1) ACQUIRE BOOZE (& CHASERS & MIXERS)
Presumably, you know the drill. Fine Wine & Spirits on 43rd & Chestnut, UCB on 43rd and Walnut, Shopping Bag across the street if you have enough arms for the chasers. Shouldn’t take you long unless you need to outsource a favor to someone more age-appropriate. Your summer party is the time to experiment with that weird drink (see “Drink of the Week” for drinkspo) you’ve always wanted to try and buying alcohol you might actually enjoy drinking.
2) TEXT ALL YOUR SUMMER GROUPMES
Because there’s about 20% of the normal population chilling here during the summer. So go ahead and spam your sorority listserv, your frat listserv, your IAA listserv, and whoever’s around is around. Hell, invite your high school friends, invite your favorite Green Line barista, invite your coworkers. The best part of summer parties is that you have no idea who is going to show up and there won’t be enough of you to avoid making new friends!
3)GAMES
You should refresh your drinking game knowledge before everyone gets there, so that the whole “new friends” thing isn’t forced to rely solely on everyone’s small talk abilities. Small talk sounds like work, and summertime is no time for work (besides your totally stressful internship). Slap Cup, Flip Cup, King’s Cup, and Asshole are all good alternatives for when you realize that Pong only involves four party guests.
4) MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYLIST IS AD FREE
Summer parties are definitely more laid back, but ads on your Spotify can totally kill the mood. Try to use your roommate’s Spotify Premium, or make a Sound cloud (or Hype Machine! new feature of the website) playlist.
5) PREPARE FOR MILD REJECTION
Some people might leave your party to check out the Smoke’s/Blarn/Cav’s (lol Drexel) scene. That’s okay because they will either a) come back because those places are empty/lame during the summer (refer to Street last week) or b)have a less fun time than you anyway because your party is going to be GREAT.
