Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 21, 1992 TAG: 9201210329
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON NEWSFUN WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PLANNING A PERFECT PARTY
EVERYBODY loves a party, especially when there is pizza and presents.But the best party of all seems to be the slumber party where pizza, presents and a late night with friends are the main ingredients.
From what you told us in Mini-Forum's party question, pizza is your favorite food, presents are the best to get and overnight parties keep you with friends longer.
Wirtz's Simon Rutrough says the slumber party is his favorite because his friends make a fort with their sleeping bags, stay up all night and sleep the next day.
Lakecia Paige of Roanoke likes slumber parties for a different reason: She likes to put dip between her friends' toes when they go to sleep.
And an illegible name from Lexington says he, or she, likes to go to slumber parties "to wake up their family members at ungodly times at night." Beware: This person also likes to put shaving cream on the head and face of the first person to fall asleep.
Not a nice thing to do, but the slumber party does leave itself open to the pranks of non-dozing party-goers.
If pranks, pillow-fighting and late-night ghost stories aren't your speed, and staying up all night is out of the question, the pizza party is another route for fun.
If David Yost of West Salem could give any party, he would throw the pizza party. Why? "Because you can scarf pizza!"
Blacksburg's James Bostic once gave a pizza party because all of his friends like pizza, and he loves it, too.
Many of you said you liked going to skating parties where, as one reader put it, you don't even have to lift a foot to move.
Blacksburg's Jaylene Reedy would go to a skating party because she likes to skate. "I like to hear the music, too." She thinks the songs played at the rinks are cool.
Some other party ideas you had were pool parties, Halloween parties (which, party books tell us, are fun to have even it it's not Halloween), bowling parties and dance parties.
One of the most unusual, though, is the hunting party. Eric Higgins of Lexington has been to one, where everyone gathers before hunting season to tell hunting stories and eat deer meat. "Some day, if I get a cabin, I am going to have one too."
No matter what kind of party you want to have, here are some guidelines for making it fun:
Share your party ideas with your parents. Consider a theme, like a backwards or a ghost party. Even the simplest pizza party is bound to be a hit with your friends. There are many books that can help you plan an inexpensive party, such as "The Penny Whistle Party Planner" (Weidenfeld and Nicolson publishers).
Send colorful invitations to your guests. It's a good idea not to invite too many people or your party may end up more like a zoo.
Make decorations for your party, whether it's at a restaurant, skating rink or your house.
Decide on the menu. What kinds of food do you and your friends like to eat best? Include some good-for-you foods, too.
Plan some activities for when the going turns boring. Even watching movies or playing video games are fun, though swinging on grape vines, applying makeup or making up stories to tell is more creative.
Take lots of pictures, so you can remember the fun times later and share them with your friends.