting enough showtime. All that matters is that you really believe in your reason, you’re excited about it, and you deserve it.

Strippers Scottsdale

 Miriam: If it’s hot and humid, consider shaded areas (umbrellas, gazebos, trees). Maybe start the event late evening. Weather also affects how many drinks you should have for guests, and the type. In cold weather, you want bonfires or space heaters.

 Miriam: If you have vendors working the event, like catering, photography, and bartenders, make sure they know all of the details they need in a timely manner so they can do their job effectively and smoothly without issues! Communication is key. When this is great, you have great results.

 Alexandria: Avoid getting overwhelmed and looking like it. Take a deep breath and walk out with a smile on your face. Have a drink, but not too many. Nobody wants a visibly stressed or drunk host (I have been her and it wasn’t cute).

 Kevin: I’m going to switch this around and say the most common mistake people make as guests is to come empty-handed. Bring a gift, a bottle of something (don’t bring cheap stuff), a bouquet of flowers, or a thoughtful card. If someone is going to go out of their way to show you a good time, you should have the forethought to say thank you.

 Kevin: Think of a party as a movie. There are moments of back story, build up, suspense, climax, drama, laughter, sadness, tension and release. Write all of those into the script of the party and think of ways to capture it with how you pace the music, dancing, food, drinks, activities and movement. This also means that you’ll have to be the director. Tell people what to do and how to do it. Trust me, people like to be told what to do when it’s in their best interest.

 Kevin: Bring familiar surprises. It doesn’t matter if they’re big surprises or little ones. Pull out a bottle of rare wine that you and your friend discovered on that trip years ago. Play a slideshow of pics you gathered from your dad’s relatives and friends of his entire life for his 80th birthday with Sinatra singing ‘My Way’ in the background.

 Alexandria: You want people to leave your event remembering how it made them feel—and a huge part of that is music and lighting. You could have the very best food, the very best service, but if it’s too bright or the music isn’t vibing, then it wasn’t a good event.

 Elexia: Be very intentional and strategic about your guest list. Ultimately, people attend events and parties to socialize. You have to know your audience: which groups of people have potential to synergize and get along well. Your event can become the reference point for many new and meaningful connections if you invite the right mix of people.

 Elexia: There have definitely been oversights. I’ve hosted book signings that have been so popular, people have lined up outside our shop the night before and camped out. The first year we did this, we did not anticipate a few things: that people would need restrooms, and there would be conflict about order of arrival (there were prizes). This created more stress than was necessary. The next time around, we rented a porta potty, hired security, and were very clear with people about what we would and wouldn’t facilitate.

 Miriam: My biggest mistakes have been not considering high winds or weather. In the first year, I had so many issues with our umbrellas flying out and falling down, so now we have sand bags to hold the umbrellas and know our locations better, so we can be prepared. I was also setting up in the middle of the day when it was super hot, and it was uncomfortable for everyone. Now we only offer picnics at certain times of day, and this year everything has run more smoothly.

 The winter season is a magical time of year for millions of people worldwide, and many of those people choose to celebrate it by throwing a party. However, holiday parties tend to differ a bit from other parties and doing it wrong can result in a very uncomfortable event.

 If you're wondering how to prepare your house for a holiday party, the first step is to make sure it's safe. Check to see if all of the smoke detectors are working, and make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector.

 Roughly 1 out of every 20 Americans are vegetarians, and a large number of others are vegan. That means there's a pretty good chance that at least one of your guests won't eat meat. Make sure to set out vegetarian or vegan options so that they can join in on the fun.

 This step in the party planning guide is easy because holiday parties don't often have a lot of meat dishes. You could probably get by with cookies and eggnog. Also, when buying eggnog, make sure you get at least some non-alcoholic options.

 The holiday season is a hectic time, so planning a holiday party can be difficult. One of the best holiday party planning tips we can offer is to plan the party when people aren't likely to be busy.

 This is easy for an office party, where the boss, to a large extent, decides when everyone is busy. In other settings, you'll need to plan around work. Saturdays are a very popular day for house parties. It occurs after people have had time to cool off from work, but it is early enough in the weekend that people will still have an opportunity to relax at home.