Welcome to The Party Hack
Hi there. It’s me. The Party Hack.
From college into early adulthood, I never thought I would ever throw a party much less end up starting a site and resource for (hopefully) inspiring others to do interesting things when entertaining their friends, family and even themselves.
As I look back to my childhood, cooking and entertaining seem to show up all throughout. “Cooking” at my first toy kitchenette past midnight on Christmas Eve. My favorite Muppet was the Swedish Chef. I’d take breaks from Sesame Street to watch Yan Can Cook and Julia Child. Or, maybe it was simply this presentation of fruit that my Mom put together — obviously impressing me to the levels of a fruit stupor.
Back in 2007 when I moved into my house at the age of 29, I took a chance and threw a housewarming party for a couple handfuls of people. I attended parties. I didn’t throw them! The anxious over-planner in me was a wreck. What do I serve? Will people have fun? What do you do at parties? Play games? It’s like I had never attended a party in my life.
Well, last year I threw my 12th yearly party that has now become an important regular tradition for me and my friends. 50+ people every year. I cook for two days as I “cater” it myself. And try to build on it and improve every year. I’ll share more in the future on why I think this party has been successful over the years.
But whether it’s my yearly party or I have a few friends over on a Sunday afternoon, I discovered what made the party work and why people had a great time. It wasn’t just because the weather was nice or they may had been a bit over-served with one of my boozie concoctions (please drink responsibly), but because I paid extra attention to the details, went off the beaten path serving something unique and at the end of the day made it about my guests.
As we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, why do I look to start this endeavor now? 1. Why not? 2. All this quarantining gave me a lot to think about and 3. Because I think now as we may not have our giant get-togethers or go to our favorite places and sit at the bar being inspired by their creations, it’s a time to up our game and elevate those smaller in-home gatherings.
This site won’t be about “the top 10 baby shower gifts” or making the American flag out of blueberries and strawberries. There are sites for that. And that’s not me. But what it will be is “why you should always have fish sauce in your fridge” and “why dark rum makes just as good, if not better, old fashioned.” These hacks — from hosting to drinks and food and all the details in between — will help to up your hosting skills with approachable ideas that enhance your guests’ experience.
The Party Hack will be a mix of original ideas and curated content, that will hopefully be a place for inspiration, learn some tips and tricks, stumble across ingredients you didn’t know were in your grocery store this entire time and many other ways you can elevate how you entertain your friends and family. Oh yeah…and yourself too.
I will be adding things every week (Mondays and Thursdays as of now), so keep coming back for more hacks. Follow us on Instagram (@thepartyhack) to know when I add more posts and for other IG-specific content.
I hope you enjoy the hacks!