Step 1: Go balls to the wall -- A party can get awkward pretty damn fast if there is nothing to talk about. For the first hour or so of a party, your guests won't have enough liquid courage in their systems to start dancing or talking about deep stuff. Help them out by decking the walls in conversation pieces.
Step 2: Get game -- Whether you're hosting a party with booze or staying dry, don't leave your guests with nothing to do. A bored group of people usually gets violent or leaves -- two things you don't want. Have at least one deck of cards, a huge pack of Solo cups, a long table (a door taken off its hinges and rested on two chairs also works) for playing beer pong or flippy cup and as many board games as possible.
Step 3: House rules -- Sure, it's good to let partygoers know how you play beer pong, but these rules can save major headaches. Work out with roomies who's going to pay the noise violation before the cops show up, decide who's going to be the bouncer if things get out of hand and figure out what areas of the house are off-limits before you and your roommate end up fistfighting each other.
Step 4: Bust eardrums -- Either loud hip-hop or funky techno should be blaring from your speakers after more than 15 people show up. You should always be well-equipped with music variety and sound capabilities. Keep in mind the noise ordinances in Bloomington!
Step 5: Damage control -- For those dings from drunken stumbling, or for that girl who HAD TO wear heels and happened to roll her ankle while dancing on the beer-pong table, you're going to need a first-aid kit. Depending on your lifestyle, it may be clutch to include condoms in your first-aid kit. Hey, it's "for emergencies."
Step 6: Cheap and easy -- Pizza Express cups are perfect for mixers and beer pong but not too trashy for dinner with the parents. These cups are a happy medium, not disposable and not fragile. Plus, you'll have more at the end of the night after that drunken phone call for pizza and breadsticks.
Step 7: Get comfy -- Lots of couches and private rooms are necessary for hook-ups and potential pass-outs. Consider something private, like a seven-minutes-in-heaven closet or something more open for a little less intimate flirting. Dim lighting is key. Let's face it, if you're having a party, people are going to be hooking up in your house, so see step three if this is an issue.
