Conference turris::womannotes-v3

467.0. ""beach party"" by DPDSAL::BORREGO () Fri Oct 19 1990 13:47

    the following isn't something i would recommend for a house-warming, in
    fact it may not be everyones idea of fun but we had one #*(( of a time!
    
    the theme was "Beach Party", by invitation only, you had to wear shades 
    and you had to bring your own water gun.  the invitations were made by 
    cutting out pictures of men and women in swimwear from different magazines
    & catalogs, pasting these to the back of an index card and filling in all 
    the information on the front.  several people have kept their invitations 
    as souveniers from a great party or because of a fondness for the picture 
    on the back.  the invitation also made it clear to all attending that they 
    would be getting wet to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings.
    
    just getting ready for the party was fun.  the days and nights prior to
    the party were filled with activity in order to have the best water
    weaponry.  adults were consumed in the dilemna of how to transport
    water filled balloons with the least casualties.  (solution: a
    bucket/container of water!).  it seemed that everyone was stockpiling
    balloons.  then there were those who would drop hints about some water
    torture device they were working on during the wee hours of the night.
    my son purchased a battery powered machine gun which can squirt water
    up to thirty feet.  until that party i had not realized how
    sophisticated the modern 'water gun' had gotten.
    
    it turned out to be one of the *best* get togethers of the summer, with
    repeat requests.  when people talk about it, and they still do, one
    thing that always gets mentioned is that it was the first time they had
    ever had to literally fight their way into a party.  
    
    i think that what helped make it a success was the fact that it
    required active participation and imaginative preparation for those
    planning to attend.  the group of people was varied to say the least,
    however, there were no groups sitting off in a corner staring at 
    other groups of people sitting in other corners.  unless of course you
    count the groups of people running to get away from the group of people 
    chasing them.   it deserves mentioning that the women in the group were 
    just as aggressive as the men, if not more so.  put a water gun into the 
    hand of your everyday wife/mom/professional woman and she turns into 
    sigourney weaver fighting the aliens.  it was all in good fun.
    
    guidelines:
    1) have a clear set of rules regarding boundaries.  because these
       people are wet you don't want them in and out of your house.  it
       also requires a good sized yard.
    
    2) i would not recommend having small children in attendance because
       water seems to do crazy things to the adult mind.  the youngest child
       at our party was my son who is 10 and he can hold his own.  the age
       group at our party was 10 to 50+. 
    
    4) clearly outline the party details in your invitation, if this is not
       their cup of tea they won't come.  one good rule to follow is to
       invite those who are young at heart, we had very few who did not
       accept.
    
    3) everyone is also invited to help clean up afterward.
    
    as for the food and drink well....down here in west texas it could
    only be one thing b-b-q fixings and all the cold beer you can suck down.  

    
.0> adults were consumed in the dilemna of how to transport water
.0> filled balloons 
    
    further proving Tom Robbins' theory that human beings were
    invented by water in order to transport it from one place to 
    another.  =8-)
    
    Carla
    

    We used to have "beach parties" in college.  Beach Tunes were a great
    addition (Beach Boys music, Beach Baby, various other Summer sonbs).
    
    Some even went to the added trouble to construct a "lagoon" (a large
    pool filled with water) - unfortunately poor construction led to a
    tidal wave going through the party room one year!  Other parties had
    trucks bring in some sand prior to the party, and cardboard palm trees
    completed the scene!
    
    -Jody
    

A friend of mine had a similar party once. Only this one was in February
in Vermont. It was about -20 degrees but nevertheless we all showed up in
shorts and t-shirts. She put a huge picture of the sun on the wall and cranked 
the heat up to about 90, even had a sandbox in the living room. It was a real
hoot complete with Beach Boys tunes. We had so much fun that she later had
a "Cowboy/girl" party. After that she got thrown out of her apartment...sigh.

Jenna