How to make a great WELCOME PARTY

Hello guys :) It's me, again! Today I want to give you a piece of advice how to make a great Erasmus welcome party. So if you are already Erasmus student it might be a little bit to late, but for everybody who is still considering attending this programme-some of those might be useful. Actually those tips can be universal for any integration party so just sit comfortably and read!

There is never too much party while Erasmus - so use every possibility to make it unforgettable experience! First of all, Erasmus people is a group of different people from different countries, with different cultures and habits. So to make the work easier and efficient it is good to divide this group into smaller ones. In my Erasmus residence welcome party we divided ourselves by countries that we come from.

I don't remember who was exactly responsible for particular activities but I do remember what was the task for Polish people. We were only girls and our mission was to decorate the party place. Another important tip: collect some amount of money for common expenses from every participant of the party. You have to remember that food, alcohol, decorations - each of them costs something. Also note that there should be guest list - it is kinda unfair if everybody shares money and efforts and there is somebody from outside coming just to have fun and giving nothing from himself.

You can see some examples of decorations on the walls-there were "welcome" sign there in every language that our friends were speaking. But coming back to decoration: it was a mission indeed. Because we wanted the place to look amazing and totally unexpected we not only went to the paper shop to buy typical decorations like balloons and colourful paper but also... we climbed a palm tree to pick up some leaves and decorate the playing room of residence. If that wasn't already enough, we girls also collected some plants and flowers from the neighbourhood around the residence. It was dark already so nobody actually saw us, but we felt this adrenaline boost thinking what if the police come. Fortunately nothing like that happened and we just made ourselves a bit dirty. But you may ask-why the heck those palm leaves? So here I come with the answer: Planning the party you have to choose some theme, something that can make the atmosphere nice. So the party theme we have chosen was "Jungle fever". I know-sounds funny. But this is the point!

Delicious snacks are necessary to make the party work! Don't forget about energetic colours of the food! The best idea is when everybody follows the motive of the party! We encouraged people to wear some fancy clothes, to be somebody else this evening and to just have fun! Most of them did it, some of them not, but all in all the party was huge success.

To sum up there is some short agenda for you:

1. Divide into smaller groups.
2. Divide all the tasks to do:
• Food.
• Drinks.
• Decorations.
• Money collector/manager.
3. Create a guest list.
4. Collect money from participants for the expenses.
5. Keep everybody following the deadline.
6. Create a party theme.
7. Encourage people to disguise.
8. Don't forget about the music! The last thing that lasts is JUST TO HAVE FUN!

Representation of disguised girls from my residence. It was very cool as for the first time!

Photo gallery