House Party

We went to a house party last weekend. The hosts had just bought a huge and beautiful new home and they turned their basement into a dance floor, complete with wet bar, black lighting and non-stop music. They told us to feel free to bring our two children as their own two-year daughter would be in attendance as well. We weren't sure what to expect, wondering about their decision to include small children, however, we needn't have worried. One end of their basement had been transformed into a great play area for the kids. While they were welcome to join the adults, they were free to do their own thing and the evening was a great success.

One of best things about this house party was that all of the guests were non-smokers. I have a feeling our hosts, who have tons of friends, hand-picked the people they would invite to their house party, with non-smoking status being a determining factor. While alcohol was served generously, nobody went so overboard that they acted stupidly or got out-of-control. It was nice to see that people can still have fun without getting wrecked out of their minds.

Upstairs there was so much food laid out. I felt bad because we only brought some beer, chips and chocolate kisses. But in the end, there was so much food left over, anything else would have gone to waste.

Thoughtfully, our hosts had planned this house party out to the minutest detail. They'd set up their x-box system for the younger boys in the crowd and this held their rapt interest for the duration of the night.

Most house parties I've attended in the past had some unfortunate event to remember for years to come. However, this party was just good, clean fun and it was nice to see that nobody was too jaded to have a good time. In fact, the worst thing that happened all night occurred when an unedited version of a popular song was played, which was inappropriate for the children to hear. Thankfully, they were so busy playing, they didn't even seem to notice this slight indiscretion.

This house party was a huge success. It went on late into the night and nearly everyone left having met someone new, with promises to get together for more get-togethers in the near future.

It was nice to see that entire families can spend an evening together without anyone getting bored, upset or offended in some way. Our hosts obviously put a lot of working and pre-planning into their house party and it was one of the best happenings that I've had the privilege to attend in 2006!