Unraveling the Attributes of a Good Party Host

July 27th, 2011

Everyone knows someone who is a great host. You go to an event hosted by this person and you enjoy being a part of it. It feels almost like the event was designed for your personal comfort.

In this article, I would like to examine if everyone can be a good host. In order to answer this, we need to study what it takes to be a good host. Hosting a good party needs many things. Firstly, it is not only about what you do at the party, but also about the preparation and planning to make it enjoyable for the invitees.

There are some who are great with planning but their party is boring. Something will be missing there – most significantly, the ability to understand the invitees, their tastes, needs and preferences. Once someone goes wrong here, attending such a party becomes a punishment to be endured rather than enjoyed. If you went to one such party, you can probably recollect the bad experiences from that event.

Then there are hosts who are more interested in inflating their ego rather than doing something that is enjoyable for their guests. They just do something flamboyant and celebratory – with the intention of causing people to be awestruck. They feel good being the center of attention. After all, the invited guests need to go up to them and greet them. In such events, you are just ready to hit the door as soon as possible.

The above situations outline what is not being a good host or hostess for the party. In the below section, we will look at the elements that make a good host (or hostess for that matter).

A good host keeps an eye on the trends in parties in the recent past. Invitees’ expectations are framed based on prior experiences. Also, vendors and suppliers gear up to provide services that support the popular services or items that are common across many parties. For this reason, having a pulse on the recent parties is an important element for pulling of a great party.

One element that is essential for ensuring the guests have a good time is to be aware of their preferences and tastes. More than your budget and event planning, this aspect needs to be taken care of well to ensure your guests have a good time. All good hosts have this awareness of what works for their audience. The ability to come up with common things that are liked by almost everyone in the party is a special gift that some people possess.

Above all, a host or hostess needs energy. To spend time with each person at the party and to be cheerful, happy and glad that they have come needs person with high energy and social skills.

In this article, we have so far looked at choosing the party theme, music and food based on the tastes of the guests and recent trends in parties. One aspect that determines the decision related to a party is the ‘list of constraints’. Weather, budget and number of people attending determine the kind of party that can be hosted. Good hosts are aware of the implications of such constraints and make smart choices under the circumstances.

If you have good awareness of the recent trends, know the preferences of your guests, have lot of energy but you are poor at planning. It is difficult to host a good party. Planning and organizing skills are absolutely essential for ensuring everything runs smoothly. Plus, if certain aspects of the party are taken care of before the party begins, there is lesser number of things to focus on during the party. If the preceding work was neglected, then it prevents a host from doing what they should be doing at that moment. It goes without saying, that bad planning will lead to many problems during the party and disturbs the mental balance of the host. In such a situation, not only is the host disturbed but it also dampens the mood of the guests.

It is quite obvious from the preceding paragraphs that being a good host is a special attribute that is not easy to possess or learn. In case, you have neither the time or if your personality is different from what is required to be good host, you don’t need to worry too much. All you need to do is to find a friend or acquaintance who can do this for you. Or hire an event organizer who will do this for you.

Posted in Party Novelties | No Comments »

Know About Multipurpose Applications of Glow Sticks

July 26th, 2011

Earlier glow sticks were used in navy and military operations. Today, their application has spread to various purposes. Features such as various sizes, shapes, designs, lesser weight, high durability, flexibility, low cost, easy to use etc., have contributed to their multipurpose nature.

Following are few applications of glow sticks which will let you know more about them.

Tactical military applications: Started as signaling devices, glow sticks are now used for search and rescue operations, defense operations, for target marking, as emergency lights, and for various tactical and non-tactical applications.

Qualities such as non-flammable, safe to use under any explosive environments have made glow sticks more useful for safer military operations. Nowadays, some latest technology infrared glow sticks are also available, which are made exclusively for military usage.

Decorations: Glow sticks are flexible to use, affordable and are perfect for night party decorations. Within no time they became popular by successfully replacing normal decorative and lighting items, especially in night parties. Even clubs, pubs and restaurants use them to create an elegant atmosphere. Their availability in different colors and sizes makes it easy to create fun filled environment as suited to the occasion. For instance, during Halloweens they are very useful to make scary and spooky arrangements.

Sports and games: Glow sticks are useful for playing different kinds of sports and games especially during dark times. Among different games, Night Golf tournament is quite popular. There are some other games like Soccer, Frisbee, Football, etc. which can also be played using glow sticks.

In all the above games, main objects like the balls, disks and the targets are made visible by taping glow sticks around them. Players are also made visible by wearing one or two glow accessories. For instance, if a game involves two teams, each team will wear a distinct color of glow accessories to get identified in the dark.

As accessories: Though glow sticks emit light, they do not produce any kind of heat. Hence, it is safer to use them as accessories. Many accessories like glow necklaces, rings, bracelets, etc. are available in the market. They are commonly used by teenagers to look special and attractive during night parties. Since, they are available in different colors and sizes we can match them according to our attire. Even kids love to wear glow bunny ears and glow glasses during night birthday parties and Halloweens.

As emergency tools: Easy and safe handling features made them excellent lighting objects during emergencies, especially when there is no source of light. Unlike other flash lights which depend upon the batteries, glow sticks can be used readily in emergency cases. Since, these glow sticks are water resistant sea divers use them while exploring oceans.

Glow sticks are excellent alternatives of light during gas leakage, because they are non-flammable and hence 100% safe to use in hazardous situations. Glow sticks are also the important sources of light during natural calamities like cyclones and tsunamis and also aid in rescue operations.

The above details clearly indicate the various uses of glow sticks. So, hurry up make your night party look more beautiful and special with an elegant and colorful glow stick arrangement. Remember, you can even use them during emergency situations.

Posted in Glow Sticks | No Comments »

Managing a Fund Raising Event

July 25th, 2011

Fund raising events not only bring in funds for your organization, but also raise awareness about your noble cause. However, managing a fund raising event requires significant energy and effort. Organizing these events needs correct planning, promotion and management. Here are few tips which will help you in effective management of fund raising events.

Establishing guiding principles and goals
Before starting a fund raising event, you need to be clear about the goals you need to achieve through the event. You need to know how much money is needed to fulfill the goal. Apart from this, you also need to be clear with your plan, course of action and scope of the fund raising event. Create a project plan with clearly defined goals; roles and responsibilities of each participant.

Choosing the right event
An appropriate event should be selected keeping the cause in mind. Some popular events include auctions, dinners, raffles, athletic events, arts and crafts exhibition, cheer leading contest, ball room dance contest, 5K run or walk and fashion shows. Also check how you will make money from these events – through sale of tickets, sponsors, sale of items, auctions, door prizes, etc. This will help you in designing your strategy in a better way.

Selecting event volunteers
It is very difficult to organize the whole event by yourself. Taking the help of volunteers makes the task much easier. Ask the members of your organization to participate. You can also get volunteers from the local community by contacting them, describing the purpose of the event and the ways in which they can help. Assign roles to volunteers such as treasurer, organizer, manager, etc. based on their strengths. Encourage participants to set and achieve personal as well as team goals.

Planning, budgeting and advertising
Fund raising events need proper planning and execution. Prepare a planning work sheet and instruct every volunteer to execute it properly. For budgeting needs, you can make sponsors as partners. Manage the money carefully that you receive from these sponsors. Allow them to bear the costs of hiring the venue, marketing costs, refreshments, etc.

You should market your event in such a way that your cause is highlighted. Make use of fliers, announcements at community gatherings, posters at local shops, internet, custom imprinted glow sticks, press releases, etc. to promote your event. Proper planning and promotion enhances awareness about the fund raising event and its cause.

Takeaways – cheap but attractive products
It is always good to offer takeaways at the fund raising events. They convey ‘thanks’ to the participants and donors for making the event successful; hence don’t overlook them. Keep aside little amount of money to buy cheap but attractive takeaways, like glow products. You can offer various glow products such as, glow sticks, glow wrist bands and bracelets as takeaways at the event.

A well planned fund raising event has a very good chance of making donors open their purses. However, you need to be flexible, as things may not go as the way you planned. Be prepared for the unexpected also.

Posted in Glow Stick Fundraising | No Comments »

Learn About Some Dancing Styles Using Glow Sticks

July 24th, 2011

It is quite popular to see glow sticks being used in teen parties and party raves to perform different tricks, games and dance. Dancing using glow sticks has gained popularity to the extent that they became a part of the culture in most of the pubs and clubs. These performances give a mesmerizing feel to the people watching it.

Some enthusiasts have invented few different dancing styles using glow sticks. Let us check the major forms of dancing techniques using glow sticks.

Basically, there are two main styles: ‘Glow stringing style’ and ‘Free hand style’.

Glow stringing style: This style involves performing various tricks by connecting two glow sticks with a string or a rope. Different moves can be made using these stringed glow sticks with a single hand or both the hands. The most commonly used tricks are the formation of number eight, butterflies and fountains. This style also involves a technique called flowers, in which the arms are moved in circular motions to form different petal varieties. Wraps is another technique, which involves wrapping the strings around the body.

Few more tricks played using glow stringing are:

  • The basic trick involved in glow stringing is making circles using light sticks.
  • The immediate next process is making eight symbols using them.
  • Once people become experts in doing the above two tricks individually, they tend to do them alternatively.
  • Another glow stringing trick is to swing glow stick over the shoulder and to grasp it under the arm. This is considered as a great trick because the transition in doing it with the other hand is very natural, especially for martial arts movie buffs.
  • One more variation of the above trick is to swing the glow stick over the shoulder, but instead of grasping it under the arm, the performer will grasp it behind their back.

Free hand style: This dancing technique involves holding the glow stick in hand and moving it in the required fashion. It includes many free hand techniques like tracing and liquid. Tracing is an act of tracing any part of your body with the glow stick to give it an outline. On the other hand, liquid involves moving glow sticks through midair in a visually appealing way. Kicking and tapping are techniques in which glow sticks are juggled with feet and other body parts.

These are the few tricks while dancing with glow sticks. However, many other new tricks are being developed by people as per their creativity and expertise, ultimately aiming to provide wholesome entertainment for themselves and for audiences.

Posted in Glow Sticks | No Comments »

Glow Balls – Elegant Lighting Fixtures in Night Parties

July 23rd, 2011

It’s exciting to enjoy a night party with novel glow items like glow sticks. Furthermore, creative ideas using other glow products can make the party more attractive and delightful. Glow balls are one among the many types of glow products, which can be used as elegant lighting fixtures in night parties.

However, do not get confused with the glow golf balls or the LED-lighted balls which are used for night games. Usually, glow balls are made by linking various glow sticks and necklaces to form a spherical shape.

Many glow-in-the-dark parties today make use of different types of effective and aesthetic light sources like glow balls. Glow balls of both small and large sizes serve as the decorative lighting elements. When you plan a party outdoors, you can use small-sized glow balls for lining a walkway, lawn edging or any other specific area of your yard. Apart from providing a charming look, they make the path or the area visible in dark, assuring safety.

Glow balls can even illuminate your pool parties. You can arrange smaller glow balls around the pool and throw some of them in water to make the venue look cool and pleasant. Another creative idea is to use glow balls for making glow balloons. Fill in the balloons with small and colorful glow balls and use them for decorating wedding receptions, birthday parties and celebrations at schools. Also, make your Christmas celebrations graceful by decorating your Christmas tree with small and bright-colored glow balls.

Large sized glow balls placed at the center of the party events serve as the attractive lighting sources. When you arrange a party indoors, you can hang them to the ceiling by a hook. You can also place a large glow ball on a decorative vase that stands as a fascinating décor piece.

Posted in Party Novelties | No Comments »

How to Set the Mood of Your Party

July 22nd, 2011

The success of any party lies in the lively participation of guests. The guests should leave the venue, happy and satisfied. Being courteous may not be enough always to make your party rock.

You need to get them into the party mood, which can be a difficult task. Each of guests will be in a different mood based on what went through them that day. If their day went fine, they will be in a good mood. But if they had a rough day at work, a clash in the traffic, an argument with spouse, or difficulty in finding parking lot, they cannot help but bring all that aggression along with them. They may be present in the party, but cannot involve wholeheartedly.

Some guests on the other hand, may be too timid to join the party. It can be a big challenge to deal with guests with all these mindsets and get them into the party mood. Here are few things which may help you set the mood of your party:

Music: Nothing can be as refreshing as great music in the party. There is an amazing relation between music and emotions of the people. Music is simple and subtle, yet it is a powerful way to change the party mood. If you want to trigger a wave of refreshing mood among your guests, start with some scores of pleasant music. Pick the scores based on the spirit of your party, environment and mood of the guests. Music is more effective when played at certain levels of volume and bass. So make sure to have somebody to constantly control the music player.

If you want to have an energetic dance environment, have strobe lights, lasers, fog machines and may be some video synchronized with your music. Make sure every guest is invited to dance. But do not push people who are unwilling to participate.

Lighting: If you are planning to arrange the party in the evening, consider proper lighting. Lighting gives life to a well-organized party. Your choice of lighting should align with the occasion, theme and venue of the party. However, too much lighting can spoil the mood of the party.

Decoration: You do not have to spend a fortune to have an elegant party decoration. Select an impressive theme and match the décor of your party with it. Whether it is a birthday celebration or a wedding reception, your decoration should be able to create an ambiance that matches the occasion.

Food: Food plays a major role in making a party memorable. People generally remember the food served in the parties. Just include a variety of delicious dishes and watch the magic it creates. Remember, delightful presentation of the food is also important. You should not overlook it.

Party favors: Don’t restrain the role of your party favors just to the gifts given as gesture of thanks. Chosen wisely, you can use them to take your party to the next level. Gifts make people happy. Use your creativity and choose gifts that bring joy to your guests. Surprising guests with party favors is one of the best ways to get them into the party mood.

Fragrance: Fragrances help in sparking the mood with an instant sensory pleasure. A good fragrance relaxes the brain and makes it calm and stable. Once you are done with the party arrangements, give a final touch with a good fragrance. Some natural fragrances like rose, jasmine and sandal work pretty well for all kinds of parties.

Many people in their attempt to create the right party mood spend on unnecessary things. They end up making the party look highly pompous instead of creating the required feel. Take care of the few basic elements of the party; the mood in the party automatically sets in.

Posted in Party Novelties | No Comments »

Different Practical Applications of Glow Sticks

July 21st, 2011

Glow sticks are mostly thought to be used for entertainment and fun in night parties, celebrations and other recreational events. However, there are certain standard and large glow sticks available in brightest colors that glow for longer time. They are associated with important practical applications.

Military purposes: Standard and good quality glow sticks are ideal lighting aids for certain military operations. They are used for marking targets and objects, emergency lighting, map reading and so on.

Traffic control: Glow sticks are the best lighting sources that assist in traffic control in busy areas. Bright colored glow sticks are perfect for controlling traffic. The light from these standard glow sticks can be viewed from a distance which makes it easy for the vehicles to react to the signal accordingly.

Emergencies: During certain emergency situations like natural disasters, accidents, rescue operations are carried out even in dark. Glow sticks, especially green colored ones, in place of flashlights are ideal lighting sources during natural disaster evacuations. This is because they are long-lasting, wind and water-proof and are more easy to handle. They are even used by fire and police departments when gas leaks or during other dangers which pose a serious risk. They are also used as safety tools for miners in case of emergencies.

Commercial fishing industries: Fish get attracted to green light. Therefore, the commercial fishing industry used this principle to attract fishes by using glow sticks. Large-sized standard glow sticks that are water-proof are used to catch fish.

The standard glow sticks are, therefore, helpful in many areas.

Posted in Glow Sticks | No Comments »

Fashionable Glow Jewelry for Night Parties

July 20th, 2011

Night parties and other celebrations in dark are perfect places of fun and enjoyment. It’s often common that you wish to look attractive at parties in dark. Get a charming appeal with special glow jewelry which includes glow necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings. They are the best glow accessories that fit well for a glow-themed party.

Glow necklaces: Glow necklaces are ideal for late night parties, dances, Halloween and Fourth of July celebrations. You can also use them as hairbands. They are available in different colors including blue, red, purple, yellow, orange, green and pink. They are also available in multi-colors. A combination of three colors in a glow necklaces looks very attractive. Attractive assorted colors of blue-green-red, yellow-purple-green and so on are often used. Two or three glow necklaces can be intertwined to make a single, thick necklace.

Glow bracelets: Glow bracelets are more commonly worn around wrists. However, they can also be used as anklets. They are mostly 8 inches long. They are available in different designs. Colorful glow bracelets enhance the look of your wrist. Like glow necklaces, they too are the best accessories for parties, dances, bars, etc. Wear colored glow bracelets that match with your costume to look attractive in the party. Combining different colored bracelets is a fashionable trend giving your wrist a unique appeal.

Glow earrings and rings are the other popular glow jewelry which is ideal for late night parties. Kids and even adults feel crazy to use fashionable glow jewelry and having a dominating look.

Posted in Party Novelties | No Comments »

Enjoy Your Boating Trip with Glow Sticks

July 19th, 2011

Planning to go for a boating trip in your vacation? Then, grab a bunch of glow sticks to make your trip more enjoyable and safe. Generally used for entertainment, these novel items can also be used in recreational activities. Read on to know how you can use them for an amusing boating trip.

It’s a pleasing experience to enjoy the natural water environment in dark or twilight times. You can make it more memorable using colorful glow sticks. Decorate the boat with glow sticks of different sizes for aesthetic appeal. Join glow necklaces and larger glow sticks to form glow garlands and arrange them along the sides of the boat.

One of the most entertaining activities you can do while boating is fishing. It’s a great experience to sit along the edge of the boat and have fun by fishing. Attach a glow stick (preferably green colored one) to your fishing rod to attract fishes. Also, wear different colored glow necklaces and bracelets to make yourself visible to others. This acts as a best safety measure.

More commonly glow sticks serve the safety purposes by marking the positioning of the boats in dark. Bright colored ones including green, red and yellow can be used for signaling the port. In general, running lights on a boat require much battery power. Better try using the glow sticks as running lights on your boat. They are, indeed, used as emergency lighting tools. Do you have your own personal floatation devices in your boat? If yes, attach glow sticks to them for use in emergency situations. Hurry up to get glow sticks and assure safety and amusement in your boating trip.

Posted in Glow Sticks | No Comments »

Glow Swords – Entertaining Party Favors for Kids

July 18th, 2011

Kids love to play with attractive and glowing toys. Light-up toys enhance their joy and happiness. Glow products include glow sticks, light-up toys like glow bunny ears, flashing mouthpieces, devil horns, eyeglasses, etc. Of the various light-up toys, glow swords are the favorite party favors of the kids. They like to hold glowing swords in night parties and events.

Colorful glow swords must be a compulsory part of a perfect glow themed party. A glow stick, after activation, is stuck into the handle of the toy sword. Cool glow of the glow stick makes the sword look beautiful. Even flashing light-up swords with rechargeable batteries can also be used as party favors for kids at parties.

Traditional glow swords using glow sticks and the LED flashing light-up swords provide hours of light filled fun for kids at parties. Children enjoy by spinning them around. They can even use them for tricks or creating cool spiral effects in dark. Glow swords can be appealing glow accessories for your kids with an attractive costume for Halloween parties. Also, they can be the perfect additives for your kids’ fashion dress competitions at school events.

The light-up swords are usually much larger in size than the standard glow sticks and are available in various colors including green, blue, orange and yellow. Even multiple colored LED light-up swords are available which look more attractive.

Certain flashing glow swords are designed specially which give amusing sounds when played. Plan in advance and purchase bulk of glow swords to make kids at your party happy.

Posted in Party Novelties | No Comments »