How to Throw a Successful Party in Your Small Apartment

So you’ve just moved into your new apartment and want to celebrate with all your friends. You’ve bought a blackboard, colored chalk, and balloons—come party day, everyone’s going to know which door is yours!

The only issue is that, as you look around, you realize your space is too small to fit everybody and a buffet table. Right? Well, not necessarily.

You can throw an amazing party even in your small space. All you have to do is roll up your sleeves and get yourself in a positive frame of mind. Your guests will love your cozy space and will appreciate your creativity in establishing a multi-purpose theme throughout.

Here’s how!

Ease up on the “a place for everything and everything in its place” discipline which you may have adopted to keep things from piling up in your tiny apartment. For one afternoon or evening, relax! (But in an efficient manner). How? Throw pillows on the floor—the big, comfy kind. Feel free to use the removable ones from your sofa and let their foam interiors and the like serve as mini futons.

Speaking of multipurpose, forget the ice chest. Scour your kitchen sink clean, load it with ice cubes, and place a few carafes or bottles of your favorite drinks in there.

Have friends who ride bikes everywhere? Consider buying or renting a bike parking rack to place outside your door. Amazon has a lightweight one for around $70, with six parking spots. Explain to those guests that they don’t have to hunt outside for a place to park. They can just hop on the elevator, or pick up their two-wheel flyer and haul it up a few flights to the spot where it’ll be safe and sound until they’re ready to leave.

Are you lacking a dining room table? No problem! Believe it or not, your friends will love the casual energy of using a coffee table to eat around. Throw a vibrantly colored piece of fabric over it and place a few pillows around the perimeter.

Have you ever gone to a party where you lost track of your glass or plate? You got to talking, you put down what you were carrying and when it was time to move on you looked down to see that every glass or plate looked just like yours! Prepare for that inevitability by attaching little flags to stirrers and writing your guests’ names on them. Use a skinny stick-on label for the edges of plates.

All set? Start answering the doorbell and greeting your guests. Remember to have fun!