Food, Music, Travel, Uncategorized

The Policy Makers Have a Party

19 Comments

I wrote yesterday about the dull conference I am attending.  Well, Friday evening the policy makers let down their collective hair, and my, do these people know how to have fun. All they need is a live band playing great dance music, lots of food, some,  but not too much alcohol, and red and white striped shirts and stocking caps. (It was a Where’s Waldo themed party). All the rancor, grinding of teeth, and pedantry disappeared, and everyone just wanted to enjoy themselves.  Many have hair much greyer than mine,  many are much older than I am.  The conversations today were heated, and people became angry with one another. It was very refreshing to see how we can disagree but still be united, at least on the dance floor.

What do you think makes for a good party?  Tell about some good parties you have been to?  What kind of party do you want to throw?

19 thoughts on “The Policy Makers Have a Party”

  1. a good shindig has friends and folks to meet, good food, and a spot sized correctly for the event,music is nice and today with a computer feed so it keeps going in the background it’s pretty easy

    a yearly theme is fun so you get the plus of being able to renew and pick up where you left off.

    vs throws a christmas bash that’s about perfect with a fun gift exchange to wrap the evening around. it’s become a favorite

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  2. I know nothing about throwing good parties (odd that we talk of “throwing” such things). I have proved that by planning several parties that failed.

    My only accomplishment might be the alteration I made in how we celebrated Christmas. We used to have a sit-down dinner followed by opening gifts. Inevitably things bogged down and took more time than expected, so the evenings would run too late. The kids would go squirrely waiting for gifts. One year I experimented by eliminating the formal meal in favor of a serve-yourself buffet. That was a refreshing move toward simplicity. People still enjoyed companionship, a great meal and the fun of the gift sharing. The whole celebration was mercifully shorter and easier to plan.

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  4. I guess the best parties are good because there are people I want to talk to and/or hang out with. This may be why so many family gatherings don’t quite measure up – you’re there out of obligation to see folks, rather than desire to be with them.

    And something, as tim says, “to wrap the evening around”… besides cocktails. Music and dancing help if space allows. Wine helps if people don’t go overboard.

    A group of kayakers here get together late afternoon Wednesdays, go out on the water for a while, and then meet up for a potluck at someone’s house (rotates). We’ve only managed to go once, but it’s such a congenial meal – tired from the physical activity, then good food and drink. If you can’t go kayaking, no problem – come for the meal anyway we’d love to see you… My kind of party.

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  5. The Where’s Waldo theme was fun, especially seeing all these buttoned down folks dress up in the shirts, hats, and big glasses. The dance floor was just the right size (neither too big or too small) and we had a buffet and an open bar. No one smoked.

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  7. The Canadian members of our group, particularly the ones from the maritime provinces were the most enthusiastic dsncers, as was the elderly Norwegian scholar .

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  8. Went to a Host a Murder party years (nay, decades) ago. You received your character and script ahead of time, and found your costume and played your part. It really was fun, and this one was to be the dining car on some European train, just before WWII. We had a several course dinner, complete with wines and coffee… Then after the murder was solved, we went back to our usual personas, although they drifted in and out during the evening too. Was fun for a change.

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  9. Hi–
    As others have said, a good party has people I’m happy to see. I am having a hard time imagining a work party with a dress up theme. I mean Good on all of you doing it, I just can’t picture that happening with anyone I work with.
    I’m not big on games; I’d rather just sit around and talk and listen to people stories. When I was a kid, every Sunday night we went to a cousins house and the adults played cards while the kids just goofed around.
    These days when my family gets together we just talk. There might be horse-shoes but mostly we just talk. And eat. Gotta eat of course.

    We hosted a party for the volunteers of a local theater. While it wasn’t quite up to the standards of one of our infamous Porta-Potty-Parties, it was a nice time with a bounce house and an inflatable slide.
    The weather was colder and windier than we wanted, and really, we wouldn’t have expected that for October, but still; it went well and the people that braved the weather had a good time.
    Maybe next year we’ll do it again and maybe it can happen in August or September.

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    1. Sorry you’re so fatigued, ljb. Was hoping that you’d be back in the swing of things by now. I just visited your CaringBridge site, and I see that you’re having a real struggle on your hands. Hope you have the opportunity and energy to get outside for a little while while the weather is so beautiful.

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  12. My party-throwing days are over, but the Halloween parties while I lived in the old mansion stand out as some of the most fun parties I’ve hosted. Most attendees wore really inspired and fun costumes for the occasion, and the ice breaker games designed to get people to talk with folks they didn’t know, really worked.

    Generally, I consider a party a success if there are some interesting people to talk with. Good food and wine helps, too. I am blessed with some pretty interesting friends, who in turn have other interesting friends. My friends and neighbors, Helen, and her partner, Sarah, with some regularity have some interesting get-togethers. Helen is an adventuresome cook, and the offerings at these events are always something special. Several of their friends whom we have met at these gatherings, have become friends of ours, too. Casey and Dana, who live in Stillwater, are one such couple. Each year in August they throw a traditional Swedish kräftskiva, a crayfish supper. That party is attended by a different set of interesting people, many of whom are Casey’s brothers and sisters and their spouses, and that’s a pretty fun group of people. That’s one easy way to expand your circle of friends: hang out with interesting people.

    I agree with tim that VS’s Solstice party with the gift exchange is a delightful event featuring an amazing array of food, and some fun people to chat with. And, if you’re lucky you end up with a gift you actually like. At last year’s party, Bill ended up with a pretty horrible embroidered chess game, if I remember correctly. Wonder who will receive that this year.

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    1. I’d like to throw a party on a riverboat in warm weather and take a little cruise on the Mississippi, or the St. Croix. But anytime there’s food and good company, that’s enough. Pretty scenery is a bonus.

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