# Another "My party sucked..."/here's the pic anyway



## Hazbabu (Sep 1, 2006)

Don't give up. I believe you have to develop an audience for your parties! There are just some people that will never appreciate a good Halloween party. You are selling to a tough crowd, college students. 

Our first year we had 18 people, the next 30 and this year 40. I invite more than twice as many people as I expect will attend. And I'm not a real fan of party games, but it seems to keep people a little busy... the volume sure picks up when the games start. We played the "winking murderer game", name game and some others that you could play while you were still carrying on a conversation.

And I cannot express enough the importance of jello shots!


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## Mr. Mxyztplk (Sep 27, 2004)

I agree, don't give up. I've had Halloween parties in the past sucked and others that went good. It took a few years before other people really got into the whole costume aspect of a Halloween party. Now they can't wait for the party. I invite several people and don't really expect them. But the party isn't thrown for them, they are just are guests.


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

Well, you looked great as Jack! And the people who did show up seemed to have at least taken the time to come up with a decent costume.

Few questions:

Did you have enough alcohol and did it flow freely?
Did you put on the invitation that there would be alcohol?
What activities did you have? 

If your guests complained of being tired and bored, maybe you should give more thought to the activity that you plan. When I think of a college aged group, I think of drinking games, truth and dare type games, or very active games like a scavenger hunt with really crazy and stupid stunts to pull off.

Sometimes a party has to grow. The first year I had the party (with dutch guests who knew nothing about halloween) I had people sitting in a circle waiting to be served lol I had to ask hubby to explain to them that they were supposed to move around, help themselves, dance, etc lol The second year, I made sure I didn't have enough chairs for everyone haha Now they all seem a bit more at home when they come. It also helps to have at least one really crazy person who gets the ball rolling. That person for us is Sytze. Last year he came to the party as a ghost. Simply covered in a sheet (he had just returned from vacation the day before the party). He stood in one spot and said absolutely nothing for at least a good half hour. The year before he came as Beetlejuice and was hopping around after everyone lol A bit too hyperactive...I liked him better as the quiet ghost lol My hubby is actually a very boring guy. He's not one to start the crazyness but if Sytze or someone else starts, then hubby joins in and can be just as crazy as the rest. The rest of the crowd also follows suit. 

Hang in there and better luck next year.

MsM


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## slightlymad (May 8, 2006)

Looks like you did all the work problem I have found is that people need to be feed their entertainment. ie take them by the hand crank up the music and get it flowing. I have also noticed the same complaints from others who throw parties only half of the invites show no one rsvps and everyone leaves early. So you are right on track with evry other party going on out there.


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## Jackielantern (Oct 31, 2005)

Good attitude pumpkinjack.

With a college age group it's hard to compete with the bars. Also, apt. parties are hard to pull off I think. Noise & space is such an issue.

We've never done games at our parties, but I kinda think we should. It helps people mingle & entertains everyone. I just have never been able to convince the DH of it.

In the recent years our attendance has only been around 40%, which sounds pretty common based on other posts I've seen. So don't get discouraged if the numbers seem low, sounds like par for the course.


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## theworstwitch (Aug 14, 2006)

I love what you did with a small space! I would never try to pull it off in my apartment, but seeing that you did it, next year I just might! The scene setters look to be a good way to spookify the rooms.


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## pumpkinjack (Nov 3, 2007)

Thanks for all the encouraging comments! You definitely made me feel 110% better about it.


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## Shadow Mistress (Oct 26, 2007)

Don't give up! It gets better as it goes along. My first Halloween party wasn't even for adults; it was for our son's 2nd grade class and they were still talking about it this year. Oh, and I learned something.....you can spend $50 on a spirit ball and the kids will spend the entire night playing with the $6.99 drop-down bat.....


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