Ok i have gone for 3 birthday parties this year (21st year for me, so my peers also all turning 21 ma, so all throw party) , got invited to more but didn't go for all of them.
ANYWAY, i'm not an awesome birthday planner or anything like that. Just that after going for these 2 , i've had alot of thoughts about how not to do mine, so just penning it down for my own reference.
1) Don't do a chalet/BBQ
There are about ten thousand reasons why you should not do a chalet/bbq thing for your birthday. My experience for this isn't just for this year, but from past chalet/bbq experiences too.
Firstly, the place is freaking small? Unless you plan to invite like a grand total of 4 people or you are a midget who has been shrunk even more and all your friends are the same size, there is not enough space in a chalet for all your friends.
it's like, 'oh please come in..' - look around for a seat to offer, but guess what, there's no space, so u gotta change ur mind - 'want a drink?'
It always ends up with people sitting outside (if there's even space on the bricks/whatever) and with a bunch of people next to you in the next chalet within arm's reach whom you don't even know. Crowded, uncomfortable, not nice.
Next, there's the problem of manning the BBQ pit!
Like, having a BBQ is great and all if you like barbequed chicken wings and satay and whatever. But who's going to man the pit? You need someone to sweat his guts out at the pit. Plus, he needs to be good. Not like me who just stands there for 30minutes turning over chicken and not knowing what he's doing.
Like, i'll feel damn bad making one of my friends man the pit for me. Like 'hey do you mind standing near strong heat for the next hour or so and perspire like a dog to cook food that you won't get to eat?'
And usually when i go to a bbq after eating for awhile ill start feeling guilty then go over to the pit to offer my assistance (which is exactly what i did today as well as at becky's one).. when i usually just end up turning stuff over purposelessly (i dont know if there's such a word but it's a tongue twister! try saying it fast 3 times) and chatting with the person at the grill.
If i ever do lose my mind and do a BBQ /chalet (ok no i wont do a chalet) i'll hire people to barbeque the stuff for me! Problem solved.
Third, it's extremely unhealthy too. Say hi to the sky Cholestrol and Blood pressure.
2) Invite in groups of at least 4
The people you invite to the party needs to come in at least 4. Not 2, because they'll get bored of each other after awhile unless they are extremely good friends who haven't met in ages or something. even then, they WILL run out of things to say and poof , bored.
Not 3, everyone knows why. (Cos 3 is a crowd)
4 is the magic number, cos with 4 you have a GROUP of people, they can chat randomly, they can play card games like bridge/taiti, they can do random stuff.
Becky's party i was with chris, and the 2 of us despite being able to talk about anything under the sun, did get bored after awhile. boon's party i was with pewi and jem, and well we caught up abit, but after awhile, we were just sitting around doing nothing.
Both times, I just decided to go over to the grill to help cos i was bored. And both times there's a nice pleasant person at the grill there to chat with. how lucky :)
And by observing the other people who were there, those laughing and talking alot were in groups of > 4, which proves my theory.
The problem is... i'm not really a big-clique kinda person. I make good friends 1 to 1, but i dont exactly hang out with a big bunch of people alot. How will i invite people like bestie, qin, becky without violating my fantastic4 theory? hmmmmmmmm.
3) If you want to make it fun, go all out. If you have a theme, take photos, have games, etc.
I've attended a party with a theme + games (cheryl's) Was totally awesome imo, enjoyed camwhoring with funny outfits, and lame games. And of course it wasn't a bbq (catered), and it wasnt at a chalet(function room of her condo), and she followed the Fantastic4 principle (church ppl one bunch, and her sec sch clique of 4)
Then i've attended another with just a theme which not everyone who went followed.. so it was odd. And no games.
4) If you are writing a post about planning a birthday party, do it before 2am.. if not you'll get so tired and stop writing and not end properly.
