Thread: Lack of attendees

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I just wanted to come on and complain a bit, LOL. Every year I do a party, and every year no-one shows up. Well, I have one friend who always shows up, bless him! But other attendees are always thin on the ground. Often, people say they'll turn up and then they just don't. Some of my friends have moved away so they sometimes can't come, and some of my other friends work shifts so they don't always know their availability. Then there's always the usual round of "I was tired/I couldn't be bothered" etc etc etc excuses...

It's just getting me down a bit now, to the point that I'm considering whether to bother throwing a party anymore. There are quite a few people I wouldn't invite anyway for various reasons (trust me, they're good reasons) and I never invite co-workers, which leaves my slowly dwindling circle of friends. I always put on loads of food and booze and do prizes for costumes and last year we had tempt your fate with REALLY good prizes (DVDs and books mostly, and boxed gifts of Hallowe'en sweets and Yankee candle samplers) and still hardly anyone showed!

Is there anything I can do, I wonder, to maximise attendance? Or should I just give it up as a bad job?

I know your pain. I had my first party last year, and the day before the party, a TON of people I invited from school cancelled. I was heartbroken. But you know what, I still threw a small party for those who did show up, and we had fun. So here's my advice: take a year off, maybe two, then start small, and if more people start saying "I wanna come!" modify your plans to fit 'em in. I wish you best of luck, and Happy Halloween!

Talk a lot about the good stuff you'll have in the invitation? Of course you might get a lot of moochers if you do that...

What I have been doing is telling my friends they can bring THEIR friends and family (encouraging them to do so.)
I also often call my friends right before the party, and they will end up asking some of their friends at the last minute. I guess this would only be good if your friends have okay friends. I know most of my friends' friends and like them already, I just don't know them enough to invite them myself and expect them to come but if they know their friend will be there, they will come. That way I get more people and a more fun party.

I have found that the amount of people that attend the party doesn't equate to amount of fun had at the party. We've had a party for the past three years and always had a good turn out. That doesn't mean that my Hubby and I had the best time though. The first year was great! Second and third year we had a bunch of people in costume sitting infront of the television watching the baseball game. (Yes I am complaining about that AGAIN LOL) That wasn't fun for us...we like people to interact with one another and with what we've set up as far as decor.

This year we're going to have just a very small Halloween get together. Maybe 4 other people? And that's that. People that we know are coming for the spirit of Halloween and really enjoy the holiday as much as we do.

Sounds like you've had fun despite the lack of attendance...to me that's all that matters.

My group of friends has shrunk over the years as people move away and drifted apart. And then last party we threw, we also got hit with cancellations due to flu...

I'd say if you still enjoy throwing a party, just invite the ones you know will come and have fun even it's only 5 people. But if it's gotten to be too much work or frustrating, then take a year (or two) off.

I've taken the last year off, and most likely won't be throwing a party this year either (still haven't decided).

I would plan the party for how ever many you invite but have fun stuff planned for you and just a couple of friends who you know will show up like some karaoke or dancing games on the wii. Then even if it is say just three of you instead of twenty, you'll still know you had such a fun time. I am hesitant about having
parties for the same reason.

We're hit and miss for guests sometimes too. I've come to know which ones RSVP but never show even. You're throwing the party for you. If you have a good time, that's all that matters. Why not invite co-workers? It's good bonding. I also agree with allowing guests to bring guests. I've never had issues with extras. Heck, if there's anyone in AZ free on the 22nd, you're invited to my party too! I know you guys will appreciate the party.

Put the word out there, talk about it often, mention how excited you are and some of the things you have planned. I start flooding my FB with the things I'm working on, wishlists , how my costume is coming, etc. Don't let people forget about it. Good friends will see how important it is to you and do their best to be there.

I completely agree that it's not the quantity of guests that decides how much fun everyone has had. I'm really great with party planning, food and decorations. But I am not good at promoting myself or my party, I have my husband to thank for that party of our party! He's so great about messaging or calling people before the party, telling them to save the date, or reminding everyone that it's only x# of days away. He gives people little sneak peeks of what our theme or decorations will be, brags to them about what I have planned, and reminds them about prizes and costumes. We've always done some sort or prizes for best costume, and last year we had prizes for best "halloween" food too.

I've certainly been disappointed by throwing a party where absolutely no one showed up (even though they promised to). One of my very smart friends gave me an estimate for party attendance - about 3% show up that say they will for sure, and he's been right. I'm still trying to decide whether to throw a party or not this year. If I do, costumes are optional, and I remind my guests frequently how I'm looking forward to spending time with them and how fun the party will be. If it gets too frustrating and not fun anymore, it's certainly time to maybe take a year off.

I worry about this, it's only our second party this year. Last year I had three people not bother to show up even though they'd said they were coming, and two more who didn't come but who I'd suspected wouldn't.

This year we've got more people who've said they're coming but there are still two or three that I won't be surprised if they don't make it. Last year we only had ten - we have a small house though - so it didn't seem like a bad thing.