What’s World Party Day?
If you aren’t familiar with World Party Day, it’s a holiday on April 3rd when everybody…you guessed it – parties! It’s that simple. The concept of World Party Day comes from a book called Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel, published by Vanna Bonta in 1995. Bonta’s creation unpredictably gathered enough popularity to become a universal holiday celebrated worldwide (India, Vietnam, the USA, France, Thailand, Africa, China, Italy, and Korea, to name a few).
World Party Day is the quintessential poster theme for Party Themes Galore: its purpose revolves entirely around the ‘universal human right to fun, peace and life.’ So celebrating World Party Day is more than just throwing a party: it’s also advocating every person’s right to joyful gatherings and celebrations. It centers on our shared humanity and right to whimsical play. It’s also a great avenue to celebrate anything in life for which we’re grateful. That could be as simple as the freedom to convene with music, food, and laughter. The best part is that this can look any way you want. This is the one party theme where you come up with all of your own ideas – and that can make planning really, really fun. Let’s get started!
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How to Celebrate World Party Day
1. Go All Out with Your Favourite Party Decorations
When it comes to decorating for World Party Day, there are no rules here (it’s even less strict than Fight Club). You can go very minimal with decorations, or even forego them altogether. But party decorations definitely make a fun visual statement and can help transform your normal living space into a more obviously designated party space! There are a lot of directions you can take and you have ultimate freedom here, but we’ll cover some popular party decorating basics and ideas to get you started.
This is the one party where there is no decorating format: use whatever décor makes you happiest, makes you laugh, or makes you feel amazing – whether it’s classy, tacky, or flat-out ridiculous. While decorating can get pricy depending on how elaborate you get, you can find inexpensive party supplies if you know where to look. And, with a little time and motivation, you can even DIY party decorations (tape, scissors and construction paper go a long way!). If you worry that you just can’t afford to host a party, consider your disposable income budget and spending habits. Usually, having a party is a more cost-effective way to have fun! It all boils down to how you most enjoy spending your leisure time and how you rearrange your spending to prioritize that.
Everyone’s party will look different and that’s the beauty of hosting. What I can say for sure is that I’ve been to everything from delightfully extravagant soirées to humble Solo cup dance parties in crowded apartments, and I LOVE THEM ALL! So whatever you have the time or money or energy for, you do you. Decorate in whatever way makes you most want to party.
Here are some classic party decorating supplies:
- Paper streamers to hang across the ceiling and elsewhere
- Multi-coloured tissue paper confetti to scatter any and everywhere
- Tissue paper to wrap over hard furniture/the toaster/houseplant pots, to hang from the ceiling/walls/furniture/lampshades, or to secure over windowpanes for a colourful light filter
- Paper party plates
- Customizable Solo cups
- Red chili light strand (to match the Solo cups, of course, and for a fun party glow)
- More party supplies
2. Prepare Party Refreshments
Nothing makes people hungry quite like dancing and a good party! While food isn’t the absolute focus of World Party Day, you definitely want to have plenty of delicious options to feed your guests. Go all out! Any and every delicious party food that you and your friends love is fair game. This is the time to share it, and without any specific palate theme in mind.
While it’s easy to spend a lot on food, keep costs lower by fixing your own dishes instead of buying pre-made party platters. Simple dishes like seasoned beans and rice are inexpensive, filling, and tasty. This means you need to plan your menu and set aside time to prepare food in advance (time blocks included in Preparation Checklist for World Party Day below). While that takes a little more effort and preparation, it also gives you more freedom over specific ingredients you provide. This is important, say, if someone’s gluten-free. Of course, you can always budget by inviting guests to BYOB and/or bring edible items to share. Most people are happy to contribute (see 5. Guest Participation). But be aware of any invited guests’ dietary restrictions and provide at least a couple food/drink options for them as well.
Remember to have an assortment of drinks! If you and your guests will enjoy alcohol but you can’t afford to stock an entire liquor cabinet, simply designate the party as BYOB to keep costs down. Otherwise, provide a variety – sparkling, white, and red wines, beers and ciders, and standard liquors and mixers (vodka, juices, etc.).
Ultimately, make your menu as complicated as you like or as simple as you like (buy a frozen bag of pizza rolls, chips, and a veggie tray.) World Party Day is when you party your way!
Some party food ideas that are relatively basic but sure to appetize:
- Pizza
- Taco casserole
- Any kind of salad (Mediterranean salad, fruit salad, egg salad, etc.)
- Tortilla chips and guacamole
- Pita chips and hummus
- Cheese board
- Party cookies
3. Rock a Fantastic Party Playlist
Background music is key for a party’s vibe. If you’re having a dance party where music is part of the main attraction, you’ll of course amp up a killer playlist. But if you want people to be able to chat without shouting over their drinks, opt to keep the volume more conversation-friendly or play a party-themed background movie (at a background-music volume level). There is no one-size-fits-all – your choice of audio depends entirely on your taste. The only rules to follow here are to keep the music party-paced (i.e. not something that will put people to sleep) and don’t play anything depressing or disturbing (a sure way to kill party-mode). Music is so very tied to the mood of an event, so don’t just flip on the radio and hope for the best. Plan your fun playlist with some thought!
If you need a few fun ideas, here are some popular party-themed songs:
- We Like to Party – Vengaboys
- 1999 – Prince
- I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
- (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) – Beastie Boys
- Dancing on the Ceiling – Lionel Richie
- Jump On It – Sir Mix-A-Lot
- Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder
- Got to Give It Up – Marvin Gaye
4. Plan Party Games
Time for fun and games! If any guests have trouble opening up or shaking off stress from the day/week/month, break out the party games to unleash pure childlike fun. Your party may already be awesome, but it’s a good idea to have some games on hand to spice things up! A game such as Never Have I Ever or any of these digital downloads to print out and share make great options:
- 5-second game for adults
- ‘Sotally Tober’ drinking card game
- Icebreakers (8-game bundle)
- Icebreakers (30-game bundle)
- Icebreaker bingo or this version of icebreaker bingo
5. Establish Guest Participation
Guest participation is optional and depends on how you’d like your guests to participate or contribute to your party. A costume party requires a costume. Maybe you invite guests to wear their classiest, trashiest, or wackiest outfit ever. A potluck requires that guests share a dish or drink. Just remember as the host of a potluck-style party that you provide at least one large dish that is both tasty and filling (just in case others end up bringing things that are less tasty or less filling). Same goes for any type of guest participation: you set the bar, so make your costume (or whatever shared effort) count!
Of course, always choose your guests mindfully and with their interests in mind. Prioritize friends who you know most love to party. But don’t shy away from others who you maybe don’t consider ‘partiers.’ Anybody – including people who are quieter or more laid back – may end up having a great time on World Party Day!
Checklist of Items You Need
These are the things you need for World Party Day:
- Party decorations
- Party foods/drinks
- Ultimate party playlist
- Party games
- Party outfit
Preparation Checklist for World Party Day
1. First, confirm that people are available to attend your party on World Party Day (April 3rd):
- Since World Party Day is a fixed date, it will almost always fall on a weekday. That may limit the timeframe of your party for people who work first shift weekday jobs. But then again, this is a once-a-year event, and many people can handle one late weeknight! Not everyone can spare the time, understandably (especially when they have to wake at 4:00 am for their job), but many would agree that a little morning fatigue is worth an awesome time the night before (and there’s always coffee). Plus, your party doesn’t even have to go super late. You could start at 6:00 pm and still party for several hours without sacrificing big-time sleep.
- Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
- Six weeks out (approximately February 21st), confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability
- If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them block off April 3rd for your awesome World Party!
2. Then, proceed with the fun planning:
- Schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep (securing and/or making food/drinks, etc.)
- Create invitations with all the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party (approximately March 6th)
- Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (approximately March 13th) so they arrive in time to prepare and set up
- Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
- In your planned time slots, DIY any party supplies and decorations
- In your planned time slots, acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
- In your planned time slots, set up decorations
- In your planned time slots, prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)
3. Day of Party (in your amply planned time slot):
- Prepare any foods/drinks that are too fresh to do any earlier
- Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations (if not up already)
- Prepare music
- Get dressed in your absolute favourite party outfit (or costume if inviting guests to do the same)
- Once everything’s ready, meditate or do any preferred self-care to get in a good head space if you aren’t already. You want to be a relaxed, energized, and happy host – both for yourself and for your guests, who won’t be able to help but pick up on your contagiously good vibe!
Time to Party
While it’s ideal to follow best party practices when planning any party, all of the details concerning how you celebrate World Party Day are completely customizable. However you want to celebrate, whoever you want to celebrate it with – as long as you stick to what’s important to you and put in intentional time and effort, you can’t go wrong. Remember, World Party Day is when you party your way!