House parties can be some of the most memorable nights you’ll ever have while you’re at Uni. You don’t have to worry about parents coming home the next morning, you can invite insane amounts of people, and you’re only worry will be the morning after when you assess the damage and realise that you might have just lost that tenancy deposit… Here are the essentials to putting on a good party, just remember to put in a bit of effort and your guests will be talking about it for ages…

Alert the Neighbours
Go round a week before and let the neighbours know about the party in advance – it’s good manners and helps to stop them from complaining on the night. If they’re students you shouldn’t run into problems, just invite them along. However if they’re local residents then this can require a bit of tact. Be polite and explain that it’s a big occasion – and that this kind of event won’t be a regular occurrence, tell them that you’ll be doing your best to keep the noise down and will be finishing fairly early. It doesn’t matter if you’re lying through your teeth at this point – the only reason you’re being polite is to stop them from calling the police and ruining your party…

Buy some Booze
Make sure people know to bring their own, but try and buy some booze to get the party started. It doesn’t need to set you back much, if you’re a bit skint then chip in and buy some wine, spirits/juice and make a crazy cocktail in a bowl… Easy

Put up some Decor
Some little touches can go a long way. Hit the pound shop and grab some crazy stuff to put up. Think tinsel, homemade banners from bedsheets, fairly lights etc …

Clear some space
Clear the living room / kitchen, possibly a bedroom depending on the space you’ve got available. Lock away house valuables and put furniture that’s getting in the way in a locked bedroom. Lock your room if you don’t want people in there…

Invite people
Simple, invite your coursemates, neighbours, society friends, randoms. Get a good mix of people and your party will be rocking in no time… Be wary about making a facebook event though, there’s been some horror stories about parties being crashed because of this – if you do setup an event online then consider making it secret – oh, and don’t forget to invite us …

Sort out some music
Grab some speakers (you’ll need something better than the ones that came with your PC), preferably something that that you can plug an ipod into. Spend half an hour with your mates beforehand and setup a playlist on your laptop/ipod or spotify, keep it accessible – nothing kills a party faster than sh*t music (apart from running out of booze).

If you can get one – find a student DJ. They’re usually keen to play for free (as long as you sort them out with loads of drinks) and will probably be able to sort out some bigger speakers for your party. Just make sure that you know what music they like to play before you agree to it, otherwise you might find them bashing out drum ‘n’ bass all night which might not please your guests…

Clean the Toilet
Cleaning and signposting the toilet is essential. Make sure you’ve got loo-roll too…

Get a bouncer
Ok – maybe not a proper one – but make sure you’ve got a few big lads around just in case theres any trouble and/or gatecrashers … politiely tell them to leave

Soundproof
Nothing crazy to do here – but if it’s going to be loud then consider putting stuff around window/door edges to keep sound from getting out. Make sure people don’t stay outside for too long when they’re smoking – this will attract unwanted attention from the neighbours …

Have fun
There’s little point in worrying about the stains on the carpet, the broken furniture or that essay you have to hand in next week. Just enjoy the party and worry about everything else tomorrow …

The morning after the aftermath…

• ‘Team Clean’ – get anyone who stayed over to help you clear up the mess before they leave in the morning… even the biggest parties can get cleared up in an hour with enough of you helping…
• Bin Bags – essential for the empties …
• Cleaning supplies including carpet cleaner for the beer stains …
• Polly Filla – for holes in the wall (don’t ask us how, but they always appear)