This past weekend was quite a weekend of firsts for us:

-First time we hosted at our house

-First time we had play partners spend the night (in the guest room)

-First house party we hosted

We had met an out of state couple a few months ago, through mutual friends, and really clicked well. They live 5-6 hours away so we were discussing a time we could get together again. Since our daughter (who lives at home) was away this past weekend, we invited the couple down to spend the weekend (Fri/Sat night). We also figured it was a good time for a party, invite our mutual friends as well as a few other couples.

We started planning about 2 weeks before. We decided to keep the invite list small since it was our first party. We also invited people we know so we figured that all would attend (more on that later). Since everyone was bringing food and BYOB we really didn’t have a lot to plan on that front. But the house was not quite in order so we go to work. Guest room needed fixing up (bed was not assembled, needed blinds). Our bedroom needed straightening and just general cleaning and straightening. The day before the party we went shopping, got sodas, food, etc. Also got wet wipes for all of the bathrooms, cups & mouthwash and small wash clothes. I also planned to setup sort of a group room in the living room with two inflatable mattresses. But they would not fit side by side, so I stacked them just to provide a nicer platform.

I also spent a little time getting the hot tub ready. The chemicals weren’t quite right, so I decided to drain it out a bit to add some fresh water. Course I forgot about it for a bit and took out too much water. So that meant I had to work fast to get the bromine level back up.

Party start time came and went with no one appearing. I guess within ½ hour most people appeared. We gave each couple a quick tour, showing the bathrooms, playrooms etc. Everyone socialized well, food was nibbled, drinks were drunk. It was funny at one point all of the guys were in the dining room getting food and the girls were in the family room..sort of what’s wrong with THIS picture!.

We had planned to hit the hot tub as an icebreaker, but our neighbors, who rarely are on their deck late, had people over, lights lit, etc. The hot tub is in direct view of their deck. (8 years ago, when we setup the hot tub, who knew we would be doing this!) After a few hours I was worried that the party was going to fizzle. The mutual friends of our weekend guests did not come and another couple also did not show. There was one more couple that called early in the evening to cancel due to kid issues. I knew they were questionable so that was no surprise.

By this time our neighbors were inside and it was pretty dark out (except for the full moon!). A female guest and myself hit the hot tub, but no one else was interested. We hung out in the tub, talked, massaged each other then decided the heat was too much and headed back in. Things were quite when we came in, no one around…everyone had gone upstairs to play (which was great!). My hot tub lady’s husband was upstairs also, so she and I made use of the inflatable mattresses. That was fun and apparently we had quite an audience as the upstairs fun had ended and people were heading back downstairs. When were finished, I rolled over, but went too far and fell off the two mattresses, smacked the hardwood floor and then hit the wall..ouch! Sounded worse that it was. No damage, and provided some entertainment for those still watching!

Finally more people hit the hot tub with eventually the guys sitting on the edge (facing the water) and the girls blowing them. Eventually everyone was back inside eating more and drinking. Slowly people headed out, as it was late. About this time I noticed an email from the missing mutual couple friends, they had done a lot of yard work and took a nap before the party, but slept right through.

It was a really fun experience, but we learned a few things!

- Partying with a couple Friday night and Saturday afternoon BEFORE a house party tends to wear one out (at least for me the guy half)

- Invite more people to the house party next time. I was concerned about inviting people we had not met personally (but chatted online). I also didn’t want to invite people we’ve been trying to get together with as I felt that would an invitation to play but knew we would not be able to be real attentive to them.

- Don’t stress out so much over the party.

- Can’t wait to have the opportunity to do it again!