How to Throw an Amazing College Party

Last Updated: June 27, 2022 References

Throwing a party when you are a college student can help you make new friends, entertain your current friends, or just have a great time. Whatever your reason for deciding to throw a party, it is important to put plenty of time and effort into the planning process to make your party awesome. You can increase your chances of throwing an awesome party by choosing a great theme, setting up, and keeping the food and drinks flowing.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Choosing a Theme

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Consider the occasion. Why are you throwing a party? Do you want to have a pre-finals bash? A Halloween party? Or celebrate a friend’s 21st birthday? Think about the occasion for your party and use this to help you decide what you want to do at the party, who to invite, and what to serve.
- For example, if you want to have a birthday party for a close friend, you will need to decide if it should be a surprise or not, what kind of cake to buy, what your friend likes to drink, what kind of music your friend would like to hear, and who to invite.
2
Think of the season. You can also use the season to help you plan your party. You could throw a winter, summer, spring, or fall themed party.
- The season can also help you to pick a dress code for your party if you want. For example, if it is winter, then you could throw a winter themed party and require all of your guests to wear white. If it is spring, then you could throw a spring themed party and ask your guests to wear pastels.
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3
Use your interests to choose a theme. If you have something that you are passionate about, then you may also consider turning that into the theme for your party.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Christina Millikin
Founder & CEO, Glow Events
Expert Interview. 11 February 2020.} Whether you are a fan of cooking, football, movies, or politics, there is probably a way to work it into a party theme.
- Super Bowl or Game-Watching Party. If there is a big game happening over the weekend, invite some of your friends over for a game-watching party. Tell everyone to wear team colors and bring something to drink and snack on.
- Recipe Swap Party. If you are a fan of cooking, then you can throw a recipe swap party. Have all of your friends make something and bring copies of the recipe along. Pair the food with some wine or craft beer and have a classy evening.
- Movie Marathon Party. Choose a few of your favorite movies (or a few you have never seen before) and invite some friends over to watch them with you. Make some popcorn and cocktails and enjoy watching the movies and talking about them with your friends.
- Debate-Watching Party. Invite some friends over to watch a big political debate. Order a couple of pizzas and buy a case of beer. Some people even play drinking games while watching political debates.
4
Choose a dress code theme. There are lots of different dress code themes that you can use to create an awesome college party. Some popular dress code themes include:^{[2]
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- Decade Themed Party. Have all of your guests show up dressed in 80s or 90s era clothes or dressed as a well-known figure from one of these decades. Another option is to do an 80s versus 90s party and allow your guests to choose the decade they like best. You can do other decades as well, but 80s and 90s parties are popular right now.
- Toga Party. Tell all of your guests to wear nothing but a bed sheet and some underwear. You can give other aspects of the party a Greek vibe as well, such as by serving Sambuca shots, hummus, and pita chips.
- Angels and Devils Party. Everyone chooses to wear red or white and may also go all the way with it and put on an angel or devil costume.^{[3]
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- Black Light Party. Replace all of your regular light bulbs with black lights and tell all of your guests to wear lots of white and neon clothes.
- Ugly Sweater Party. This works well for a party in December. Tell all of your guests to buy or make the ugliest Christmas sweaters they can and wear them to the party.
5
Ask your friends. Since you will be inviting your friends to this party, you may want to get their input t see what they might enjoy. If you are stumped about what kind of party to throw, then just talk it out with a few of your close friends. They might have some great ideas.
- Throwing a big party can be hard work, so you might also benefit from enlisting your friends as co-planners.^{[4]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Setting Up for Your Party

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Decide who you want to invite. Whether you are planning a small party or a large one, you will need to decide who you want to invite. Jot down a list of all of the people you would like to come and then use Facebook, Twitter, or word of mouth to let everyone know.^{[5]
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- If you are planning to serve food to your guests and you want to keep it kind of small, try to get a head count at least one week before.^{[6]
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  Expert Source
  
  Christina Millikin
  Founder & CEO, Glow Events
  Expert Interview. 11 February 2020.}
- If you are hoping to have lots of people at your party, then you might consider telling all of your friends to bring someone along.
- You may also want to invite your neighbors to reduce the chances of noise complaints.^{[7]
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2
Make a playlist. Creating a playlist for your party is an essential part of the planning process. It is important to make sure that you have plenty of good music to last through the entire evening, so stock your playlist with at least five hours of music.
- Try to keep your guests music interests in mind as you complete the playlist. Don’t just stock the playlist with music that you like.
- Keep your theme in mind as you create your playlist for the party. For example, if you are having an 80s party, then your playlist should include lots of music from the 80s.
3
Choose drinking games. Drinking games can help to keep your party interesting and they are popular among college students. Decide what drinking games you want to play so that you can suggest a game later in the evening. Some drinking games to consider include:^{[8]
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4
Arrange your space. You may need to make some adjustments to your apartment to prepare it for your guests. Try to get everything set up at least an hour before people are supposed to arrive.
- Clear a large area of your living room or kitchen to use as a dance floor.
- Set up extra chairs and tables for your guests.
- Lock or block off rooms that are off limits.^{[9]
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- Make sure that you have essential items like toilet paper, plastic cups, and paper towels.
5
Prepare outdoor areas. If you have a back or front yard that you plan to use during your party, then take some time to prep this area as well.
- Set up some lawn chairs and tables.
- Use lanterns, string lights, or solar lights to provide some ambiance.
- Try setting up a slip and slide or sprinklers.
- Put out lawn games like KanJam, Frisbees, or cornhole.
- Make sure you have some indoor space just in case there's bad weather.^{[10]
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  Expert Source
  
  Christina Millikin
  Founder & CEO, Glow Events
  Expert Interview. 11 February 2020.}

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Getting Food and Drinks

1
Decide what kind of food you will provide. As the host, you should probably provide something for your guests to eat. However, you don’t need to prepare a gourmet meal. Ordering a sheet pizza or putting out chips and pretzels is fine too. Your guests will probably be more interested in socializing than doing anything else.
- Make sure that you have something for everyone. For example, if you have a friend who is a vegan or vegetarian, then try to avoid having nothing but all meat and cheese snacks.^{[11]
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2
Ask everyone to bring something. You might have some friends who love to cook and others who don’t know how to boil water. Ask friends to bring something, but let them choose. You might just say what you think you might need to give them some guidelines.
- For example, you could ask someone to bring something salty and crunchy or ask another friend to bring some cocktail mixers.
3
Decide if you will provide alcohol or not. Providing alcohol for your guests can be expensive and your guests will not expect you to foot the bill for their drinks, so it is usually best to tell everyone to bring their own drinks.^{[12]
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Expert Source

Christina Millikin
Founder & CEO, Glow Events
Expert Interview. 11 February 2020.}
- If you are just having a small get-together, then you might decide to treat your friends to a case of beer or a large bottle of vodka with mixers.
- If you are having lots of people over, then you should either require everyone to chip in for a keg or make it a BYOB event.
4
Create a backup plan to deal with a food or drink shortage. There’s always the chance that more people will show up than you had expected and you may have to replenish your food and drink halfway through the party. Make sure that you have a plan in case this happens.
- For example, you might put the number of a local pizza place on speed dial, enlist a sober friend to make a beer run, or just stash extra supplies in your bedroom in case the food and drinks go faster than you expected.^{[13]
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Warnings

The legal drinking age is 21. As the host of the party, you are responsible for any underage drinkers. Keep this in mind when making your guest list and allowing people in.

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