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The Ultimate Guide To Throwing An Unforgettable College Dorm Party In Your Freshman Year

Are you starting college? If there’s one thing that every student should know, it’s how to throw a party!

Of course, even though college isn’t all about partying, it’s okay to let your hair down once in a while throughout your busy college schedule and have some fun socializing with your new friends. 

The Ultimate Guide To Throwing An Unforgettable College Dorm Party In Your Freshman Year!

And the good news? There really are no rules when it comes to what type of party you might like to throw!

Maybe you want to do it the traditional way and live it up with your friends, or maybe you want to throw your own version of a classic “college dorm party” such as a sleepover party, gaming night or movie marathon. 

Whatever you have in mind to bring your dorm together, this guide will help you throw an unforgettable party during your freshman year.

We’ll be covering points covering everything from preparation tips, what to do during as well as important advice to ensure that you can all have fun safely. 

So, without further ado, just keep on reading to learn everything you need to know about throwing parties in your freshman year of college! Keep scrolling through. 

How To Throw An Unforgettable College Dorm Party: General Advice

To help simplify this guide, we’re going to be providing you with tips and tricks on how to throw a standard dorm party.

However, please feel free to customize and adjust everything that we share with you to reflect what type of party you are planning to throw for your college dorm. 

Let’s begin!

Stick To Inviting People You Know!

In order to make sure that you are able to throw your college dorm party in a safe and fun way – we highly recommend that you only stick to inviting people that you know.

The last thing that you want to do is to invite a huge group of people, only for your college dorm party to get out of control and shut down! 

This is why it’s so important to make sure that you are only inviting people that you know.

Not only will this ensure that your party is kept to an appropriate size, but it will also mean that there will be a higher chance that your party isn’t going to get out of hand at any point.

Remember, friends are much more likely to respect your space as opposed to people that you’ve only just met. 

Of course, it is also important to remember that this might not be something that is always realistically achievable.

Many friends will want to bring friends along with them to mingle and get to know their dorm – but as long as you make sure that you know the vast majority of people who are going to be attending your dorm party, you should find that things run as smoothly as they possibly can do.

Talk With Your Resident Assistant

This is another invaluable piece of advice that we can share with you.

When it comes to throwing parties in college dorms, one potential obstacle that can prevent the party from going off with any issues is the resident assistant. 

For this reason, we strongly recommend that you take the time to speak with your resident assistant and get to know them.

By making friends with your RA, you will be able to help prevent the chances of your party getting shut down, especially if you want to throw a medium to large sized party with plenty of music and games. 

If it’s possible to do so, it’s a good idea to let your resident assistant know ahead of time that you are thinking of throwing a party.

By letting them know what your plans are, your RA is much more likely going to be cool with you going ahead and throwing the party as they aren’t going to be kept in the dark.

This is especially important to note if you are thinking about throwing a party that is going to be having lots of loud music and a big group of people attending.

Make Sure To Have A Great Music Playlist!

Now, for the fun part! What’s a college dorm party without some awesome music playing? Exactly.

Before the party begins, make sure that you are taking the time to create a great music playlist for you and your friends to enjoy.

The last thing that you want to do is forget to make a playlist, only to find yourself stuck on your phone having to change the music all night! 

If you don’t think that you are going to have enough time to make your very own party playlist prior to your college dorm party, then another great tip that we have to share with you is to use a premade playlist on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.

There are so many different playlists available on these platforms that you’ll be spoilt for choice, and if you don’t happen to have any of those to use – no problem! 

Spotify offers a free version that you can use, although you will be required to listen to an advert every once in a while.

Plus, along with platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, you can also consider using YouTube, as there are plenty of free playlists available on there, too.

However, keep in mind that you will potentially have to listen to the occasional ad just like the free version of Spotify. 

If all else fails, you can always ask a friend if they wouldn’t mind playing their Spotify throughout the party – we’re sure that they’ll be more than happy to help you out! 

Now that we’ve covered these basic tips for throwing a college dorm party – let’s move on to our next section: food and drink!

How To Throw An Unforgettable College Dorm Party: Food And Drink

How To Throw An Unforgettable College Dorm Party: Food And Drink

If you’re planning on being the host of this college dorm party, then it’s to be expected that the people you have invited are going to assume that you’ll be providing food and drink.

Even if your friends are going to be bringing along a drink or some snacks, it’s still a good idea to make sure that you have some options for everyone once they arrive. 

For the most part, you should find that some chips and soda will be more than enough to keep your friends happy throughout the fun.

But, if you happen to be in the mood to create some meal options for your friends to tuck into during the party, here are some ideas to get you on the right track:

  • Pizza (takeaway or frozen pizza will be fine)
  • Chips and dips!
  • Chicken wings
  • Fries
  • Popcorn
  • Candy
  • Chocolate

As for drinks? We recommend that you offer your guests a few different options to choose from including water, juice and soft drinks.

If you are going to be having some guests attend that are over the age of 21, then you will need to make sure that you have made it clear to them that if they want to drink alcoholic beverages throughout the party, that they will need to supply their own. 

As a side note, if you are planning on having guests over the age of 21 that want to drink alcohol at your party, we recommend that you speak with your resident assistant to make sure that no rules are being broken.

Some college’s to not allow any freshman dorms to have alcohol on the premises at any point, so we recommend playing it safe and checking with your RA to find out what the rules are regarding this.

How To Throw An Unforgettable College Dorm Party: Theme Ideas

While this section isn’t a necessity, we still think that it’s a fun option to consider.

Themes are a great way to break the ice and inject a little excitement into any dorm party – so why not consider making the freshman college dorm party that you are planning to throw themed?

If you do decide to go ahead and make your college dorm party themed, it’s very important that you make sure to let everyone that you have invited aware at least one to three weeks in advance (depending on how soon you are planning on throwing your party) as this will help to ensure that everyone has enough time to properly prepare what their outfit they are going to wear will be.

If you are considering making your college dorm party themed, here are some fun ideas that you can check out for some quick, simple and fun inspiration:

Cowboy Or Girl Themed Party

This is the first option that you have available to choose from!

This is a super fun option to go for if your party is going to be mixed, and the outfits are easy and affordable to make, too.

Just have everyone wear a cowboy hat and some boots and the party will be ready to begin!

Beach Themed Party

If you’re in need of a party theme that everyone is going to be able to create an outfit for quickly, then opting to throw a beach themed party is a great option to consider!

Play some tropical music, get some yummy punch and the party will be ready to go!

70S Disco Themed Party

If you are planning on throwing your party some time in the future and your guests are going to have a few weeks to prepare, then why don’t you consider throwing a 70s disco party?

While these outfits can be a little trickier to pull together, if you make sure that you are giving everyone enough time to prepare – you should find that you are able to throw an unforgettable party that everyone will be talking about for weeks to come!

Cleaning Up After The Party

After the party is over, you are also going to need to make sure that you have taken the time to properly prepare a good cleaning up plan.

It’s almost inevitable that there will be a few stains and accidents during the party fun – so making sure that you are creating a cleanup plan prior to the party even starting will help to ensure that any and all issues can be dealt with quickly and seamlessly. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you’re going to need to do:

Clean Stains And Spills When They Happen

To help lower the chances of any long lasting damage to your dorm, you should be sure to clean up any accidents that might occur during the party as they happen.

This is especially the case for spills, as these can easily become stains!

Have A Designated Area For Dirty Dishes

Before you throw the party, you should make sure that you have a specific area for people to place their dirty dishes and cups after they are done using them.

This will help to ensure that your dorm stays organized and in order while you are all having fun and enjoying yourselves.

Ask Everyone To Clean Up After Themselves Where Possible

Last but certainly not least, the final thing that you can do to help ensure that your dorm stays clean and tidy during your party (as well as helping to reduce the amount of time you are going to need to spend cleaning up after the party is over) is to ask your guests to clean up after themselves where possible during the party.

Make sure that your trash cans are somewhere everyone can access, and also make sure that everyone knows where they should be placing their dirty dishes and cups as we have already mentioned.

Staying Safe While Partying

Last but certainly not least, even though parties are made for fun – it’s also just as important to make sure that everyone is staying safe, including yourself!

Below, here are some tips and tricks to help ensure that everyone is able to enjoy the party safely:

Don’t Party Too Much

This is the biggest piece of advice that we can share: know your limits!

If you are over the age of 21 and going to be drinking, make sure to stay hydrated with water in-between drinks and don’t drink any alcohol on any empty stomach.

You should also make sure that you are drinking within your limit so that you do not become intoxicated.

Put Your Valuables Somewhere Safe

If you are going to be throwing a party with people attending that you are not overly familiar with, it is important to make sure that you are hiding your valuables away so that they do not get stolen.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Inform Your Neighbors

Last but not least, you should make sure that you have informed your neighbors that you are planning to throw a party – as this will help to avoid the chances of getting any noise complaints while also ensuring that you are courteous to your neighbors.

This also goes for your RA!

Wrapping Up

There we have it – we’ve made it to the end of the guide.

Now that you have taken the time to read through everything that we have talked to through above, we hope that you now know everything there is to know about throwing the ultimate college dorm party during your freshman year!

By making sure to follow the  guidance we have outlined above, you will help to ensure that you and your friends are able to party safely while also having plenty of fun.

Thanks for reading, we hope that you have found our party guide helpful!

Simon Lewis

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