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 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.

 Holiday parties offer a chance to get away from the hustle and stress of the season. Unfortunately, an uncomfortable or unsafe party won't do anybody much good. That's why it's important to plan your party ahead of time.

 CHEERS TO THAT If you’re doing it right, hosting a dinner party should not just look easy; it should also be easy, as well as delicious, engaging, affirming and fun for everyone (as in this casual gathering thrown together by our photo team). We called on two dinner-party partisans to lay out the ground rules for gathering as we begin to emerge from the isolation of lockdown.

 CHEERS TO THAT If you’re doing it right, hosting a dinner party should not just look easy; it should also be easy, as well as delicious, engaging, affirming and fun for everyone (as in this casual gathering thrown together by our photo team). We called on two dinner-party partisans to lay out the ground rules for gathering as we begin to emerge from the isolation of lockdown. Sidney Bensimon for The Wall Street Journal

 As we inch back toward social life, we all need a refresher on how to gather graciously. Two experts update their rules for making guests feel comfortable, safe, sated and like the very best versions of themselves. Plus: a recipe for effortless entertaining, Niçoise style.

 Unlike brunchers at a restaurant, we noted, dinner party hosts selflessly welcome friends and strangers into their homes, provide them with free food and in return ask only that no one spill wine on the Pomeranian. A dinner party, we said, is a safe space for the freewheeling exchange of ideas, where differences can be loudly debated and impromptu dancing is welcomed.

 And a dinner party is, we said, “recess for adults”—a blessed break from the pressures, consumerism and information-blitz of the outside world. We hoped to convince more people to host dinner parties. Without them, we warned, society would surely crumble, like the crust on a reheated brunch quiche.

 Well, here we all are, after an enforced yearlong dinner party drought, and…we told you so. Turns out, when you spend 13 solid months bingeing true-crime shows and fake-smiling through virtual meetings instead of actually getting together? It’s enough to leave even the most urbane and extroverted of social animals a little feral.

 Just when you thought you had put your event planning days behind you after having your wedding dress cleaned and preserved, you discover the daunting world of children’s birthday parties. Have kids’ parties always been such a thing? There’s so much pressure revolving around your child’s special day, from location to party favors to whether or not you really need to invite the entire class, that it can actually keep a parent up at night (and for some of us that insomnia carries on for weeks).

 What happened to the days when you could string up some balloons, bake a homemade birthday cake and call it a day? Experts and parents dish out their best advice for making your child’s birthday as stress-free and sensational as possible.

 You’ve probably heard the rule that you should invite as many kids to the party as there are candles on the cake. Ten friends for a 10-year-old; four friends for a 4-year-old. But not everyone follows this decree.

 Pro Tip: “Four kids! That’s not a celebration, that’s dinner with your family!” says Sharron Krull, party planner and author of That Was the Best Party Ever! How to Give Parties Your Kids Will Never Forget. Krull insists there are no hard-and-fast rules. Party budget, space constraints and your child’s wishes all help determine the size of the guest list.

 Parent Prowess: Charlotte Pierce’s daughter had a fairy-themed indoor party for her sixth birthday. Pierce invited 18 kids to create fairy houses out of moss, bark, twigs and dried flowers. But the project and the invite list proved to be too much.

 “Some of the kids were really high-energy and just wanted to run around. It was a huge mess,” Pierce recalls. “The twigs collapsed, so I had to use a glue gun, and there was lots of waiting around. The houses were sweet, but I was a wreck and it was frustrating for the kids. Eighteen was way too many kids for such an involved project. Never again.”

 “We came up with the idea of splitting the guests into three groups that traveled through the house to various stations for games and activities,” Murray says. “It took a lot of scheduling, but it worked really well. Her older brother manned the craft station, my husband ran the games station, and we were able to comfortably host the entire group.”

 Parent Prowess: Parents have mixed feelings about invitation alternatives. “My son once missed a birthday party because the invitation was a message left on our phone machine by the birthday child,” says Emily Twadell, a mother of three.

 “I like sending e-invites,” says mom Denise Pons Leone of internet services that allow you to custom-create party invitations with reply options. “You can see who has opened them, people can leave comments – it’s fast and they are cute!”

 Adam, age 12, likes a more personal approach: “A couple of years ago, one of my friends had a pirate party and his dad dressed up as Captain Hook and delivered the invitations, which were treasure maps in a bottle. It was cool and made me think that the party was going to be really fun.”

 Pro Tip: There’s no shortage of books and websites on party theme ideas. Head to the bookstore or library for ideas from the likes of veteran party planning authors such as Krull, Penny Warner and Vicki Lansky. Search BostonParentsPaper.com for party themes, games to play and planning ideas.

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 “For my son’s second birthday, I planned a circus party,” says mom Karen Seligman. “Our extended family was coming with older cousins, so I rented a tent for the back yard and a cotton-candy machine. I hired face painters and a clown to do magic tricks. My son refused to have his face painted and then took one look at the clown and had a total meltdown. What was I thinking? I should have just had a few friends over for cupcakes and an hour in the sandbox.”

 Pons Leone opted for a much more basic theme for her own 2-year-old: “The party theme was ‘Yellow.’ Everyone dressed in yellow. The cake was yellow. We drew with yellow chalk on black paper and painted with yellow and read stories with the color yellow. It was a big hit and very easy to do.”

 “It ate up a bunch of time to walk to the station, talk with the firemen and ring the bell in the truck,” she says. “Then we went back to the house for games and a fire truck cake decorated with licorice hoses and pretzel ladders. The biggest hit was putting out votive candles with squirt guns.”

 According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of meeting, convention, and event planners is expected to grow by 7% from 2023 to 2033, outpacing many other industries. This statistic highlights the increasing demand for talented professionals in event planning. If you've ever dreamed of turning your passion for organization and creativity into a fulfilling career, now is the perfect time to learn how to become a party planner.

 Party planning is more than arranging decorations and booking venues. It's about creating memorable experiences for clients and their guests. Whether you want to specialize in weddings, corporate events, or milestone celebrations, becoming a party planner offers opportunities for:

 A memorable and professional personal brand is crucial for establishing credibility and standing out in the competitive event planning industry. Your brand reflects your values, expertise, and style, making it a key factor in attracting clients and building long-term relationships.

 The Event Planner Expo 2025, held in New York City, offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect with industry leaders, discover the latest trends, and showcase your talent. Learn how to become a party planner, gain valuable insights, and start building your dream career.

 But, a lot can go wrong - from broken windows, poor pacing, a dead dancefloor, *missing* drinks (thanks to randoms with sticky fingers), stolen valuables, crashers, crying, cops, ambulances, and shit yarns, are all far too possible at house parties and are a one-way ticket to a bad night and a worse morning.

 Luckily for you, we know a thing or two about partying, and we pooled all our collective brain cells together (which was not a lot) and put together this list to ensure your house party is A-1 baby.

 The music Look, you've got to have the music plan sorted. If you're hosting tomorrow (or just want to hear killer tunes for 15 hours) chuck on George FM - no ads and high-quality DJs from midday onwards. I mean just check out these set times - impossible to not have a good time with that talent.

 If you've got the decks ready, have a lineup sussed. If you're going old school with speakers, make sure they're charged and make sure the playlist is sorted and will last the whole night, and finally lock the aux - no requests or 'please add this to the queue' - be brutal.

 In a perfect world, this tip would not exist, but we don't live in a perfect world and people may look to pinch a couple of things. People will steal anything at a house party; drinks, phones, vapes, hats, forks, pillows, shoes - literally anything.

 Make sure you lock your valuables away, have a place people can put their drinks safely, keep ya wits about ya, and (depending on your friend group) maybe even lock the cutlery drawer. And always, always, keep your wits about you.

 Control the crowd Parties, and any large group of people, go wrong when control is lost (I mean have you seen Project X?). Control the crowd at your house party by a) having an obvious d-floor/doof room, b) having an outdoor area, possibly with a gazebo, for people who want to cool down and escape the chaos, and c) having a room to chill in - chuck a couch in there, maybe another UE, and just make it nice and cosy to relaaax in.

 In the foreground, a round table with a bright blue tablecloth is laden with roast beef, lobster, salad and artichokes. A woman in a printed dress fixes herself a plate, while a man in a suit, clutching a glass of red wine, looks on with a smile. Two couples chat in the background.

 Vintage cookbooks are a curious subdivision of the thriving antiquarian trade. They are, of course, more likely than most old books to be splattered with disgusting substances — maybe even to contain evidence of kitchen pests. They are as vulnerable as college texts to previous owners’ margin notes (“Delicious!”) and suggested modifications, sometimes helpful.