When I got to college, I remember how excited I was to begin hosting my own pregames. I was especially excited my senior year when I moved into a house on campus. While hosting a pregame is always super fun, it does come with a certain degree of stress and expectations. After hosting my own pregames, I have learned some great tips to ensure that everyone has a good time—myself included! Here is what you need to know…
1) Make an invite list on Facebook
Making an invite list on Facebook for your pregame does not mean that you are being exclusive in any way. It just ensures that you will know how many people to expect and who will be attending. You do not want to end up pregaming with a bunch of strangers. Let your friends know that you will happily allow them to bring others along, but that they should run it by you first. After all, you are the one hosting the pregame.
2) Clean up your place beforehand
If you start the pregame with a clean house, apartment, or room, it will not be as dirty by the end of the night. Having a clean place at the start of the pregame also creates a nice environment for people to walk into. You will not be able to enjoy yourself if you are surrounded by clutter! On that note…be sure to leave a few garbage cans or bags around the area. The more garbage bags you have around, the more likely people are to throw their garbage out throughout the night.
3) There must be music!
This one might seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many times I’ve walked into a pregame and it is dead silent. Talk about awkward. First off, make sure you have speakers to play your music through so that everyone at the pregame can hear it. A simple way to make sure you have enough music for the duration of your pregame is to create a Spotify playlist. Spotify makes it simple and fun to create your own playlist! And the best part is that you can share the playlist with your friends so you can all add tracks to it. Not into creating a playlist of your own? Check out Spotify for pre-made playlists that will get your pregame going!
4) Make sure you have enough drinks
As much as we like to think our friends will come prepared with their own alcohol and their own mixers, this is just not the case most of the time. When I host a pregame, I like to make sure that I am stocked up on enough alcohol should my friends forget to bring their own. Also, I always buy a mix of juices and sodas so that everyone is satisfied. It does not hurt to invest in a stack of solo cups as well so that you can easily toss them away afterwards, making the clean-up process much easier on yourself.
5) Be the last to leave the pregame
As the pregame comes to a close and you head to the main event of the night, you will want to make sure that everybody is out of your house or apartment. It is always beneficial to take a quick glance around to make sure nothing is broken and that nothing needs your immediate attention. After you have made sure that everyone is gone, you can lock all of your doors and head out with them!
These simple steps are your ticket to a fun and stress-free pregame (well, as stress-free as hosting an event can get). With solid communication amongst your friends who are coming and a solid playlist, you can’t go wrong! Your pregame will be the perfect way for you and your friends to start the night. Party up…but remember to always be responsible!