Thursday, August 20, 2009

Party Nation

The world's one big party nation, so "Don't sweat it, just let it". You can adopt this motto, too. Everybody out there is waiting for you!
When you're the type that throws parties: plan one. When you're a party industry "indie" (or insider): offer chic, sophisticated concepts and ideas and be the go-to darling of your local party scene.

Take. Over. Your nation.

PARTY NATION BEGINNING

I started doing parties for me and my friends and how we live our lives - working hard, working to get our everyday life-stuff together - and rather than going out (where the music was so loud, we couldn't hear each other anyway) partying around a bunch of strangers, we started our Party Nation by entertaining our special crew at home, which was so much nicer.

PARTY NATION VERSATILITY

Everything is versatile, if you think about it. There's no such thing as day versus night. In other words, you don't have to conform. Throw a Party Nation Award theme party and honor every guest invited with your coveted "Whatever-You-Call-Your-Nation" Award (like Cater-Hater Nation Award). Award them just for being there. Halfway through your celebration, have awarded guests stand "front and center" to share a one to two minute acceptance speech (have your "get off the stage" music and timer ready). Tap into how your Party Nation people want to party and more importantly, express themselves, within your Party Nation.

PARTY NATION EXPANSION

Greatly expand your Party Nation if you choose to. Collaborate with one member on one party. Collaborate with a different member on another party. Include a vendor (caterer, florist, liquor store, ect.) for a product demonstration or as a guest speaker. Do with it what your heart desires. Start a Party Nation for your children. Get everybody involved! Throw a Party Nation Party Yard Sale*. Give your profits to charity or use it to help defer costs at future Party Nation parties.

PARTY NATION EVENTS & TIPS

*Throw a yard sale with oomph. Do something completely different, class it up. Really organize and advertise where you want to and do it well. Show Party Nation style. Play your favorite Party Nation upbeat music. Allow yard sale shoppers to step out of their cars in Party Nation "valet-style". Bribe a few neighborhood kids** to dress alike and stand in front of your house at a roped-off, specially designated Party Nation Automobile Valet Area at the curb. Have teens positioned and standing at the ready, awaiting Party Nation yard sale shoppers (no, they won't park cars!); to open their passengers car doors while also offering parking area suggestions, and handing them a bottled beverage (water or an inexpensive soft drink) as they enter your Party Nation shopping zone.

Ask a teen helper to canvas yard sale shoppers to ask them to sign your Party Nation yard sale guest list. Tell shoppers that anyone who signs will receive advance notice invitations about upcoming Party Nation yard sales by email. Serious shoppers will like it. They'll want first dibs on all your best deals.

Your first yard sale might have an average turn-out, if not better. But if you do everything in true Party Nation style, your subsequent yard sales will be known as "first come, first serve", "standing room only", everybody's-talking-about-it, big hits.

**Help the neighborhood kids create their own Party Nation. Throw them their very first Party Nation party (to help them choose a good name). Start a neighborhood-community based, collaborated-mentor program for the tweens and teens where adults help tweens and teens, and teens help tweens and youngsters. Meet once a month.

Adults: Plan your usual Party Nation parties and events, and plan a really cool, once a month outing for the Party Nation kids. How 'bout a concert maybe? If you contact the venue and let them know who you are, what you're doing and who it's for, you might score some discounted tickets.

Tweens and Teens: "There's safety in numbers." Start a Party Nation "Watch out for Tweens and Youngsters Group" (Supervised by adults, of course), where every tween and youngster can feel safe and assured that there is someone a little older there for them; to counter against bullies and other problems. Ask the teens to wait for a tween or youngster; to walk them home from school. Bring in an off-duty police officer to speak to Party Nation tweens, teens and youngsters about how to handle bullying and other safety-related issues. Plan after-school Party Nation teen group music & dance events, and tween and youngster arts & crafts meetings. Celebrate birthdays at a tween, teen and youngster Party Nation meeting. Some music, a Costco cake (Tell warehouse management what you're up to - you never know... ), and milk or ice cream and you've got an "it's the gesture that counts" Party Nation children birthday celebration.

Special advice: Before you do anything for the kids - make everything interesting, way cool and fun. I got you started. But there's a myriad of fun options you could come up with.

Don't mind me. Being a party writer, caterer and event planner, I can really come up with some stuff. Some I keep for myself. But I have no intention of not giving some away.

Make life fun. Aspire to be greater. Make your own Party Nation decisions. Walk your own Party Nation path.

Because in Party Nation, that's your only option.

Write and tell me about your Party Nation projects and experiences.

Image credit: Keith Haring