I love parties. I love going to parties and I like hosting parties. I am a party person. Since we moved to Colorado, I have been fortunate enough to team up with some amazing friends to host some parties. I thought I would share what I have learned about co-hosting parties because I have come to the conclusion that my days of throwing parties on my own are over.

I used to think that I was good at hosting parties and until recently, I never needed help in executing solidly successful ones. There’s a saying, “Many hands make light work.” I didn’t really believe in the saying until I co-hosted a brunch for the Bronco wives in October. There were four of us who put together the details of the party. My task for the party was to secure the food. This happens to be one of my strengths. Luckily for me, I have a great caterer so my part was not very hard. Another strength of mine is putting together goody bags. I wanted to take care of the swag that we were sending home with each Bronco’s significant other. However, since at the time, I didn’t know who our sponsors were, I had to leave the thoughtful pinches in the hands of the Vice President of Community Development to handle because I could not risk messing up our relationships and jeopardizing our partnership agreements. To say that the goody bags were over the top is an understatement (see photos below). One of the remarkable moments of this event is when the four party hosts were sitting around waiting for the guests to arrive. I remember thinking that I’ve never had time to sit still prior to hosting a party - EVER. I usually have either wet hair because there was no time to blow dry or I’m running around setting up the party as guests are walking in. I’m always late - even to my own parties hosted in my own house. To have had the time to talk with the other hosts and to be calm before the arrival of guests, I finally appreciated the saying, “Many hands make light work.”

The concept of many hands make light work was affirmed when I co-hosted our neighborhood Cinco de Mayo party this year. In the past, I have never needed help with more than just a few things from our neighbors back in MPLS for our neighborhood taco truck party on Cinco de Mayo. This year, now that we live in Denver, there were a lot of mini details that I could not handle on my own so I reached out for help. A few neighbors and I started the ball rolling for this party on 2/23/22. When we divided up the tasks, I was very transparent with them: collecting RSVPs, collecting petition signatures and collecting the the block party insurance money was not something I could do. Making margaritas is also not one of my strengths. Lastly, setting up the party wasn’t feasible either. Here’s what I am good at: 1. securing the taco truck 2. distributing cake and 3. cleaning up. This Cinco de Mayo/block party was a huge success because of the help of my neighbors. All of the details that went into the party were too much for only one of us to handle but joining forces worked well for us. I loved the taste-testings that one neighbor insisted on having for margaritas and guacamole; we didn’t hesitate to “take one for the team.” If all of our neighbors enjoyed it enough, we hope to make this an annual event.

When parties are fun and they become a tradition or an annual event, it’s great to know what to expect when we show up. Somehow back in November 2021, two other freshman parents and I were roped into co-hosting a Tacos and Trivia Night as a way of supporting a biennial school fundraiser. Lucky for me, the two women that I am sharing the responsibilities with are awesome. For this event, Cindy’s strengths have been organization, ability to see the big picture and communication. Karen’s skills have been keeping track of RSVPs, handling the correspondence with the guests and helping with prizes. And my part? The food, alcohol and prizes. All the tasks that bring me joy. The event will occur this Friday at the school and we have had plenty of meetings about it. One lunch meeting was with the teachers who will run the trivia portion of the event, other meetings have been just the three of us having drinks once a month since January and in May, we have met every Tuesday morning to get details tied up and questions asked and answered. That is a lot of dedicated meeting time for this one event but my confidence level is pretty high because of these meetings.

In a nutshell, throwing parties is very fun but I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t host important parties alone like I used to. I can handle the work that goes into the event but having co-hosts usually ensures a better experience and has a greater chance for success for all who attend. Here’s what I learned so far:

1. I am transparent by only taking on the tasks that I’m good at because they bring me joy.

2. I know my strengths and weaknesses and I own them. I won’t sign up to set up the party because I am late to everything. Instead, I will almost always sign up to clean up.

3. “Winging it” doesn’t work well when it comes to events that cost $75 a ticket to attend.

4. I can’t worry about one person doing more than their fair share because if I’m truly co-hosting the party, my contributions will end up being just as much as the person who does a lot of the upfront work. Co-hosting is like a partnership, the responsibilities almost always evens out.

5. Connecting people is a motivating factor for having a party. Co-hosts usually grow closer because of the experience of the event that they are hosting. In other words, the planning, the meetings, the groundwork brings people together just as much as the party itself.

6. I finally put my pride aside and I will allow others to help me because ultimately having fun is the goal of a party. I let go of the power to control the whole event and I’ve stopped wanting the credit for hosting something on my own. My ego has left the building.

7. I’m an extrovert so parties give me energy. I happen to know some introverts that feel their energy draining when they attend parties. Thoughtfulness is having options for all types of party-goers. This is why, for me, co-hosting is my newest favorite method of having a party. More perspective can always help.

Party people love parties. I get giddy seeing the decorations and the set ups. I get inspired by other’s creativity. And I also get a rush from throwing parties as well. I like the planning process and the vendor collaborations. I embrace the learning process of what works and what doesn’t. It has taken me awhile to feel comfortable with this but when I share the responsibilities of putting together an event or party, I am better able to uphold the goal of connecting people. Many hands make light work.

Pinches,

Barb