Here's Our DIY Guide To The Best House Party Ever

The right lighting will make your party and meh ones will break it. So choose your look and ambience carefully. Use fairy lights {or tuni bulbs as we like to call them} in abundance if you want to cosy it up. You can also fill glass jars of any type {we recommend mason jars, green-tinted wine bottles and round fish bowls from aquariums} with fairy lights and put them up around your space.

And if you want to get even more fancy {and a tad 70s-esque}, create artificial glow clouds — you either stuff the fairy light-filled glass jars with cotton or wrap it around the bottles so that the effect you get is a lovely glow cloud! It’s quaint, cost-effective and effortlessly pretty.

Most electrical shops in big markets {like Lake Market, Gariahat etc} will have tuni bulbs, as will Chandni Chowk. If you want more evolved string lights, pick up the white flower ones from Sienna cafe. Made of shola {the same material that goes into making the daaker shaaj for Durga idols}, they impart a soft glow to rooms.

You can also pick up party lights like disco balls and strobes on rent from DJ Sourav in Jodhpur Park {call 9674610556} for full sound equipment on hire {includes DJ, transport, manpower, and laser lights} for about INR 9,000. And from Ekaakshar Entertainment {call 9831232277} for complete lighting solutions ranging from disco balls {INR 200-250/day} and LED per lights {INR 150-200/day} to laser beams {INR 500/day} and even moving surfee lights {INR 120/day}.

If you’re uncertain of backdrops and want to jazz up your wall-space, we recommend re-using old saris and stoles to create an earthen, gypsy feel to your living space. This can be done by hanging up said fabrics by way of hooks and nails on your wall or terrace space. Go crazy with carpets and spread them out all over as well. If you want to pick up fabrics and cloth for this specific reason and are on a tight budget, head to Heritage Fabrics {located on Landsdowne Road} or explore New Market’s fabric stores {Asha, Menka, Meenakshi}. Menka has high quality and quirky prints perfect for the occasion. Also check out our recommendation for more places to pick up fabric from. You can also cut up bright and funky fabrics into strips of cloth and hang them in mixed clusters.

And look at this awesome project for inspiration on how to do up your space with cloth.

Rather than sticking up posters around your wall, why not liven them up by simply framing and preserving them? If that’s your scene, Gariahat market has you sorted. Check out Vishal Photo Framers {9331652360} as well as New Lokenath Photo Framers {call 9830495014}, both located near the opening of the Gariahat main market road. A single frame may come for anywhere between INR 150 to 200.

If you really want a DIY menu, we recommend making seasonal holiday favourites like Bailey’s Irish cream and eggnog — for recipes, look here and here. We recommend substituting Irish whiskey in the Bailey’s recipe with any brand of whiskey, in case Irish whiskey isn’t readily available.

However, if you do want to cheat on the DIY bit, we’ve got you covered on that front too. Check out this LBB recommendation for caterers for your NYE bash. If you’re Salt Lake-based, we recommend checking out Le BC and Local Gourmet for your neighborhood fix of scrumptious food that we’re sure you’ll love and love to serve to your guests.

Bunk night club rates, buy your own booze for your house party. Bisssonath Law in New Market has the cheapest rates and the most non-judgey uncles selling the booze. You’ll find the store at the back of the New Market {closer to Free School street}. The neighbouring VP Stores is another liqor store you can hit for your alcoholic needs. You can also check out Spencers for their collection of wines and imported liquor.

Add a touch of neon to your party with glow sticks and bands — you can order these on Amazon. Like the party shop glow box here and awesome LED balloon sets here.

Play all the year’s hits to get the crowd going but also loop in some indie tracks — check out this recommendation of home-brewed talent right here. If you want to go truly retro, pick up some LPs and a record player from Free School Street. Check out our recommendation on where to buy them here.