How the hell do you throw a housewarming party?

[Anonymous]

I just moved into my new place. After a long, painful divorce, I'm finally on my own!
My friends have been amazingly supportive throughout this process. I would really love to invite them over as a way to show off my new place, but also to thank them for their love and friendship. I don't expect gifts and will ask them not to bring them on the invite. So...I have a few questions.

1. I am renting. Can I still have a party?
2. I'd like to have the party on a Saturday night. Is this ok or is another night better?
3. Do I serve dinner or heavy hors douveres?
4. I have never actually been to a housewarming party. Do I just give tours, serve food and mingle? Do I plan activities?
5. Online invitations are good?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just moved into my new place. After a long, painful divorce, I'm finally on my own!
My friends have been amazingly supportive throughout this process. I would really love to invite them over as a way to show off my new place, but also to thank them for their love and friendship. I don't expect gifts and will ask them not to bring them on the invite. So...I have a few questions.

1. I am renting. Can I still have a party? Yes, but be mindful of your neighbors in terms of both noise and parking.
2. I'd like to have the party on a Saturday night. Is this ok or is another night better? It's fine.
3. Do I serve dinner or heavy hors douveres? Depends on the time of the party.
4. I have never actually been to a housewarming party. Do I just give tours, serve food and mingle? Do I plan activities? The ones I have been too sometimes the hostess would briefly comment on the rooms as we walked through them to the main party but that was it. Just eating and mingling.
5. Online invitations are good? Yes

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you?

[Anonymous]

You can do anything you want. Enjoy the party and your friends.

I would do a wine and cheese with dessert and some appetizers. I would not call it a housewarming because people will feel like they need to bring a gift.

Sat night is fine. If you aren't serving dinner, then tell people 7.30-8.

You can do an evite or just a Facebook group msg or text. An evite makes it more of an event.

[Anonymous]

If also do wine and cheese- and paper invites. NOT some FB group. Yikes! And please don't offer to give "tours". So awkward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can do anything you want. Enjoy the party and your friends.

I would do a wine and cheese with dessert and some appetizers. I would not call it a housewarming because people will feel like they need to bring a gift.

Sat night is fine. If you aren't serving dinner, then tell people 7.30-8.

You can do an evite or just a Facebook group msg or text. An evite makes it more of an event.

That was a very nice post PP. civility reigns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If also do wine and cheese- and paper invites. NOT some FB group. Yikes! And please don't offer to give "tours". So awkward.

You are kind of a bitch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If also do wine and cheese- and paper invites. NOT some FB group. Yikes! And please don't offer to give "tours". So awkward.

So you don't show your home at a housewarming party? Maybe it could be a "stand in one room" party.
Do you ever rent yourself out as an ice statue?

[Anonymous]

I'd make it a drop in party with a wide time range. Personally, I'm a fan of the Saturday 4-8pm party because people can make it their main event for the day or they can stop by on their way out. People with kids can bring them before bedtime, or leave them home with a sitter for dinner and bedtime, etc. At that time of day, I always serve heavy finger foods--the kind of stuff that people can fill up on if they want, but not an actual meal. (So breads, cheeses, dips, veggies, meatballs, etc. Plus some finger food sweets--cookies, pastries, etc.)

And online invitations are fine. Unless you want to be friends with people who will only come to a party where the invite came with a stamp. Not my people, personally.

Congrats on the new place and the new life!!!

[Anonymous]

I think you'd have a much easier time if you did it as a brunch. 10-2pm. I learned the hard way - always have an end time.

[Anonymous]

We threw a housewarming party when we bought our house. It was very casual, in the late afternoon and we mostly had snacks (finger foods, but enough to make a meal of it if a guest chose to) and drinks. You can word it as a housewarming party on the invite but just think of it as you throwing a regular old party-don't over think it! Congrats and have fun!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone! I'm really just inviting my girlfriends. We get together all the time, so it's kind of silly to be worried about throwing a party. My ex-husband was difficult and I never felt comfortable hosting friends in our home, so this is kind of a first.
I think I'll stick with the Saturday evening time frame, as we all like to have fun together and par-tay! Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

I love parties and throw quiet a few! I hope I can help a bit.

1. I am renting. Can I still have a party?
Yes! Of course you can! Make sure you find out about parking for your guests beforehand and include this with the invite.

2. I'd like to have the party on a Saturday night. Is this ok or is another night better?
Saturday night is a wonderful night for a party. Friday is good too.

3. Do I serve dinner or heavy hors douveres?
I would serve cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and then dessert and coffee.
-For drinks it really depends on the size of the party and your guests. You could go all out with a bottle (or two) of white and red, an assortment of craft beer and either a special cocktail or you could set out liquor and mixers. And soft options for those choosing not to drink. For a housewarming party I think I'd do red/white wine and a soft option. Plan on guests having two drinks per hour.
-A cheese board is simple. Brie, blue and something of your choosing. I'd go with goat cheese rolled in herbs or nuts or you could do a smoked chedder or gouda. You can add fruit, sliced bread or crackers. You want three ounces of cheese per guest.
-For hors d'oeuvres plan on 12 pieces per guest. Make sure you have at least one hot and one cold option. To make sure you have enough the formula is 12 pieces per person times the number of people divided by the number of different hors d'oeurves. So if you have 4 options and 6 guests you'll want 18 servings of each hors d'oeuvres. (For reference if you are serving dinner at a party the formula is 6 pieces per guest times the number of people divided by the number of appetizers)
-For dessert I'd set out a cheesecake (always a crowd favorite) and some decaf coffee

4. I have never actually been to a housewarming party. Do I just give tours, serve food and mingle? Do I plan activities?
For a housewarming its basically serve food and mingle. No activities needed unless you are having children. If you are its a nice idea to set up a little space for them, even just a coffee table with some paper and crayons or a game or two. Its just a nice touch. And yes, show people around that is the point of a housewarming party!

5. Online invitations are good?
Yes they are. Ask that they RSVP and follow up if they don't respond so you don't over or under buy your supplies for the party. Also please don't say "No gifts" its actually considered rude (I know people have strong opinions one way or the other) Housewarming gifts are usually a bottle of wine or a plant or some simple kitchen gift like dish towels. People expect to take a host/ess gift to a housewarming.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you?

I hope you have fun. Congrats on your new place. If I can be of any other help please just ask!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love parties and throw quiet a few! I hope I can help a bit.

1. I am renting. Can I still have a party?
Yes! Of course you can! Make sure you find out about parking for your guests beforehand and include this with the invite.

2. I'd like to have the party on a Saturday night. Is this ok or is another night better?
Saturday night is a wonderful night for a party. Friday is good too.

3. Do I serve dinner or heavy hors douveres?
I would serve cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and then dessert and coffee.
-For drinks it really depends on the size of the party and your guests. You could go all out with a bottle (or two) of white and red, an assortment of craft beer and either a special cocktail or you could set out liquor and mixers. And soft options for those choosing not to drink. For a housewarming party I think I'd do red/white wine and a soft option. Plan on guests having two drinks per hour.
-A cheese board is simple. Brie, blue and something of your choosing. I'd go with goat cheese rolled in herbs or nuts or you could do a smoked chedder or gouda. You can add fruit, sliced bread or crackers. You want three ounces of cheese per guest.
-For hors d'oeuvres plan on 12 pieces per guest. Make sure you have at least one hot and one cold option. To make sure you have enough the formula is 12 pieces per person times the number of people divided by the number of different hors d'oeurves. So if you have 4 options and 6 guests you'll want 18 servings of each hors d'oeuvres. (For reference if you are serving dinner at a party the formula is 6 pieces per guest times the number of people divided by the number of appetizers)
-For dessert I'd set out a cheesecake (always a crowd favorite) and some decaf coffee

4. I have never actually been to a housewarming party. Do I just give tours, serve food and mingle? Do I plan activities?
For a housewarming its basically serve food and mingle. No activities needed unless you are having children. If you are its a nice idea to set up a little space for them, even just a coffee table with some paper and crayons or a game or two. Its just a nice touch. And yes, show people around that is the point of a housewarming party!

5. Online invitations are good?
Yes they are. Ask that they RSVP and follow up if they don't respond so you don't over or under buy your supplies for the party. Also please don't say "No gifts" its actually considered rude (I know people have strong opinions one way or the other) Housewarming gifts are usually a bottle of wine or a plant or some simple kitchen gift like dish towels. People expect to take a host/ess gift to a housewarming.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you?

I hope you have fun. Congrats on your new place. If I can be of any other help please just ask!

OP here. Wow! This is amazing advice! You are an amazing hostess and I know I'd have a blast at your parties! Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone! I'm really just inviting my girlfriends. We get together all the time, so it's kind of silly to be worried about throwing a party. My ex-husband was difficult and I never felt comfortable hosting friends in our home, so this is kind of a first.
I think I'll stick with the Saturday evening time frame, as we all like to have fun together and par-tay! Thank you!!

I'm so very happy for you that you got away from your ex! You are going to have so much fun. I loooved living alone after living with my abusive ex.

I would have finger foods and booze as others have suggested. I'm sure your friends are very happy for you too and will have a great time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If also do wine and cheese- and paper invites. NOT some FB group. Yikes! And please don't offer to give "tours". So awkward.

So you don't show your home at a housewarming party? Maybe it could be a "stand in one room" party.
Do you ever rent yourself out as an ice statue?

Tour friends through bedrooms and bathrooms and whatnot? Of course I don't do this. So weird. And why would they have to stand in one room? When we entertain we use the entire downstairs, the deck, the finished basement. That called hosting. Walking your friends around on a tour of your home is simply awkward and not conducive to a fun party.