Cheerio's party

The Cheerio party is a great way to be creative on a budget.  This party is themed around a simple and fairly cheap oat-based cereal.

Every guest brings a different cheerio-based treat.  Some examples might be rice krispie treats with cheerios instead of rice krispies, or a chex-mix style party mix with cheerios instead of chex mix.  Or even just cheerios with milk and bananas.  The sky is the limit when it comes to elaborating a cheerio-based dish, really.

For party activities, you can do some crafts using cheerios, such as making garlands or pasting them onto construction paper to make pictures.  You can make a cheerio necklace, too.

For more ideas, or for a neat prize at the cheerio party, you could also consult this book.  

There is also a card game called cheerio.  It would therefore be appropriate to play at the cheerio themed party.  You could also play bingo with cheerios for markers.  

Also, anything surprising involving these cheerios would be a funny pun.

St Catherine's/ St Andrew's Day

This party is one that would be more popular among the YSA wards, especially at BYU.  However, any single young adult, or anyone with single friends, could throw one of these parties and have fun.

Both of these saint days have traditions involving single women finding husbands and getting married.  I will describe each Saint Day separately, with a few ideas on how to implement them for a party.

St. Catherine's Day:

St. Catherine was beheaded on November 25th in 305 AD in Alexandria by Emperor Maxaminus II.  In the tenth century, Nov. 25th became the day of commemoration for St. Catherine, and over the years, the day has become associated with various other saints named Catherine. 

One tradition for St. Catherine's is to dress up and go door to door asking for treats and presents (akin to Halloween).  Thus, a costume party with lots of treats and prizes would be appropriate.

Another tradition, mostly based in France, is for single women to pray for their future husbands.  The celebrations mostly surround women over 25 who aren't yet married (called Catherinettes).  They wear silly hats, in yellow and green, that their friends have made them.  Catherinettes often bond with each other, but are also offered meals by non-Catherinettes to console them.  The silly yellow and green hats would be appropriate if one chooses to go with a costume party. 

As an aside, St. Martin's Day on November 20th is a male alternative to St. Catherine's.

St. Andrew's Day:

St. Andrew's Day is a day when a woman is supposed to be able to magically divine who she will marry and when.  A few traditions for divining this are: pouring hot wax through a keyhole into water, drinking wine and chanting a spell, throwing a clog over one shoulder, sticking papers with potential husbands' names into dough and seeing which will float in water, and sticking names or sticks under the pillow while sleeping.  One last tradition is trying to see the future husband's face by candlelight in water at night.

These traditions may be slightly harder to implement in a casual manner than those of St. Catherine's, but that makes the party even more fun.  You can have a party that more or less experiments with each of these magical methods of foreseeing a future wedding for single women.  Other methods from outside of St. Andrew's Day could also be implemented.  For instance, if a married woman attends, it could be fun to throw a wedding bouquet and see who catches it.  Create your own traditions, as well.  The most important part is that you have fun and find a husband (at least that's what I hear most weeks at church).

Mothballs

The idea is simple and inspired by The Moth.

This party is best held in the winter time and in a room with a fireplace. Drinks such as Italian Sodas and/or sparkling ciders should be served. Small hor'doerves can also be served. These should be placed on a table like a buffet.

Guests are also required to wear the ugliest and oldest sweaters they can find. They should also be told to be prepared to tell a real-life story about a theme. For example, you could tell guests to come prepared to tell a story about Firsts or about Birds.

The living room should be well lit with all chairs facing the fireplace. (If you have no fireplace, just have them all facing the same direction.) When all or most guests have arrived, begin the storytelling by standing in front of the fireplace and announcing that the storytelling will now begin. You should tell your own story first to break the ice. Then invite others to come tell their stories. If no one volunteers, begin chanting someone's name to encourage them to go up to the front.

After everyone who is willing has shared their stories, guests should vote for their favorite stories. Once all votes have been cast, guests can mingle while you count the votes. After the votes are counted, announce the winter and give the winner a great prize such as a pie or a box of mothballs.

Avocado party

The Avocado themed party is pretty self explanatory.

Dress in Avocado green. Dress up like a lawyer (french joke). Serve avocado in every way you can think of.

Everyone brings either 1. an avocado based dish or 2. an avocado.

You don't need to play games because everyone will be too busy eating:

-avocado shakes

-avocado pound cake

-guacamole

-avocado chocolate cake

-avocado tomato sandwiches

-all things avocado

Abstract Nouns Party

Before I begin his party's description, I must define abstract noun.

Abstract Noun: states, events, qualities, etc., that have no physical existence.

This party is a costume party that requires a sound knowledge of grammar and a robust vocabulary. For this party, people should come dressed as abstract nouns. It must be emphasized that dressing as a concrete noun that embodies the abstract noun is inadvisable. Guests should dress as the noun itself. For example, if a guest is to dress as honesty, the guest should not come dressed as Abraham Lincoln. The guest should formulate some costume that would be what honesty looked like if you could see actual honesty.

As with any party, you first have to invite people. People should be invited well in advance so they have time to plan their costumes. Many of the less creative/more uptight guests may have trouble with this. As you decide when to send the invitations, keep these people in mind.

How you do the invitations depends on how you do the costumes. You can either decide to assign the attendees the abstract nouns or let them pick their own abstract nouns. If you are assigning nouns, send out an invitation that explains the concept of the party and ask them to RSVP. Let them know that once you receive their RSVP's, you will send them a notice telling them what abstract noun they are to dress as. Be careful to avoid doubling assignments. Another idea is to send an assignment with every invitation. Then you would not have to bother with RSVP's. If you are not assigning nouns, you can just send an invitation explaining the concept of the party to all those you plan to invite.

Once people arrive at the party, you can do anything you want: mix and mingle, BBQ, give awards, play games where people have to guess everyone's costumes, dance, etc. Because foods are not abstract, it may be difficult to theme your foods. However, it may be nice to decorate any sweets by writing abstract nouns on them. Also, somewhat formless or wiggly foods, like noodles and jello, seem oddly appropriate for this party.

If music is playing at the party, it would be a clever touch to play only songs that have abstract nouns in the title. This should be easy. However, you must be careful because nouns such as love and hate can also be verbs. You must be careful that no songs using abstract nouns as verbs appear on your playlist. This would be a detail no one would notice but you, but it would be satisfying to know you pulled all the stops.

Hat Party

Once again, another self-explanatory party. Basically, you have a party where everyone is required to wear at least one hat. I would also strongly encourage that dry foods such as chips and crackers be served in hats. If you have a hat that you think you could serve salsa or bean dip in, you can do that too.

People can receive hat awards as well. The following is a list of hat award ideas.

• Most practical hat
• Most impractical hat
• Wearing the most hats
• Most creative hat
• Best sports hat
• Best time period hat
• Heaviest hat

You could also have a moment at the party where someone gives a brief history of the hat. Or everyone could give one reason why they like hats.

As Americans, we wear many hats. We often take the hat for granted, so this party should remind us of how much the hat has become a part of American culture and society.

Social Experiment Party

This is more of a social experiment than a party. But here's the idea.

Invite a lot of people over that either you or others you invite have had bad break-ups, ongoing fights, general hatred toward each other etc. Then see what happens when they all show up at the same party. Make sure you take copius notes of the happenings and maybe even place some hidden cameras.

Of course, you wouldn't want to advertise this as a social experiment. Just tell everyone you're getting a group of people together for a chill game night. The actual playing of games would yield great awkward/tense moments.

This wouldn't necessarily be a fun night. But it would be an interesting and eye opening night. Maybe some people could even resolve their problems or get back together!

Bobby Jindal Party

Bobby Jindal is the governor of Louisiana. He is a man who deserves a party in his honor. I have come up with at least three (3) variations of a Bobby Jindal party.

Variation 1:

Bobby Jindal Appreciation Party

The credit for this goes to Lauren Golds and her friends at UCSC. Basically, you decorate with a Bobby Jindal theme. Pictures of him go on the wall. Watch videos of his speeches (he was the republican reply to Obama's address to Congress on February 24, 2009). Eat American foods, like hamburgers and hot dogs, because those are Jindal's favorites. Since he's the governor of Louisiana, any Louisiana-themed activities are appropriate. Republican and political themed things are also appropriate.

Variation 2:

Bobby Jindal Volcano Party

Bobby Jindal once spoke out about Government spending and how outrageous it has become. He cited, in particular, volcano monitoring.

Recently, a volcano in Iceland has erupted and caused all kind of chaos with airlines in Northern Europe. People were literally stuck in cities across Europe because no flights were coming in or out of airports.

Thus, a Bobby Jindal Volcano Party would be themed around Jindal's coincidental speech! The theme is more or less the same as the above party, but with Volcanoes added in! Make it a more tropical theme, or even an Icelandic theme. Watch Jindal's speech about volcano monitoring spending. A fun game would be to try and predict what else seems like wasteful government spending, but could possibly become a relevant and useful cause!

Variation #3:

Bobby Jindal and Kenneth the Page Party

If you don't know Kenneth the Page (from the hit comedy show, 30 Rock), then I suggest watching more TV before you throw a party. Not just this one, but any party.

Bobby Jindal and Kenneth the Page share many similar qualities, and this party would celebrate their similarities (and even their subtle differences!).

Watch 30 Rock episodes that center on Kenneth, and some of Jindal's speeches. Play a game where you read quotes from things each has said, and the guests have to guess which man said which quote! The results may be hilariously shocking.

All of these variations are quite similar, and indeed, one could even throw a more general Bobby Jindal party with all of these elements combined! Either way, Bobby Jindal is proof that politicians deserve parties, too.

Eurovision party

A Eurovision party probably isn't all that unique. At least, not if you are in Europe.

The concept of this party is Eurovision, the European Song Contest. Ideally, it would involve watching Eurovision live(the 25, 27, and 29th of May in 2010). This feat may be difficult in the United States, however. Thus, as a substitute, watching clips of Eurovision entries and simulating the voting process would be the ideal replacement.

Each country that submits an entry has a band or singer to represent them. Different song styles win, from the Herrey's Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley to Lordi's Hard Rock Hallelujah. Each country is also represented by a judge, and each judge can vote up to 12 points (12 given to the favorite song).

To recreate the Eurovision experience, each guest should represent a different country and place their votes.

Another version of this party is the "Best of Eurovision" party. In this one, the entries for a particular year aren't chosen, but rather classic Eurovision entries. Guests then vote for which entry is their favorite in the same 12-point system.

Guests representing particular countries should try to dress like that culture, and if the party is given pot-luck style, bring a dish from that country's cuisine. If not pot-luck style, or if thrown together last minute, the host can provide national props and food from various Eurovision countries' cuisine.

Another fun activity, or perhaps another riff on the Eurovision party in itself, is Eurovision Karaoke.

Here is a song that most people probably don't know was a Eurovision winner back in the day:

And here are some examples of classic Eurovision songs:

Hollywood Heartthrobs Party

This party is easy to throw.

Glitzy and glamorous dress is required for all guests.

Glitzy foods and drinks should be served. These are things like sparkling drinks in champagne glasses and any party foods that must be held together with toothpicks. Also, sushi is good for this occasion.

The main thing about this party is that every guest who enters must wear a picture of a Hollywood Heartthrob on their forehead. The guest is not allowed to know who is on their forehead. Then every other guest must treat them as if they are that Hollywood Heartthrob. At the end of the night, everyone tries to guess who they are wearing on their forehead. Whoever guesses the right person gets a glitzy and glamorous prize.

Giga Pudding Party

Giga Pudding Parties are themed around this video:

First of all, one must obtain Giga pudding. A substitute pudding, flan, or custard is permissible, as well, but it must be well disguised.

Taking photos of people at the party in similar poses as the video is also required.

Also, the song and/or video must be played at least once during the party.

People are allowed to discuss Japan, Japanese dishes, pudding, and other delightful subjects.

Bonus party points if the party is held during a business meeting.

Solemn Party

There are two ways this party could go.

Way 1:
Way 1 is the obvious way. Everyone wears the most solemn of all colors (black) from head to toe. Dress should be business casual although berets are strongly encouraged. Smiling at this party would be strictly forbidden and only the most serious of conversation topics (mathematics & sciences, environmentalism, and philosophy & religion) would be allowed. Also only the solemnest of foods should be provided. This means no alcohol since there can be no solemnity without sobriety. Serious foods are any foods that don't have icing or are not aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps a good stew or pulled pork.

Way 2:
Since solemn and party are two seemingly contradictory terms that have come together in the title of this party, this could be an oxymoron party. People could wear clothing that doesn't typically go together. In other words, they should dress mismatched. Strange food combinations should be encouraged. In fact, fondue with strange things to dip would be great. For example, you could have chocolate fondue and dip Ruffles or broccoli in it.

So, Way 2 actually ends up being the opposite of solemn. (Perhaps this adds to the oxymoronic attributes of the party?) But it would probably be more fun.

Sun King Party (Fete du Roi Soleil)

This is a party that needs a short history lesson beforehand. Louis XIV was the self-proclaimed "sun king" of France in the 17th and 18th Centuries. He is the epitome of absolute monarchy. He was born on September 5, 1638. He's the dude who built Versailles, and he's probably who you picture when you think of French kings. He had a bit of an ego problem, and he loved to party, but only with the finest things. He died on September 1, 1715.

The idea for this party takes advantage of the fact that Louis died five days previous to his birthday. These five days can be easily turned into the biggest, best, most luxurious party one can throw.

The theme should reflect Versailles palace. Think gold and silk. As fancy and classy as you can be, and don't worry about going overboard (Louis XIV never did, so why should you?).

Louis displaced the court and required the nobility to live with him at Versailles, and in order to accommodate his court at the palace, modern French cuisine was basically invented. Thus, any party commemorating the life of Louis needs to have haute cuisine. There need to be lots of dishes with sauces. A lot of desserts and delectable treats are also required. Making Marie Antoinette jokes by way of cake is also acceptable.

Putting on a Moliere play would also be wildly appropriate. Louis XIV also enjoyed, and loved to star in, ballets.

Costume dress isn't optional, it's required. Guests can come dressed in period costume, in formal wear, or dressed as their favorite French royalty. Dressing up as ambassadors from foreign courts is also a good option. Peasants should either not be allowed entrance or forced to be the servants for the party. Dressing as clergy is also appropriate, as Louis was a devout catholic. Also: the three musketeers. Heeled shoes are appropriate for women AND men.

There should probably be fountains. For historical accuracy, put them on a timer and have them go off as a sort of show for the party-goers.

Anything related to the musical "Le Roi Soleil" is acceptable for this party, since it is a musical about Louis XIV.

Decorations for the party should follow the elaborate rococo style, or neoclassical French style. Think Baroque.

Above all, be classy.

Best People Party

If there were one word to describe this party it would be classy.

First off, you would only invite the best and classiest people you know. Invites for this party cannot be done through texting, social networking websites, face-to-face conversations, or telephone. Invitations must be sent in envelopes with calligraphy writing at least two weeks in advance. The invitations should be as formal as possible. Instead of asking for an RSVP it might be easier to have a "regrets only" notation at the end.

Dress for the party should be semi-formal since that is both classy and comfortable.

Mocktails and hors d'oeuvres should be served. Mocktails because the classiest people would never drink cocktails. This is because classy people would never run the risk of getting drunk. Hor d'oeuvres because it's a classy French word. However, it should be noted that while some may consider foods like pigs-in-a-blanket hors d'oeuvres these are by no means classy. You must be picky when choosing which hors d'oeuvres to serve.

Here are classy hors d'oeuvres ideas.
Melon Prosciutto Skewers
Mushroom Polenta Diamonds
Shrimp Cocktail

If music is to be played at this party, it should be played softly in the background and be limited to music from the Romantic era. Soothing string quartets or orchestral pieces are best.

Activities at this party should include mixing and mingling only. This way classy people can make connections with other classy people. These connections should lead to future business partnerships, political gain, marriages, or all three.

Monday Party

Monday Party! Party on a Saturday like it's a Monday!

It's hard to contain one's excitement for a party like this.

It's pretty simple to put together, too. The theme is Monday, so think school or work. There are also the entertainment factors: Monday Night Football or Monday Night Raw. Dressing as if going to work or school is basically mandatory. Wearing a backpack is more than okay.

Party food should be appropriate to the theme. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on white, crustless bread and cut into triangles is one example. Snack food, especially individually wrapped, works well. Packing the food into brown paper bags or lunch boxes adds an extra touch. Punch, capri sun, and water bottles are good refreshments, as well.

The music should be Monday themed as well. "Manic Monday" is required, but also "I don't like Mondays," and "Rainy days and Mondays," etc.

The best part of the party is the optional t-shirt with "I love Monday" on the front and "F the weekend" on the back.

Skinless Party

The title is pretty self-explanatory so I'm tempted to not write a description. But here's the nitty gritty anyway:

No skin allowed. Guests must cover as much of their skin as possible. This can be done by wearing long pants, turtle necks, ski masks, veils, gloves, etc. The sky's the limit as long as the skin is covered. If things get a little creepy or uncomfortable, guests may remove items covering their faces. Note: I would encourage cranking up the air conditioning as guests may get uncomfortably warm with so much of their skin covered.

For food, everything must be skinless or peeled. For example, if you wanted to serve grapes, you must peel them first. If you wanted to serve chicken wings, they must be skinless. If soups are being served, they must be stirred frequently to prevent the skin forming at the top. No one likes soup skin anyway.

Activities at the party are endless as long as it doesn't involve showing skin. So, strip poker is definitely out. However, twister would be a great game to play since any sexual overtones of the game would be canceled out by the excessively modest clothing. This will allow even the most conservative guests to play the game, which they most likely have never done before.

Presidents' Day

This party would be ideal for Presidents' Day but it's good for any time of the year. Basically, you have every guest dress up as a president or first lady. Most Americans will assume you mean US Presidents or first ladies. But any president of any country, corporation, or group will do. It's also best if guests imitate certain personality traits or idiosyncrasies the president or first lady they are dressed as exhibited.

For food, you could prepare favorite foods of famous presidents. This would require some research but would be way worth it.

Most of the activity at the party would revolve around talking politics or about the responsibilities of a president. Then, maybe a dance party. Because the best way to relieve the stress of being a president is to dance.

Chromatic Party

Essentially, the theme of this party is color! Each guest should dress in colorful clothes, with bonus points for those who show up wearing only one color. The decorations should be in every color of the rainbow: the brighter, the better.

Of course, the best part of any party is the food. Each dish has to be only one color. This could include anything from colorful cupcakes to an entire dinner, as long as each dish is monochromatic. Here are some ideas:

Red: red bell peppers sliced up, strawberries, red smoothies, apples
Orange: carrots, oranges, macaroni and cheese, cheez-its, cheddar cheese, doritos
Yellow: lemons, lemon cake/squares, lemonade, corn, bananas, scrambled eggs
Green: broccoli, spinach, green pasta, brussel sprouts, edamame, saag paneer, grapes, avocado/guacamole
Blue: blueberries, blue corn chips, blue potatoes, blue smoothies
Purple: cabbage, grapes, blackberries, eggplant
Black: black beans, wild rice
White: pasta, angel food cake, meringues, vanilla ice cream, hummus, saltines, potatoes
Brown: chocolate, bean dip, lentils, beef

Of course, food coloring can be used to make things like cake and cookies any color you like. Some other options are Jello and M&Ms, which you can get in pretty much any color too.

Sequential Number Party

On my 23rd birthday, my sister called to wish me a happy birthday. We talked for quite a while, and somehow delved into the realm of party ideas. We decided that, since it was my only (1) 23rd birthday (thus, 1 2 3), I should throw a sequential number party.

The sequential number party is simply a party that revolves around the numbers 1, 2 and 3. It can presumably, then, be extended into any sequence of numbers: squared numbers, cubed numbers, the Fibonacci numbers. For simplicity of explanation, I will explain the 1,2,3 theme, and one may modify the plans to fit any other theme.

Each guest is invited to bring one of a certain item, two of another, and three of yet an other item. For instance, Guest A may bring a button, two paper clips, and three ribbons. Party favors, in turn, would also include a selection of items in similar style: perhaps a kitkat bar, two snickers, and one pixy stix.

The food also should reflect the theme. My favorite idea uses cupcakes. There is a selection of three plain flavors: chocolate, yellow, and red velvet cupcakes. Then, there are the marbled cupcakes with a mix of chocolate and yellow cake, chocolate and red cake, and yellow and red cake. Lastly, there is a triple marble cupcake, with all three ingredients. To further reflect the sequential number theme, choosing only two types of marbled cupcakes would produce 1, 2, and 3 kinds of cupcakes (in reverse order-- three plain, two marbled and one triple-marble). To really drive the theme home, put only one sprinkle on the plain cupcakes, two sprinkles on the marbled cupcakes, and three sprinkles on the triple marbled.

Ask guests to RSVP for one, two or three people on the invitation. Suggest that they can come once, twice or three times. Ask everyone as they arrive if they would like one drink, two, or three.

Games involving the numbers 1, 2 and 3 can also be played, or possible playing one game once, another game twice and then a third game three times.

Reverse Surprise Party

The Reverse Surprise Party:

This party idea is a spin on the traditional surprise party. Usually, the guest of honor is the one who doesn't know that it's a party. In this version, the guest of honor is the only one who DOES know that there's a party going on.

The party planner has to invite each guest separately or in small groups. Invite someone over under the pretense of needing help fixing a computer. Invite a small group over to watch a movie. Tell someone you need help crocheting, and try to get everyone over without suspecting that you have other plans in mind.

As each guest arrives, surprise them. "SURPRISE! IT'S A PARTY!!!" No one will suspect a thing.