Social Situation and Results: House Warming Party - Essay Example

?Social Situation: House Warming Party Conditions: Shortly upon settling in to a new home. No more than 2-3 months. Results: Meet the neighbors To ensure success: Have a little food (not a full meal). Plan an activity for children, like a movie. When an individual or family moves from one home to another, there is typically a period of lack of comfort for them. Not exactly a discomfort per se, but a lack of familiarity with their surroundings that makes perfect ease slightly difficult. Upon reaching their new home, the children become acutely aware that they have no friends in the area as of yet. Who are they to play with? The excitement of setting up their new rooms quickly diminishes when they realize that they have no one to play in it with them. Their parents, as they steadily work on setting up all the little details of their new home, think to themselves that they cannot just send their children out in to the neighborhood unsupervised. Who knows what predators could be in the area. How would the neighbors know what family the children belong to? Without familiarity, what cause would they have to keep a watchful eye out? What’s more, the parents themselves may feel isolated and lonely in their new home. Certainly they would enjoy having friends in their neighborhood. In such cases, housewarming parties are often looked to for the solution. A housewarming party, by its very nature, is designed to promote familiarity and companionability between neighbors. Whether an outdoor barbeque or an indoor cocktail party, with a little food, perhaps a few drinks, music, and games, a family can introduce themselves to the neighborhood (and vice versa) with great success. They should begin, of course, with a date. Generally speaking, a housewarming party should occur no more than 2-3 months after they have first moved in to their home. The timeframe allows for sufficient time to fully unpack and settle in to each room. To push for a housewarming too quickly is more likely to cause problems than to allow for a good presentation of the family to the neighborhood. Though there is significant understanding for the amount of time it takes to unpack a full household, party-goers are not likely to feel comfortable in a home littered with boxes. Likewise, the family itself is not likely to feel comfortable as they search for the box that has the glassware while their guests wander about their home trying their best not to poke in to boxes filled with private items. So, first things first, unpack the house! Then the family can begin to plan and set up the party. Housewarmings are typically informal affairs, and as such do not require personal invitations. This, of course, makes sense. For how can a family send out personal invitations to their neighbors whom they have not yet met and may not even know the names of? Word of mouth will often more than suffice for invitations. A personal note should be included only if the guests are requested to bring an item of food or a gift. As a rule of thumb, gifts should only be requested by newly established couples or families that do not have all they need for their home. Well-established families should only request food or beverages, and only if the neighbor asks if they can bring something for the party. At this point, the date has been set and the guests have been invited. So, what now? What to do for the party itself? First, ensure that there is an easy and upbeat atmosphere as soon as the guests arrive. Music may be counted upon to complete this task in great style. The music itself should be a variety of styles, low-key, and easy to blend in to the background. Music that is played too loud prevents effective communicating between guests and their hosts, which defeats the purpose of the party. At a great housewarming, guests may be completely unaware of the music for most of the evening, but it should still be played. Should a quiet moment, a lull in the conversation, occur, music will fill the silence and prevent it from becoming uncomfortable. Second, make sure there is an activity planned for children should any be attending. A movie or two work great for holding the children’s attention and keeping them quiet, which can be best for an indoor party. At a barbeque, outdoor activities can be planned like hide-and-go-seek or tag. For the adults, games should also be included. There are board games and social games that are designed to enable people to get to know one another. A great example is “Would You Rather?” This is a card game that presents a question with two options, and they are to choose which they would rather. One question asks, “Would you rather be stranded on a desert island with unlimited reading material OR with a single knife?” The game is designed to be an ice-breaker, and is a great way for neighbors to laugh, have some fun, and get to know each other without being too personal. Food is another important feature at any party. A full meal is by no means required, however. A few snacks, or a potluck of dishes brought by the guests are perfect for an informal atmosphere. With children present, it is best to avoid snacks like kabobs, which can later be used as “swords” for the children’s play and result in injury to one or more of them. Rather, the hosts should stick with finger foods, which are tasty, easy to eat, and reduce the need for silverware (and therefore reduce later clean up). At the end of the evening, after a successful housewarming, the family may wonder how to excuse their guests without seeming rude. Often, having an unobvious time restraint (such as only two movies for the children) calls the party to an end on its own. The guests, as well, may be relied upon to realize when the party is dying down and excuse themselves to avoid overstaying their welcome with their hosts. A key to any good housewarming party is for there to be an interest in both the hosts and the guests to establish good quality relationships with their neighbors. Such an interest carries with it a code of conduct that most will adhere to, and so the hosts need not police their own party. Read More