Rules of Engagement

The unofficial party rules as said by E. with side comments by me.

1) You need to invite 2x as many people are you want to come and half of them will drop out or not reply
2) You can't charge them (or there must be a free option) - ask them to bring something if you want, if you want nice stuff for your party, you just have to sub it yourself if the brings aren't good enough
3) You need to vet and assess the guest list - invite people in groups of friends to assure they all show up. If you have a lot of girls, then a lot of boys come.
4) You need to manage numbers - if you have a peak attendance of 20 say, then you will only have four at the beginning and maybe 8 towards the end. The beginning could be really boring, so you have to make sure those four don't leave and undermine your peak headcount
5) There needs to be food, but it shouldn't take focus of the party planning unless its a dinner party (This in IMO is country dependant - more true to England rather than somewhere like Singapore.)
6) You need phases to the evening, meet and greet, eat, dancing
7) It is must be easy to get to and get home (More so in public transport dependant cities such as London and New York)
8) You must not run out of drink
9) There must be music, mood/background to begin with, then something to dance to later.

There are four types of people when it comes to parties:
1) The friends who show up/attend regardless of the venue, who is attending or type of party/function. They attend because of YOU. Friends like these are like gold dust and should never be taken for granted.
2) Friends who require incentives ie: whether it be the type of music, venue or food.
3) Friends who come by association. They only come if "so-and-so" attends.
4) "Friends" who say they're coming with no intention of ever attending.