These are dark days for hockey fans. The NHL lockout is looking like it’s going all the way to federal court (no shit), at this point meaning that the entire 2012-2013 season is all but canceled. For those of us who love the sport, this year there will be no pre and post game shit talking, no celebratory drinking after a win, and no rioting after an embarrassing loss in the Stanley Cup Finals (suck it, Vancouver). Now more than ever, hockey fans need something to be happy about. Enter Beer Hockey.

Beer Hockey is a fast paced drinking game, full of aggression, curse words, and violence (just like real hockey!). You might as well give it a try, since it’s the only kind of hockey you’ll be enjoying this winter, unless you…you know…play hockey or something.

What You Need:

• A quarter. If you already gave your last quarter to that homeless guy outside the gas station, just kindly ask him for it back. I’m sure he’ll be happy to oblige.
• Beer bottles. Or cans. Preferably full.
• A table, or table-shaped object (such as a table).
• Friends. Real ones, I mean. Not the creepy internet kind. The real-life, borrow-money-from-you-and-never-pay-you-back kind.

Basic Play:

Everyone gathers around a table, placing a single full bottle or can in front of them. If the game is played with four players, everyone takes a corner. If the game is played with more than four players, stand in a circle. Make sure everyone is about equidistant to one another, and try not to have any more than six players in one game—things tend to get a bit messy with any more.

Someone (usually the player everyone agrees is the coolest/sexiest) first spins the quarter on the table. This person is called the Spinner.

Immediately after spinning the quarter, the Spinner then calls out a player’s name. It can be anyone else on the table, and that person immediately becomes the Shooter.

Everyone except the shooter must quickly guard their beers using their pinky and index fingers (but not their knuckles), as shown below. They are the Goalies.

Immediately after the Shooter’s name has been called, they are free to smack the quarter at whosever beer they choose. If the quarter hits someone else’s beer, it’s a goal.

When a goal is scored, the Shooter collects the quarter and spins it again, and the player who the goal was scored on must drink until the quarter is done spinning. After the player is done drinking, he or she becomes the new Spinner, and a new round starts.

If the Shooter’s shot misses, or is rebounded by the fingers of the Goalie, it is still in play, as long as it remains on the table and spinning. In fact, even if it hits a beer for a goal, as long as the quarter is still spinning it remains in play. Any other player may then attempt to swat it at someone else for another goal. Because of this, it is possible to sometimes have two or more players drinking after consecutive goals in a single round. In this event, the player whose beer was hit first becomes the Spinner in the next round.

If the quarter is launched off the table, the player whose beer was aimed at becomes the new Spinner.

Advanced Rules:

Flicking: After a goal, while the quarter is spinning and the player who was scored upon is drinking, any player can attempt to flick the quarter to prolong its spin time. The player drinking must drink until the quarter stops spinning, unless they happen to finish their drink (which we’ll talk more about in a second). If a player accidentally flicks the quarter off the table in this manner, he or she must take a drink.  

Pulling the Ropes: In the event that a drinking player is about to finish their drink while the quarter is still spinning, they must make a fist pumping motion in the air. This is called “pulling the ropes.” It lets every other player know to get ready, because as soon as their drink is finished the player can slam it down on the table and attempt a redemption shot at anyone’s beer. If the drinking player does not “pull the ropes,” then his or her redemption shot is illegal and considered null and void.

Spin-Stopping: The riskiest of all ventures in Beer Hockey. During the after goal quarter spin, any player may attempt to gently stop the quarter’s spin by bringing their hand down upon it, making it stand up on edge. If this is done correctly, and the quarter stands, the player drinking must finish their drink and are allowed no redemption shot. If the player attempting to Spin-Stop fails to stop the quarter on its edge, they must finish their drink instead. 

Penalties:

Knuckling: When guarding one’s beer, a player must keep the knuckles of their index and middle finger off to the side. Only a slight touch of the tip of the knuckles to the glass is permitted. Any further encroachment of the knuckles is referred to as Knuckling, and is a penalty. Any player penalized for Knuckling must take a drink and agree to stop being a cheating jackass.

Failure to Spin: On any new round, if a Spinner fails two consecutive attempts to spin the quarter, he or she must take a drink, and relinquish his or her spinning duties to the player on the left.

Spin Out: Similarly, if a Spinner accidentally sends the quarter spinning off the table at the beginning of a round, it is declared a Spin Out. The former Spinner must then take a drink, and the player to the left of them becomes the new Spinner.

You got all that? Of course you do. But, just in case you’re one of those “visual learners” the fancy book-teachin’ lady at my college keeps referring to, here’s a video detailing the official rules.

Images courtesy of http://thebeardown.blogspot.com, reposdelight.com, http://beeroclockhockey.blogspot.com/

The post Beer Hockey: A Tribute to the NHL Lockout appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

But what if you’re too uncoordinated to ski or snowboard, like me? (Ok, I confess: I’m actually very coordinated, and am incredibly good at both skiing and snowboarding, as well as pretty much every other sport in general; I was just saying that to make you feel better about yourself.) Don’t despair, and for the love of God don’t set foot on the mountain (you’ll just end up embarrassing yourself). Instead, grab a ski and some friends, because we’re going to make a shot ski; proving once and for all that winter sports and hard alcohol are a winning combination (just ask Michael Kennedy).

Now, there’s two ways you can do this. As with everything in life, you can make your shot ski well, or you can make it fast. Which you choose is entirely up to you. I’ll judge you on your decision of course, but only a little bit.

What You Need (The Fast Way)

• A ski. The length is up to you, but the amount of shot glasses you want to mount will depend on it. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll say that 60 inches is optimal. 
• Shot glasses. This guide calls for four, but the amount is really up to you.
• A tape measure. Preferably self-retracting coiled metal kind. Those are fun to play with.
• A Sharpie. Or some other kind of permanent marker that isn’t a Sharpie, if you’re a nonconformist. 
• Some kind of regular ol’ household epoxy, if you’re a pansy. 3M Marine 5200 Adhesive Sealant if you’re a fuckin’ boss.
• Rubber bands. Finally, you actually have a use for them!
• Sandpaper. Any old kind will do. 

What You Need (The Good Way)

• A ski. Older ones are ideal, because they’re not only cheap, but also have less composite materials for you to drill through. Oh yeah, SPOILER ALERT: You’re going to be drilling through it.
• Shot glasses. See above.
• A tape measure. See above.
• A Sharpie. Or not-Sharpie. See above.
• A standard power drill. Your dad probably has one, but he probably won’t let you borrow it.
• A 1½ inch hole saw drill bit. Can be found in any hardware store/creative serial killer’s arsenal of weapons.
• Sandpaper. Any old kind will still do. 

How to Do the Damn Thing (The Fast Way):

Step 1. First things first. Bust out that tape measure, we’re going to measure out where our shot glasses are going to go. Uniformity is key here.

Now for the purposes of this article, let’s say you’ve got a 60 inch ski, and four shot glasses. If you place the first shot glass six inches from the end of the ski, that leaves you with 16 inches of space between each shot glass, as illustrated in this beautiful and utterly not to scale diagram below:

If your ski is longer than 60 inches, just fudge the numbers a little, or even add another shot glass if you want. You just need to make sure you allow at least 15 inches between shot glasses (so the people drinking from them aren’t humping each other), and a few inches on the end to give people something to hold on to.

Step 2. With your Sharpie or off-brand permanent marker, mark off the spot where you want each shot glass to go.

Step 3. Using your sandpaper, rough up the spots where you’re going to affix your shot glasses. If it helps, pretend the ski owes you money or something.

Step 4. Put a liberal dab of epoxy down on a marked off spot on the ski, and press your shot glass right up against it. I like to pretend that the ski is me, and the shot glass is that girl from my high school who had a unibrow. Ah, junior prom was a special night. Repeat for as many shot glasses as you want your shot ski to hold.

Step 5. Wrap your rubber bands over the top of the shot glasses and under the bottom of the ski to keep them pressed together in a nice little sandwich, and set the whole contraption aside for a few hours.

Step 6. Once the epoxy has dried, you’re done. Congratulations! You took the easy way out yet again. Your shot ski should hold up just fine (especially if you used that badass Marine adhesive I told you to use), but you will have to wash the entire thing by hand, and it won’t look as nice as if you’d done it The Good Way. If you really want the ultimate in form and function, keep reading.

How to Do the Damn Thing (The Good Way)

Step 1. Same as above.

Step 2. Same as above.

Step 3. Just like the Republican Party’s general attitude prior to the 2010 BP Oil Spill, now it’s time to drill, baby, drill! (That’s right. I just made a classy political joke. Deal with it.)

Attach your hole saw bit to your drill, and touch the thin drill bit protruding from the center of the circle (known as the pilot drill) to the spot you marked on your ski. Then drill right through that fucker, using this handy diagram as your guide:

WARNING: Skis are typically made out of polycarbonates and other nasty stuff, so protect your eyes when you’re drilling into them, unless you really, really want a nice new piece of plastic for a cornea.

Repeat for as many shot glasses as you want your shot ski to hold.

Step 4. Sand the inside edges of the holes, and you’re done! Since a standard shot glass fluctuates from 1¼ to 1¾ inches from bottom to top, and the holes you drilled are 1½ inches in diameter, most standard shot glasses should drop right in, and be held in place by friction. The advantage of going this route over The Fast Way is that your shot glasses are now removable, and can be easily taken out and washed. Plus it just looks so damn professional.

Step 5. There is no step five! You’re done! And I am so proud of you. For once in your miserable life, you took the time to do things right. High five! Now if only you had friends to drink out of this with…

Images courtesy of http://www.epicski.com, http://www.skinet.com, http://unofficialnetworks.com,

 http://www.garywinberg.com, http://andrewnewell.squarespace.com, http://2.bp.blogspot.com, 

http://www.clairesmallwood.com

The post Shred the Powder (And Your Liver) With a Shot Ski appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

HOLI PARTY THEME

 Derived from the Hindu “Festival of Color” also known as Holi, this party theme is best served outdoors, unless of course your landlord appreciates modern art.  Everybody loves graffiti parties, and everybody loves paint parties, it stands to reason that EVERYBODY will love a Holi Party.  Color in powder form…enough said. 

HOMELESS (DERELICT) PARTY THEME

 If there are two things that the Homeless party will not do…it is 1: make you Relax, or 2: make you Kill the Prime Rib of Micronesia. HOWEVER if you are interested in having an awesome crazy time, then it is the way to go. The Homeless party is one of the most fun parties to decorate and dress up for, and for this reason is a GREAT college party theme.  Plus, you feel like you are in the movie Zoolander, and it is certainly unusual, memorable, and easy to setup as far as college party themes go!

THE BLING BALL

 One of the many things people have in common with lesser species like birds and fish……we LOVE shiny things.  Play at this with your next party by throwing a Bling Ball.  When your guests all show up wearing faux (or perhaps not so faux) jewelry and shit is twinkling everywhere there is no way you won’t feel like a baller.  To quote Nas, “Fuck it, you gotta love it!”.

THE TOON-LAND PARTY THEME

 Everyone from our generation has watched Cartoons. That, or they are some kind of poor soul who was denied their childhood.  In any event, it is safe to say that everyone has at least heard of cartoons enough to google an iconic one to design a costume.  It is loads of fun to walk through a party and relive your Nickelodeon glory days with a room full of Arnolds, Chuckies, Rockos, and whoever elses.  Who knows, maybe you’ll even encounter a SpongeBob.

THE HAND-CUFF PARTY

 The handcuff party involves handcuffing a pair of opposite gender strangers at the beginning of the night, and forcing them to stay cuffed for the entirety of the party. They will spend the rest of the night laughing at each other’s failed pickup lines, playing opposite hand beer pong, and will likely form an unusually strong friendship or completely loathe each other by the end of the night.

THEME VS. THEME PARTIES

 Sometimes it works to just go with a generic party theme.  BUT, as long as you are going to stoop to that level, at least pit two themes against each other.  At the end of the night anybody dressed in the theme that has the majority gets a complimentary post-coitus champagne shower.  Andre though……not the good stuff.  A good host always keeps the Belle Epoque stashed in case P. Diddy shows up.

RUNNING OF THE BULLS PARTY THEME

 What people often fail to realize that a party is a living breathing organism.  Sometimes it can get up and move half-way across town, and though a rare sight, it is LIFE-CHANGING to behold.  Of the Party-Theme species, there is one more dynamic party sub-species indeed.  The Running of the Bulls Party.  This party theme often shifts to multiple locations with every cell (person) of the party moving as a cohesive unit.  Beautiful.

JETLAG PARTY THEME

The Jetlag Party is an amazing way to mix up the way you think about parties, socializing, and nightlife.  The BIGGEST problem with America is that most places, bars are not opened past 2am.  What the hell is the deal with that?  Everywhere else in the world, people realize that it is totally appropriate and awesome to party straight through to the morning.  The Jetlag party theme gives Americans the ability to party all night right into the morning, or maybe to get some extra studying done in the evening while still being able to rage for the night.  Click the link to find out more!

2012 CARRY OVER:

THE SHOTLUCK PARTY

The Shotluck Party is a wonderful eclectic mess of color, alcohol, and splendor.  That is it in a nutshell.  The idea is that, like a potluck, everyone conceptualize or find one type of mixed shot or drink, and brings the ingredients necessary to make it.  This party is an amazing source of DELICIOUS drinks, drunken debauchery, and excellent reason to break the ice and talk to ANYONE.  

SEE THE REST OF LAST YEAR’S BEST COLLEGE PARTY THEMES

The post The Best College Party Themes for 2013 appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

THE TOON-LAND PARTY THEME

 Everyone from our generation has watched Cartoons. That, or they are some kind of poor soul who was denied their childhood.  I know that personally, I calibrated my moral compass using the cartoons as my instruments.  Doug Funny taught me how to be a good person, and Tommy Pickles taught me creativity and divergent thinking.  In any event, it is safe to say that everyone has at least heard of cartoons enough to google an iconic one to design a costume.  It is loads of fun to walk through a party and relive your Nickelodeon glory days with a room full of Arnolds, Chuckies, Rockos, and whoever elses.  Who knows, maybe you’ll even encounter a SpongeBob.

IMPLEMENTATION

Alert your guests that this is a costumed party where guests are obligated to dress as a cartoon character.  It can be any cartoon character, OR if you would like to give additional complexity you could specify what type.  For example, you could limit your guests to cartoon characters from the 90s, or perhaps limit them to a network such as Nickelodeon or Disney Channel.  Ultimately, the possibilities are endless.

DRINK IDEAS

Make Nickelodeon “Slime”….Mix Orange Juice, your choice of liquor (be it rum, vodka, tequila or otherwise), and add Blue Curacao and more Orange Juice to achieve the proper classic green color.  (This concoction is also great for cauldrons during halloween).

COSTUME IDEAS

• Arnold
• Gerald
• Tommy Pickles (Super Easy)
• Chucky Finster
• Phil or Lil 
• Angelica (or Cynthia)
• Doug Funny
• Patty Mayonnaise 
• Roger Clutz
• Skeeter
• Porkchop
• Norm or Daggot from Angry Beavers
• Rocko or Heff 
• Scooby
• Shaggy
• Freddy
• Daphne
• Velma
• Catdog
• Timmy Turner
• Wanda or Cosmo
• KimPossible
• RonStoppable
• Aang, Sokka, or Kitara from Avatar
• Patrick Star
• Sandy
• Spongebob
• Squidward
• Larry the Lobster
• Mr. Crabs
• Bart Simpson
• Homer Simpson
• Marge Simpson
• Lisa Simpson
• Ralph from the Simpsons
• Peter Griffin or other Family Guy Characters
• Huey, Riley, or Grandad Freeman from The Boondocks
• Uncle Ruckus….no relation
• Gin Rummy or Ed Wuncler III
• THE CLASSICS: Micky, Minny, Donald Duck or Goofy
• SO MANY MORE

The post The Toon-Land Party Theme appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

We’ve Arrived….It’s 3am….Let’s Party

JETLAG PARTY THEME

The Jetlag Party Theme is one that few college partiers ever consider an option, and the reason for this is that in the wrong environment it can quickly elicit a noise complaint.  However, in the right environment it takes partying to a completely different place.  The idea is that timing can make all the difference in the world, and can in and of itself make a theme.  Instead of throwing your party starting at 10pm as per every college party / night out ever, throw it just before dawn.  Think 4:30am and let it carry through the sunrise.  What makes it amazing is that the atmosphere changes completely, the champions of the night who have been out since 10pm the day before will still be going hard, and those who vied to attend will have undoubtedly gotten their weekend’s homework done, taken a nap, and will be fresh and ready to tear up the ENTIRE next day.  

IMPLEMENTATION

To implement a Jetlag party, it is best to make sure in advance that as many people know about it and have committed as possible.  It is funny how often people claim to go hard, and then don’t show when the crack of dawn slides around.  Additionally, another fun way to spice the party up is to make it a “Continental Breakfast Party.” ….

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST:

Whenever I used to throw a Jetlag party it would help keep people awake, energized, and moderately less drunk to provide food to nibble on.

Some of my favorites are:

• Fresh Fruit (Oranges, Grapefruits, Melons of All kinds, Grapes etc.)
• Bacon / Prosciutto 
• Waffles (Eggos or Otherwise)
• Fried Chicken (Chicken & Waffles…DUH!?)
• Cereal 
• Toast (Butter, Jam, Lemon Curd…any kind of bread accoutrement)

MORNING CORDIALS (DRINKS):

• Mimosas
• Bloody Marys
• Malibu & Pineapple
• Screw Drivers
• Tequila Sunrises
• Morning Glory Fizz

DECORATIONS

There is no real need to do any decoration for a Jetlag Party, but a fun way to spice things up and add to the idea of travel, jetlag, and airplanes is to supply ample amounts of nip sized liquors.  Little mini-bottles of vodka, scotch and whatever else floating around makes it a LOT more fun.

The post The Jetlag Party Theme appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

If there are two things that the Homeless party will not do…it is 1: make you Relax, or 2:  make you Kill the Prime Rib of Micronesia.  HOWEVER if you are interested in having an awesome crazy time, then it is the way to go.  The Homeless party is one of the most fun parties to decorate and dress up for, and for this reason is a GREAT college party theme.

IMPLEMENTATION

Once upon a time, there was a movie called The Night at The Roxbury, now…the long hilarious story in short hand: the Butabi brothers had a dream of a nightclub that was the club on the outside and looked like the street on the inside.  YOU MUST MAKE THIS HAPPEN.  Design your house to look like a street.  Perhaps acquire some street signs (legally), stop lights, paint your floor with a double yellow line in clear highlighter paint that only shows up in black light.  There are millions of decoration ideas.  

Next, you must invite and inform your guests that they are coming to a homeless party and that they must dress like homeless people.  Preferable sexy homeless people (trust me, it’s possible…where there’s a will there’s a way).  Tell them to “Think Derelict from Zoolander.”  In fact….just tell them to go ahead and watch that for inspiration.  

Finally you must supply an abundance of the right drinks, and right drink accouterments.

DECORATIONS

Aside from the aforementioned signs, streetlamps, and double yellow lines…also try:

• Boxes…and big ones….LOTS AND LOTS OF THEM
• Street Lamps
• Neon Lights (like you might see in the window of the store across from the bench you like to sleep on)
• Benches
• Foliage (think shrubs and trees)
• Car Parts?
• Big black plastic trash-bags stuffed with crumbled newspaper  (You know? to put next to the boxes!)
• Street Construction type stuff….like traffic cones (again…also acquire legally)

COSTUMES

• Ratty T-Shirts
• Strange beat-up hats or sweaters
• Trench Coats
• gloves with the fingers cut
• Obscure stylistic elements:
  • suspenders
  • top hats
  • feather boas
• Clothes that are too lose or too tight
• Clearly outdated items…i.e T-shirts with slogans from the 80s

DRINKS

The Drinks themselves don’t matter…..really you can have anything as long as you supply 100s of Brown Paper Bags in which you can put your drink.  GOTTA BROWN BAG at a homeless party.

• Malt Liquor works best
• Smaller bottles such as 350ML flask type bottles add to the party
• Beer
• Wine
• Liquor

The post The Homeless Party Theme appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

Most often seen sitting cross-legged outside on the quad or in the corner of the living room at your friend Stevie’s house party, the North American Guitar Douche (barchordicus repeaticus) is a common specimen on almost any college campus. Known primarily for his classic mating call (a rambling three-chord rendition of Wonderwall by Oasis), the North American Guitar Douche spends most of his time on the hunt for attractive young women too naive to recognize him for what truly he is: a douche.

Though all Guitar Douches are essentially the same, there are three unique subsets within the species. For example, the Brooding Artist Guitar Douche typically employs a sulking, melodramatic demeanor in order to convince women that his incredibly simple songs are the product of a deep, burning soul and not the result of two hours spent looking up tabs on the internet. Conversely, the Frat Bro Guitar Douche might don a backwards trucker cap and a pair of $200 wayfarers in an attempt to paint himself as a fun, carefree ladies man who can charm anyone over a round of light beer.  Finally, the Hippy Guitar Douche (typically seen in a pair of Birkenstocks with a badly rolled joint hanging from his lip) is known for his faux-political activism and holier-than-thou attitude, taking up flavor-of-the-month causes to fool women into thinking he is a fearless champion of social issues and not just some jackass who browses Reddit.

An attention-seeking creature by nature, the Guitar Douche will often take douchey photographs of himself striking douchey poses, because as any good Guitar Douche knows: it’s not about playing the guitar, it’s about being seen playing (or at least holding) the guitar.

The following photo compilation is a tribute to Guitar Douches everywhere. Thanks for serenading us with your awkward white boy remixes of popular hip hop songs. Thanks for keeping Chinese sweatshops afloat by buying their shitty $60 acoustic guitars. But most of all, thanks for making us all feel a little bit better about ourselves by comparison.

Obviously, the king of all guitar douches must be first.

I know I already posted him above, but goddamn it just look at this smarmy bastard…and know that you’ll probably never in your life have an opportunity to punch him in his smug little face.

I can’t decide whether this guy is a complete douche or the coolest motherfucker to ever walk the earth. I’ll let you be the judge.

Photos courtesy of missingmiami.com, favim.com, bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com, tumblr.com, flickr.com, photobucket.com, blessedarethecheesemakers.wordpress.com/, loupiote.com, www3.images.coolspotters.com, news4mass.wordpress.com, thehollywoodgossip.com, deviantart.com, thetruthaboutguns.com

The post Stairway to (Half-Assed) Heaven: A Tribute to the Guitar Douche appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

Nickelodeon in the ’90s

Everybody remembers the awesomeness that was Nickelodeon when cartoons were cooler than live-action sitcoms and the Internet wasn’t the centerpiece of every plot. This college party is sure to be a big hit because who doesn’t love drunkenly reliving their finest childhood memories? And there’s got to be a way to turn Figure It Out or Double Dare into a drinking game.

Drink Ideas: Mix green Kool-aid with pretty much anything and call it “Slime.”

Easy Costume Ideas: Tommy Pickles? Blue t-shirt and tighty-whities. Reggie Rocket? Pink t-shirt and camo pants. Spongebob? Uh…poke a lot of holes into your body with a safety pin?

Reality TV Party

I don’t care what your roommate’s friend’s sister says: everyone in college watches reality TV. Anyone who says they don’t is lying, much like anyone who says they’ve never peed in the shower is lying; at the very least, reality shows are great for the entertainment factor, because what’s more amusing than watching a bunch of idiots make fools of themselves on national television? And on that note, what’s more amusing that watching your friends dressed up as these ridiculous characters, posing for pictures that will be forever immortalized on Facebook? Easy Costume Ideas: Snooki, Dog the Bounty Hunter, anyone from the cast of A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila

Game Ideas: Turn your drinking games into a competition. Anytime someone loses, you have to say, “I’m sorry, but you have been eliminated. Please pack your Solo cups and get the fuck out of my house.”

Generic Idea #1 Vs. Generic Idea #2

 Sometimes, the only thing you can do is go with one of the aforementioned generic party ideas, but instead of making it a simple, “Hey everybody, let’s dress like a farmer by wearing plaid and cowboy boots” type of gathering, you can spice things up a bit by throwing in…wait for it…two themes at once. There’s nothing healthier than a little competition, particularly between drunk people wearing culturally insensitive get-up.

Examples: Pirates vs. Cowboys, Rednecks vs. Hipsters, Gangsters vs. Quakers

Game ideas: Make the entire night competition-style between people pitted in different costumes and hope that no fights break out between the Rivers Cuomo look-alike and the dude dressed up as a pregnant teen.

Anything Involving Puns

Everybody loves a good linguistic joke. Actually, that’s a lie. Most people don’t enjoy puns anywhere near as much as I do. However, many people can appreciate a really great pun when they hear it, and sometimes, the best party themes can come from taking two, completely unrelated ideas that are made similar only because they rhyme or something like that.

Examples: The Daily Show made a great one earlier this year about the upcoming election with, “Here I am, Barack you like a Herman Cain” (if you’re not familiar with that Scorpions song, please press the ‘back’ arrow on your browser). The question is, in this party theme, do you dress up like the president? Or a very patriotic ’80s rock star with a legitimate mullet?

Celebration of All Things Terrible

Similar to the reality TV party, sometimes, your party just needs to celebrate everything that’s wrong with American culture. Whether you choose an ironic Twilight-themed party where every single attendee has to swoon a lot and wear lots of body glitter or a theme based around the most recent ignorant comment from one of the Republican presidential nominees, sometimes, the only thing you can do when you’ve lost faith in humanity is to drink heavily.

Examples: The commercial success of Nicholas Cage. That is all.

An Intervention

If you’ve exhausted all of these themes, you probably throw too many parties and should probably quit the drink for a while. Seriously. Don’t be surprised if at your next party, your friends pull out hand-written notes of desperation out of their pockets instead of ping-pong balls. You have been warned.

The post Unique College Party Theme Ideas That Haven’t Been Overdone appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

INTRO TO HOLI FESTIVAL

In India, the Holi Festival is celebrated at the end of Winter or beginning of Spring in order to usher in the new season.  The colors in Holi Powder are meant to be appreciated in a way similar to one appreciating the return of color and life that occurs in Spring.  Mythologically, Holi varies by region, but themes that are somewhat constant are love and passion, and common motifs are fire, rebirth, color, and vitality.  Seems appropriate for College, right?

IMPLEMENTATION

To best celebrate Holi, there are a few parameters.  One, the party should be outdoors, two it should be the start of Spring (for religious sensitivity sake),  and three guests should wear clothes they aren’t worried about dying, usually old white t-shirts work well.

Clothing

• cheap white clothes
• bandana or cloth to cover mouth (so you don’t breathe in too much color powder)

Color Powder

Purchase Holi Powder from a local World Market or Online.

People can then take handfuls of this powder and throw it.  

You can also use food dyes and scented oils to color and fragrance water, and encourage people to bring water guns

Fire

Another important element of Holi is fire.  For this reason and can be a good way to give people a place to sit down and relax by provinding seating around a fire pit/chiminea/bowl.

DRINKS

The best drinks for Holi are those that can be consumer rapidly preceding the introduction of colored powder to your beverage, or that are protected.

These include:

• Shots
• Closeable Coffee Mugs
• Camel Baks
• & Sippy Cups (of course)

MUSIC

• Panjabi MC - Mundian Tu Bach Ke
• Panjabi MC – Jogi
• Dr. Zeus

Let me say that I in no way mean to discount the significance or importance of what is a religious holiday for Hindus, by using their traditions for the entertainment of the college community.  Instead, please think of this theme idea as an homage to the mythology, significance and celebration of Holi as it pertains to college and parties.  It is pushes cultural awareness!  Both Holi and college parties are festivals that deal with love, passion, and are celebrated in a way that reduces the significance of social status and norms in favor of joyful elation instead.

The post Holi Festival Party Theme appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.

To quote the ever popular Trick Daddy:

Tuck tuck that ice in, you ain’t, you ain’t iced out. Tuck tuck that ice in, I shine like a lighthouse.

 I value this quote because Daddy’s words cut straight to two simple truths.

1. People love anything shiny that they can wear on their bodies….especially those that sparkle, glint, shimmer, twinkle, or of course bling.  
2. We love to be competitive in our conspicuous consumption and display of our shiny, twinkly, glinty, sparkly, and blingy items.

Pair these truths with the fact that party goers love novelty and free things and you have yourself a recipe for one EXCELLENT party theme.  Thus, the Bling Ball is born.

IMPLEMENTATION

The purpose of the Bling Ball is to provide enough fake jewelry for everyone to get “Iced Out.”  In order to do this, you actually need surprisingly less bank roll than you might assume.  Cheap bulk lots of costume jewelry and fake crystal jewelry can be bought online for less than a pretty penny on most occasions.  BUT nevertheless, the theme itself can rack up some expense with bigger parties, so make sure you have the budget, or possibly consider going BYOB.

So…to start:

Step 1: Buy the bling.  Try completing searches on sites like eBay such as “Wholesale Lot Costume Jewelry,” “Wholesale Crystal Rings,” “Wholesale crystal watches,” “Wholesale crystal bling.”  The queries are infinite especially where you can interchange crystal with rhinestones and other phrases.  

You Can also Try this eBay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/so-high-Jewelry-2011

OR YOU CAN BUY THESE……BLING….CANDY…..WHAT’S NOT TOO LIKE.

Step 2: Lay out the bling all around your house almost like it is a jewelry store.

Step 3: Inform all of your guests that you are throwing a “Bling Ball.”  If you like, you can come up with a dress-code, otherwise just let your guests know that they should don as much gaudy and overstated jewelry as possible.  Make sure to also let them know that you will have some on hand in case they are lacking.

Step 4:  Ascend to Bling Status…then ball.

 BLING-MOSPHERE TWEAKS

For this type of party, you definitely need a bit more light.  Without the light, your ice won’t shine….and that we cannot have.  Keep the light present, but still a bit dimmed, and try accenting with other color lights like blue, or maybe black light.  Another good way to accent the theme is to make it a Color Party where everyone must wear white.  For some reason this really brings out the sparkle.  Plus it just makes everyone look so fresh and so clean.

THEME PAIRS

• Color Parties (Especially White, and Black)
• Glitter Parties
• Anything But Cups Party (Sometimes people bring chalices)
• Hip Hop Gs and Rock n Roll Groupies

DRINKS

There are a few different types of drinks that pair well with the Bling Ball, and they all share something in common.  They are carbonated.  Sparkling drinks for sparkling ballers.  Champagne, Gin and Tonic, Aurora, and many many others are always a good option.  

OR, if you have the bank roll you can buy alcohols that come in crystla and rhinestone encrusted bottles…See our Post on World’s Most Expensive Alcohols.

GALLERY 

All images in this gallery are affordable on eBay (except the alcohols).  Click the image to see the title with price info.

AGAIN…..BUY RING POPS

The post The Bling Ball appeared first on The Campus Companion Party Lab.