Party Post-Mortem

"What did you think of the party? Was it a good one?"I asked my brother this morning about my mom's 80th birthday party that we hosted last night.

"Well... there were no problems," he noted. "That was a good sign,"

"What kind of problems are we talking about? Like snafus in the running of it? Or like mom fighting someone?" I inquired. I think those are two different criteria.

"Either," he said.

"Hmmm," I thought. "He was NOT everywhere."

What does make a party great?

According to Bunny Holmes, The 5 Core Elements of a Great Party are:

•  Attended by Good People: 

"Oh, you put the compost directly into the garden bed?" my cousin Jacque (Dad's side) asked my cousin Sandy (mom's side). "Do you use all of your food scraps?"

"Well, we have pet pig, so all of our food is repurposed," Sandy replied. 

"You have a pet pig?" Jacque asked, "Is it potty trained?" she seemed skeptical about this. 

"Oh sure, she lets you know when she had to go outside AND when she wants to be covered by her  

 blanket." Sandy answered with a smile and a smirk.   

• Beautiful/Appeals to the Senses. 

The scent in the party room was roses (from the flowers bought for the birthday girl) with an        underlay of cooked beef.  I found it a little nauseating, but everyone else seemed to think it smelled really great in there.

"Those flower smell amazing... and is that prime rib I smell?" asked my Aunt Kathy when I greeted her at the doorway.

 "Yes and yes," I replied with a wide smile.      

            

•  Grants you permission. 

We played two games of BINGO with prizes! CASHOLA! My brother was the BINGO caller and my cousin Kristin had no trouble letting him know how he was doing.

 "Next number: N 57, N 57," my brother called out loudly.

"You're doing it wrong," Kristin yelled at him, "You're supposed to say N 57, N 5-7," she                reprimanded him.

"My apologies." Mark replied, rolling his eyes.

        .            

•  Dangerous/ Exciting. 

I believe any party with several participants over the ag of 75 is dangerous.

"Did you just take my picture?" my mother asked my cousin Denis. "DON'T EVER do that again. I don't want that to end up on the internet!" she yelled a little shrilly.

"It's just going in Tracey's album not online," he tried to tell her placatingly.

"Well I don't believe you, they always end up on the internet." she retorted with a serious side eye "I don't like that!"

"I promise, Aunt Louise."

        

• Makes a Good Story. 

          Recap:

✅ Attended by Good People.       

✅ Beautiful/ Appeals to the Senses 

✅ Grants You Permission 

✅ Dangerous/Exciting 

✅ Makes for a Good Story 

I rest my case.