The Pros and Cons of Having Your 21st At Home
Pro: The shots won't get cut off at 1am. Con: You have to clean up the next day when you're hungover AF.
One of the toughest decisions you have to make when organising your 21st is choosing where to hold it.
There are typically two options for 21st party locations: hosting it at home or hiring out a venue for the night. To ease this decision, we’ve compiled a list of the pros and cons of hosting at home.
Pros
It’s Cheaper
Venues can charge more than $65 per person just for a drink package alone. Once you add on the food, the room hire, and any sneaky additional charges, you can get stuck with a pretty hefty price tag.
There are a heap of nifty ways you can save money by having your 21st at home, just scroll through the internet for some inspiration.
You Have Complete Control Of What You Want
You don’t have to stick to a venue’s strict food and drink menu when you host your 21st at home. Not only did my 21st have beer and wine, but also an alcoholic slushee machine (it was awesome).
There are also no rules about what decorations you can use, whether you can play your own music, or if you can serve shots after midnight.
You Can Invite Whoever You Want
Venues often have a capacity of how many people they can fit. Having the party at home means no limit to how many people you invite to boogie the night away with you.
You also don’t have to worry about culling people and hurting their feelings when you have a theoretically unlimited guest list.
People Can Stay The Night Afterwards
A great bonus to having your party at your place is that you can invite people to spend the night.
Not only that, but you can put on a big breakfast for everyone still at yours the morning after. Nothing cures a b-day hangover like some greasy bacon!
Cons
You Have To Clean Up The Mess
Parties can be very, very messy. Having your party at home means you could get stuck running around all night cleaning up after everyone.
It’s also not fun being hungover the day after your awesome party, and then having to clean everything up.
You Have To Make The Food Yourself
Organising food at a venue just involves reading through a menu and picking the dishes you want. So simple!
You not only have to decide what food you want when having your party at home, but you have to buy the ingredients, make it, and then figure out how to plate it.
You Might Need To Hire Stuff
You don’t realise how much stuff you need to host a party until you decide to hold it at home. It’s unlikely you’ll have 40 extra chairs, a marquee and five Eskies lying around.
You can ask your friends and family if they have things you could borrow but you’ll most likely end up hiring it, which can be a bit pricey.
People Might Not Be Able To Make It
Not only did I invite my school friends from back home to my 21st, but also all the uni friends I’ve made that come from all over the state. Because of this, a few people I invited couldn’t make it because it was just too hard for them to get there.
Depending on where you live, it might be a bit far for some of your friends to trek all the way out to your place for the party.
(Lead image: 21 and Over/Relativity Media)