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 Kevin: I’m going to switch this around and say the most common mistake people make as guests is to come empty-handed. Bring a gift, a bottle of something (don’t bring cheap stuff), a bouquet of flowers, or a thoughtful card. If someone is going to go out of their way to show you a good time, you should have the forethought to say thank you.

 Kevin: Think of a party as a movie. There are moments of back story, build up, suspense, climax, drama, laughter, sadness, tension and release. Write all of those into the script of the party and think of ways to capture it with how you pace the music, dancing, food, drinks, activities and movement. This also means that you’ll have to be the director. Tell people what to do and how to do it. Trust me, people like to be told what to do when it’s in their best interest.

 Kevin: Bring familiar surprises. It doesn’t matter if they’re big surprises or little ones. Pull out a bottle of rare wine that you and your friend discovered on that trip years ago. Play a slideshow of pics you gathered from your dad’s relatives and friends of his entire life for his 80th birthday with Sinatra singing ‘My Way’ in the background.

 Alexandria: You want people to leave your event remembering how it made them feel—and a huge part of that is music and lighting. You could have the very best food, the very best service, but if it’s too bright or the music isn’t vibing, then it wasn’t a good event.

 Elexia: Be very intentional and strategic about your guest list. Ultimately, people attend events and parties to socialize. You have to know your audience: which groups of people have potential to synergize and get along well. Your event can become the reference point for many new and meaningful connections if you invite the right mix of people.

 Elexia: There have definitely been oversights. I’ve hosted book signings that have been so popular, people have lined up outside our shop the night before and camped out. The first year we did this, we did not anticipate a few things: that people would need restrooms, and there would be conflict about order of arrival (there were prizes). This created more stress than was necessary. The next time around, we rented a porta potty, hired security, and were very clear with people about what we would and wouldn’t facilitate.

 Miriam: My biggest mistakes have been not considering high winds or weather. In the first year, I had so many issues with our umbrellas flying out and falling down, so now we have sand bags to hold the umbrellas and know our locations better, so we can be prepared. I was also setting up in the middle of the day when it was super hot, and it was uncomfortable for everyone. Now we only offer picnics at certain times of day, and this year everything has run more smoothly.

 The winter season is a magical time of year for millions of people worldwide, and many of those people choose to celebrate it by throwing a party. However, holiday parties tend to differ a bit from other parties and doing it wrong can result in a very uncomfortable event.

 If you're wondering how to prepare your house for a holiday party, the first step is to make sure it's safe. Check to see if all of the smoke detectors are working, and make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector.

 Roughly 1 out of every 20 Americans are vegetarians, and a large number of others are vegan. That means there's a pretty good chance that at least one of your guests won't eat meat. Make sure to set out vegetarian or vegan options so that they can join in on the fun.

 This step in the party planning guide is easy because holiday parties don't often have a lot of meat dishes. You could probably get by with cookies and eggnog. Also, when buying eggnog, make sure you get at least some non-alcoholic options.

 The holiday season is a hectic time, so planning a holiday party can be difficult. One of the best holiday party planning tips we can offer is to plan the party when people aren't likely to be busy.

 This is easy for an office party, where the boss, to a large extent, decides when everyone is busy. In other settings, you'll need to plan around work. Saturdays are a very popular day for house parties. It occurs after people have had time to cool off from work, but it is early enough in the weekend that people will still have an opportunity to relax at home.

 Holiday parties offer a chance to get away from the hustle and stress of the season. Unfortunately, an uncomfortable or unsafe party won't do anybody much good. That's why it's important to plan your party ahead of time.

 CHEERS TO THAT If you’re doing it right, hosting a dinner party should not just look easy; it should also be easy, as well as delicious, engaging, affirming and fun for everyone (as in this casual gathering thrown together by our photo team). We called on two dinner-party partisans to lay out the ground rules for gathering as we begin to emerge from the isolation of lockdown.

 CHEERS TO THAT If you’re doing it right, hosting a dinner party should not just look easy; it should also be easy, as well as delicious, engaging, affirming and fun for everyone (as in this casual gathering thrown together by our photo team). We called on two dinner-party partisans to lay out the ground rules for gathering as we begin to emerge from the isolation of lockdown. Sidney Bensimon for The Wall Street Journal

 As we inch back toward social life, we all need a refresher on how to gather graciously. Two experts update their rules for making guests feel comfortable, safe, sated and like the very best versions of themselves. Plus: a recipe for effortless entertaining, Niçoise style.

 Unlike brunchers at a restaurant, we noted, dinner party hosts selflessly welcome friends and strangers into their homes, provide them with free food and in return ask only that no one spill wine on the Pomeranian. A dinner party, we said, is a safe space for the freewheeling exchange of ideas, where differences can be loudly debated and impromptu dancing is welcomed.

 And a dinner party is, we said, “recess for adults”—a blessed break from the pressures, consumerism and information-blitz of the outside world. We hoped to convince more people to host dinner parties. Without them, we warned, society would surely crumble, like the crust on a reheated brunch quiche.

Strippers

 Well, here we all are, after an enforced yearlong dinner party drought, and…we told you so. Turns out, when you spend 13 solid months bingeing true-crime shows and fake-smiling through virtual meetings instead of actually getting together? It’s enough to leave even the most urbane and extroverted of social animals a little feral.

 Just when you thought you had put your event planning days behind you after having your wedding dress cleaned and preserved, you discover the daunting world of children’s birthday parties. Have kids’ parties always been such a thing? There’s so much pressure revolving around your child’s special day, from location to party favors to whether or not you really need to invite the entire class, that it can actually keep a parent up at night (and for some of us that insomnia carries on for weeks).

 What happened to the days when you could string up some balloons, bake a homemade birthday cake and call it a day? Experts and parents dish out their best advice for making your child’s birthday as stress-free and sensational as possible.

 You’ve probably heard the rule that you should invite as many kids to the party as there are candles on the cake. Ten friends for a 10-year-old; four friends for a 4-year-old. But not everyone follows this decree.

 Pro Tip: “Four kids! That’s not a celebration, that’s dinner with your family!” says Sharron Krull, party planner and author of That Was the Best Party Ever! How to Give Parties Your Kids Will Never Forget. Krull insists there are no hard-and-fast rules. Party budget, space constraints and your child’s wishes all help determine the size of the guest list.

 Parent Prowess: Charlotte Pierce’s daughter had a fairy-themed indoor party for her sixth birthday. Pierce invited 18 kids to create fairy houses out of moss, bark, twigs and dried flowers. But the project and the invite list proved to be too much.

 “Some of the kids were really high-energy and just wanted to run around. It was a huge mess,” Pierce recalls. “The twigs collapsed, so I had to use a glue gun, and there was lots of waiting around. The houses were sweet, but I was a wreck and it was frustrating for the kids. Eighteen was way too many kids for such an involved project. Never again.”

 “We came up with the idea of splitting the guests into three groups that traveled through the house to various stations for games and activities,” Murray says. “It took a lot of scheduling, but it worked really well. Her older brother manned the craft station, my husband ran the games station, and we were able to comfortably host the entire group.”

 Parent Prowess: Parents have mixed feelings about invitation alternatives. “My son once missed a birthday party because the invitation was a message left on our phone machine by the birthday child,” says Emily Twadell, a mother of three.

 “I like sending e-invites,” says mom Denise Pons Leone of internet services that allow you to custom-create party invitations with reply options. “You can see who has opened them, people can leave comments – it’s fast and they are cute!”

 Adam, age 12, likes a more personal approach: “A couple of years ago, one of my friends had a pirate party and his dad dressed up as Captain Hook and delivered the invitations, which were treasure maps in a bottle. It was cool and made me think that the party was going to be really fun.”

 Pro Tip: There’s no shortage of books and websites on party theme ideas. Head to the bookstore or library for ideas from the likes of veteran party planning authors such as Krull, Penny Warner and Vicki Lansky. Search BostonParentsPaper.com for party themes, games to play and planning ideas.

 “For my son’s second birthday, I planned a circus party,” says mom Karen Seligman. “Our extended family was coming with older cousins, so I rented a tent for the back yard and a cotton-candy machine. I hired face painters and a clown to do magic tricks. My son refused to have his face painted and then took one look at the clown and had a total meltdown. What was I thinking? I should have just had a few friends over for cupcakes and an hour in the sandbox.”

 Pons Leone opted for a much more basic theme for her own 2-year-old: “The party theme was ‘Yellow.’ Everyone dressed in yellow. The cake was yellow. We drew with yellow chalk on black paper and painted with yellow and read stories with the color yellow. It was a big hit and very easy to do.”

 “It ate up a bunch of time to walk to the station, talk with the firemen and ring the bell in the truck,” she says. “Then we went back to the house for games and a fire truck cake decorated with licorice hoses and pretzel ladders. The biggest hit was putting out votive candles with squirt guns.”

 According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of meeting, convention, and event planners is expected to grow by 7% from 2023 to 2033, outpacing many other industries. This statistic highlights the increasing demand for talented professionals in event planning. If you've ever dreamed of turning your passion for organization and creativity into a fulfilling career, now is the perfect time to learn how to become a party planner.