Anyone can have people round. Making it a night they’ll actually remember takes a bit more thought. Here’s how to do it properly.
There’s a specific kind of house party that lives in your memory forever. Not because anything wild happened (although sometimes it did), but because the vibe was just right. The music was perfect, the lighting made everything feel a bit cinematic, the drinks were flowing, and somehow everyone was in a great mood from start to finish.
That doesn’t happen by accident. The best house parties feel effortless, but there’s always someone behind the scenes who thought about it. Not in an obsessive, spreadsheet kind of way. Just enough to get the foundations right and let everything else happen naturally.
If you want to be that person, here’s how.
Lighting Is Everything (Seriously, Everything)
This is the single biggest difference between a house party and just having people over. The main ceiling light needs to go off. Immediately. Nothing kills a vibe faster than a bright overhead light making everyone look like they’re in a waiting room.
LED strip lights are your best friend here. You can get a decent set from Argos for about 15 quid, and they transform a room instantly. Stick them behind the TV, along a bookshelf, under a kitchen counter. Go for warm tones or a slow colour cycle. Avoid the rapid flashing modes unless you want people to feel like they’re having a medical episode.
Beyond LED strips, a couple of cheap lamps with warm bulbs, some candles (if you trust your guests not to burn the place down), and maybe a disco ball if you’re feeling it. You can pick up smart bulbs from Currys that let you control colour and brightness from your phone, which is genuinely useful when you want to shift the mood throughout the night.
The goal is to make the space feel different from how it normally looks. People should walk in and immediately feel like something’s happening tonight.
The Playlist Is Not a Democracy
This is where a lot of people go wrong. They set up a shared queue or let people take turns with the aux, and within 20 minutes you’ve gone from a perfectly curated vibe to someone’s obscure death metal phase followed by a Disney soundtrack followed by three songs nobody’s heard of.
The playlist is your job. Build it in advance. Think about the arc of the night. Start with something chill when people are arriving, drinks in hand, still chatting and catching up. Build the energy gradually. Hit the peak stuff around 11pm to midnight. Then have a wind-down section for the end of the night when people are having those deep 2am conversations.
Genre-wise, you know your crowd better than I do. But as a general rule, a mix of stuff everyone knows with a few deeper cuts works best. You want people singing along to at least every third or fourth song. That’s what creates energy.
And get a proper speaker. A phone speaker is criminal. Even a mid-range portable speaker will transform the experience. Something like the Marshall Middleton or JBL Charge 6 from John Lewis will fill a room properly.
Drinks: Keep It Simple but Interesting
You don’t need to be a mixologist. You don’t need 14 different spirits and a cocktail menu. But putting a tiny bit of thought into the drinks makes a massive difference.
The move is to have one signature drink ready to go when people arrive. Just one. A big batch of something in a jug or a punch bowl. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Aperol spritz in summer, espresso martinis in winter, a big jug of rum punch any time of year. The point is that when someone walks through the door, you can immediately hand them a drink. That’s hospitality. That’s how you set the tone.
Beyond the signature drink, have beer and wine sorted and let people bring whatever else they want. A BYOB policy on top of what you provide is completely reasonable and stops you spending a fortune.
Ice. Get more ice than you think you need. Then get more. Nothing is worse than warm drinks at midnight because the ice ran out at 10pm. Buy a couple of bags from the corner shop. It costs about two quid and it makes everything better.
If you’re looking for more food and drink inspiration around special occasions, our Valentine’s Day gift guide has some surprisingly good ideas for date-night food setups that scale up nicely for a party.
Food: Don’t Overthink It
House party food should be easy to eat standing up, require no cutlery, and be available all night. That’s it. Those are the rules.
Pizza is the classic for a reason. Order a stack halfway through the night and you’re a hero. But if you want to put a bit more effort in, a spread of stuff people can graze on works brilliantly. Think crisps and dip (proper dip, not just hummus from the reduced section), a cheese board, some sliders or mini burgers if you’re feeling ambitious, and something sweet for later.
The key is to put it out and leave it. Don’t be serving food on plates. Have it on a table or kitchen counter where people can help themselves whenever they want. A constantly available food table is one of those small things that makes a party feel generous and thought-out.
The Space: Create Zones
This is something that separates a great house party from a good one. Different spaces for different vibes.
You want somewhere to dance (or at least stand and bop, let’s be realistic), somewhere to sit and chat, and somewhere a bit quieter for when people need a break. If you’ve got a garden, that’s your quiet zone sorted. If not, a bedroom with the door slightly open and some chill music works.
The dancing area doesn’t need to be big. Clear a bit of floor space, get the lighting right, point the speaker in the right direction. People will fill it if the vibe is there. They won’t if the sofa is in the way and there’s nowhere to move.
What to Wear
This might seem like a weird thing to include, but hear me out. As the host, what you’re wearing sets the tone. If you answer the door in joggers and slippers, people feel like they’ve overdressed and the energy drops. If you’ve made even a small effort, it signals that tonight matters.
You don’t need to dress up massively. Just look like you’re ready for a good night. Fresh trainers (maybe pull out the Air Max 95s if you’re about that life), a decent outfit, and the general appearance of someone who’s been looking forward to this.
Timing and Invites
Start time should be about 8pm. Tell people 8pm, expect them between 8:30 and 9:30, and have everything ready by 7:30. That buffer matters.
For guest count, be realistic about your space. A packed party has better energy than a half-empty one, so it’s better to slightly over-invite for a small space than under-invite for a big one. People always drop out last minute, so invite about 20% more than your ideal number.
Group chat invite is fine for casual ones. For something bigger, make a small event graphic (even just a text image on your phone) and send it out. It sounds silly, but it makes people take it more seriously. A proper invite gets a higher turnout than a casual “having people round on Saturday.”
The Little Details
These are the things nobody notices individually but everyone feels collectively:
Have enough toilet roll. Sounds basic. You’d be amazed how many people forget this.
Put a bin in the bathroom. With a bag in it.
Have a phone charger available somewhere central. People will love you for it.
Lock doors to rooms you don’t want people in. It’s your house. That’s fine.
Put fragile or valuable stuff away. Not because your mates are animals, but because accidents happen when drinks are involved.
And have the neighbours’ number. Sending a text at 9pm saying “having a party tonight, sorry in advance, should be done by 1am” costs you nothing and buys you an enormous amount of goodwill.
The Morning After
The secret to being a great host is making the cleanup as easy as possible for future you. Black bin bags in every room. A big recycling bag near the drinks area. Wipe surfaces as you go (you won’t actually do this, but it’s nice to pretend you will).
The next morning, stick some music on, make a coffee, and just get it done. It’s always less bad than you think it’s going to be. And the messages in the group chat saying “what a night” while you’re picking up cups will make it feel worth it.
That’s the thing about house parties. When they’re good, they’re really good. And getting them right isn’t about spending loads of money or being some kind of event planner. It’s about caring enough to set the scene and then being relaxed enough to enjoy it. Get the lighting, the music, and the drinks sorted, and the rest will follow.
