Throwing yourself an apartment housewarming party seems like such a grown-up thing to do, doesn’t it? You want to show it off – you’re able to be a well-adjusted adult with your own place!
Do you have it all together, though? Parties like this require money, and you’ve never thrown a party like this before, so how are you going to do this without spending too much money?
Okay, breathe. A housewarming party doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. Although you do want to show off your new apartment, you don’t have to spend a fortune to do it, and you don’t need to be an expert at throwing parties. Here’s some advice to make it easier on you.
It takes time for your apartment to feel livable and even longer to make it something you want to show off. Your friends might want to see it right away, but you should take a few weeks to get it in good shape that you want other people to see, rather than using moving boxes as snack tables.
Read more: 10 Inexpensive Housewarming Gifts for a Small-Apartment Friend
If you live in a studio or a one-bedroom apartment, chances are you don’t have a ton of extra space. In this case, a small party will be much more fun for everyone, so limit your guest list to your closest friends only. On the other hand, if you’ve got plenty of extra space? Go nuts. Just make sure you’ve got lots of seating and remember to keep the noise level under control, and that you don’t invite a larger crowd than you can control. If your apartment is small and your social circle is big, you can even have separate parties for different groups: one for family, one for friends, and a different one for neighbors.
Read more: How to Feel At Home in Your New Apartment Quickly
Yes, written invitations are super classy. They’re also a lot of time, money, and effort that you don’t need to be expending right now. Just use a Facebook event or other online invitation and be specific about the time and place. Also, if you have that one friend who says “maybe” all the time, lean on them to give an answer. You need to know how many people are going to be there, what with the lack of space and stressful preparations going on.
Read more: How to Be a Good House Guest
Do you need to serve dinner? Or will just snacks suffice? Whatever it is, keep it something simple and cheap to prepare. Grilling is always good and buying burgers for enough guests is pretty cheap. If you’re going with just snacks, some basic spreads of chips and dip, cookies or small hors d’oeuvres will do the trick.
Read more: How to Host a Dinner Party in Your Apartment
Sure, you want the food to be simple, but don’t assume you know just how much you’re going to need. Always err on the side of buying more food than you think you need – you can always eat it yourself later. You never know when your guests are going to be extra hungry, something is going to get spilled, or your guests bring along uninvited friends. Having extra food means you’ll be better able to handle the unexpected like that.
At most parties, conversation is king. Let your guests mingle, chat and catch up with each other, and that’ll be great entertainment for the evening. But if the conversation starts to wane, have a backup plan. If your friends enjoy board games or parlor games such as Charades, that’s always a good direction to go. If you’d rather play a new game, just Google “housewarming party games” and you’ll find all sorts of ways to entertain your guests. But remember: Don’t force people to play a game if they’re already having a good time. If your guests are entertained simply by each other’s company, your party will be an effortless success.
Read more: Apartment Olympics: Non-Dangerous Games that Bring Home the Gold
Classy parties end at a reasonable hour. But if your party turns into a rager, go with it! (Quietly, though. You don’t want to get a reputation as the loud neighbor.) Let your guests stay as long as the party is going strong, and they’ll come back for more fun parties as long as you live there. If it gets to be too late, however, there are things you can do to get them to leave before the noise and late hour becomes too much of an issue.
Read more: 10 Best Housewarming Gifts
Photo by Jenna Bollweg on Unsplash
Courtney Craig is a writer and contributor for the Apartment Guide Blog. She rented apartments for 12 years in 4 cities before buying her first house in Atlanta.