I Am Your Host. Your....Ghost Host.

This past weekend, Melissa and I decided it would be fun to have some friends over for the 4th of July. We invited a bunch of people, and pretty much all of them came. Now, we've had people over before for movie nights or dinners, but never more than 2 or 3 at a time. 8 people (plus the two of us) came by on Saturday. All of us crammed into our little living room of our little 1 bedroom apartment. Everything that could be a chair became one. But it was a ton of fun. I think everyone had a good time (at least, I hope they did).

A few thoughts on hosting: When having a holiday get together, most people would theme their party around the specific holiday. Melissa and I think outside the box (I literally almost typed "outside the bun"- thanks Taco Bell). Fireworks and patriotism? Try Rock Band and American Idol Karaoke! I bet our neighbors just love us now. This actually seemed to be a big hit, especially the karaoke. Of course, we're all artsy/performy-type people, so it makes sense. I must humbly say that I rocked out Billie Jean (during a round where we were selecting songs at random- even the PS3 knew to pay tribute to Michael). The only thing close to fireworks we had was watching the Capitol 4th and NYC fireworks on an HDTV. Once CBS's non-HD broadcast with Neil Diamond came on, things were pretty much over (Party Tip- if you want to clear a room, put on video of Neil Diamond. Melissa and I were by ourselves within 10 minutes).

The thing is, I missed a lot of the fun. I was out on our porch, grilling burgers, sausages, and veggie skewers. I learned over the course of the evening that my tiny camping grill is ill-suited to serve this many people. There were about 3 square inches that were consistently hot, and parts of the grill I could have kept my hand on they were so cold. Grilling that much food took far too long, and I'm still not happy with the way a lot of it turned out (especially the veggies). Still, people seemed to like it. I got many compliments on my burgers (which were hastily thrown together at the last minute) and my pepper and onion chili relish (which had the honor of being the first thing I cooked in my new pans, which I love).

All in all, I think it was a successful afternoon/evening. Spending time with friends is always a joy, and to be surrounded by so many really made me feel loved. Still, I think I'll let someone else do the planning and hosting for the next couple of turns.

Cheers,

Eli