Tips to Planning an Epic Birthday House Party

Since I turned 19, my birthday parties are now infamous amongst my friends and family. For three consecutive years now "Alana's Birthday" is one of the parties of the year and everyone we know shows up. It really is such a blessing to have so many friends show up and want to spend their time hanging with me and celebrating at my house. 
I've made so many fun and precious memories at my house parties and I think a lot of their 'success' can be attributed to this list of tips and tricks!

1. Invite good people. Make sure everyone that's invited will be able to vibe with each other without any drama. Also- only invite the people you actually want to be there. It is your day after all!
2. Have lots of cheap and easy food. My party favorites: nachos, pizza, chips. Can't go wrong! And if you run low, people will usually ask what they can bring. 
3. Ask people to bring their own drinks. One thing that I've found EXTREMELY helpful in party costs, is that I'll provide the food if my friends provide the drinks. Obviously, people at parties tend to drink a lot so not having to worry about that cost saves a lot of money.
4. Have designated throw up places. This might seem silly, but since people bring their own drinks, some of them will drink way too much. Of course everyone should know where the bathroom is, but people don't always make it that far. Save yourself some trouble and place some buckets outside or in the corner of rooms. Throw up in the bucket, dump and wash it out, and you won't have to worry about scrubbing the floor in the middle of the party!
5. Pick a theme. My 19th birthday was just a normal dance party, 20th was Mexican, and 21st was inspired by our Mardi Gras trip to New Orleans.
6. Decorations and Photo Walls. People really do appreciate the details and a lot of the time they can elevate the mood of the party to the next level.The decorations and photo walls encourage people to document the night, which makes for a great scrapbook and watching tons of Snapchat and Instagram stories later on.  For 19 we had disco lights and loud speakers; there wasn't enough space for a photo wall, but we still had a great time. 20 was a very basic background with a few streamers and a happy birthday banner, but our food table decorations were off the charts. And for my 21st, I made the best photo wall I could've made, threw our authentic Mardi Gras beads that we saved from our trip all over the house, and had balloons and masks to top it all off. 
7. Outfit Change. It's also become tradition that every year I go through at least two outfit changes throughout the party- it wasn't intentional at first, but now it's basically expected that I do it. 
8. Music. Make sure your music controls the mood of the party, if it starts getting to rowdy, gradually bring the pace of the music down. Go from ratchet songs, to throwbacks, to oldies. Works every time.
9. Make room for the drunks. Unless you know that your friends haven't had anything to drink or you watch them get a Lyft or Uber, make sure you plan to have some people spending the night. Designate a bowl for keys, pull out the extra pillows and blankets, and offer your friends a safe place to stay for the night. Don't drink and drive and always remember that safety has to come first. You don't want your party to be remembered as the last place somebody was alive. 

Not to end on such a dark note, but these are the keys to having a safe, memorable, and absolutely EPIC party that your friends will remember for years to come. We've had so much fun that there are times we've forgotten to pull out the cake until the party was almost over. We've had our fair shares of throw up mishaps, but overall, I can honestly say that everyone has felt safe, happy, and comfortable at my parties. Hearing how much fun they had and seeing everyone enjoy themselves makes me fall in love with entertaining and I look forward to my birthday every year just so I can have these epic house parties. And if you're anything like me, you can celebrate your birthday all month long- dinners, going out, travelling to a new destination! But at the end of the day , nothing warms your heart like a good old fashioned house rager.

Sincerely, 
Alana