How to have a safe house party
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Throwing a house party can be fun but how to do you provide a safe experience to your attendees? In this article you will learn our top tips for throwing a safe house party.
Decide on limits
A party with fewer people would be safer. Generally you should aim for less than 20 people. Some people bring guests so you may want to factor that into your numbers.
Don't post your event publicly
You may get gate-crashers if you post about your event publicly. If you want a Facebook event you can make it private.
Email, text or direct messages might be good ways of distributing invitations.
You need to decide how much you want people to drink. This includes the host.
Have sober attendees
Nightclubs have bouncers to keep order. You might want to do a similar thing by making sure at least one person is sober at your party.
Ideally this person would be strong and could defuse arguments.
This is just a suggestion and wouldn't be required for most house parties.
Your security person might also be the bartender. Guests would leave drinks with him and he could pour them. This allows them to keep a better eye on drinking.
Tell your guests to not bring cars
To avoid people drinking and driving you may want to tell people not to bring cars. You may want to arrange for a sober driver and do car pools.
If people bring their cars tell them to hand over their keys. They should come back and get the vehicle when they are sober.
Offer snacks
Snacks can help give your guests something to do and lessen the effect of alcohol. Potatoes, bread, pasta, meat and cheese stay in the stomach longer and might be better for safe drinking.
Salty foods can make people thirsty and you could be best to avoid them.
Offer low strength alcohol
If you supply alcohol you may want to have low strength options for people that want it. This helps ensure that that all guests are not wasted.
Serve single shots
Some people assess their drinking by the number of drinks so it's probably best to serve them single shots to make it more likely that they don't go over their limit.
Refills
I believe that the safest option would be to let people request refills instead of getting someone to do this automatically.
Ensure that the glasses are empty before you refill drinks to help give a consistent drink strength.
Keep an eye on others
If you don't have sober attendees you might want to keep an eye on people every now and then to check that they are not getting too drunk.
Make people active
Give people something to do other than drink. This could be party games, various sports or watching movies.
Keep people in the same areas
It's easier to know what people are doing if they're in specific areas of your house.
Talk to people
You may want to mention to people that your party is "just for a few drinks" if that what you are going for.
If people need to slow down, it's best they're told in a discreet and tactful way.
Valuable and breakable items
You may want to store valuable and breakable items somewhere safe; in a locked room for example. This protects your belongings and ensures that your party isn't interrupted by people breaking things.
Keep areas clear
Ensure that items are not in people's way, including walk ways. You might want to clear away items for people to dance.
Ensure that you have good lighting
Good lighting on steps and stairs can help keep people safe.
Lock doors to private rooms
You may want to get locks for flat mates' room to ensure that people don't go in these places.
A lock on the toilet may stop people from bursting in.
You can get a door lock at Amazon. Alternatively you could get a door-chain, also at Amazon.
Do not invite people who don't get along
Fights could be prevented if you invite people who get along.
If you know of two people who bicker constantly you may want to invite only one of them.
You may not want to invite exes who don't get along.
Children
You may want to hire a babysitter to look after the kids.
Alternatively a responsible adult could look after the children at your party but they will probably be safer off site.
Set an end time
You might want put an end time on your invitations so your guests know when to leave. You can arrange for a car pool at this time to encourage people to leave. Ensure that the driver is sober.
Thanks for reading
I hope that you have some ideas to make your next house party safer.