Seeking Party Advice!

Melli_Fera · Post by **Melli_Fera** » June 17, 2004 4:07 pm

Hey everybody!

I'm in the beginning stages of planning my high school reunion (10th...yes, i'm a youngin). I was wondering if anyone out there can give me some ideas of what to do (good stuff you've seen/done) and what NOT to do (bad stuff that you've seen/done). I'm trying to be nostalgic, but not hokey!

All suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

buffettbride · Post by **buffettbride** » June 17, 2004 4:09 pm

Hmmm. Let me think on that and get back to you. My 10th was last summer so I'm kinda young then too. Did you graduate in 1994?? That's when my husband graduated.

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » June 17, 2004 4:14 pm

Class (or lack thereof

) of '94 here, too! As far as I know, we're not even having a reunion. Not sure if I would have gone anyway, but the option would have been nice. Good luck.

Melli_Fera · Post by **Melli_Fera** » June 17, 2004 4:16 pm

buffettbride wrote:Hmmm. Let me think on that and get back to you. My 10th was last summer so I'm kinda young then too. Did you graduate in 1994?? That's when my husband graduated.

Yup... 10 years ago yesterday... we're planning for the saturday after thanksgiving (while everyone is pretty much in the area). I'm meeting with my co-chair tonight and are gonna do some brainstorming and sampling at a prospective caterer.

Melli_Fera · Post by **Melli_Fera** » June 17, 2004 4:18 pm

rednekkPH wrote:Class (or lack thereof ) of '94 here, too! As far as I know, we're not even having a reunion. Not sure if I would have gone anyway, but the option would have been nice. Good luck.

Yeah, me and another girl left a msg for the class president, and she never called us back. SO we said f**k it and are doing it ourselves. Someone said they saw the prez last year and asked about a reunion, and the prez told this person, "i don't want to see any of those people ever again." real nice class president huh? I didn't vote for her.

diamonddan · Post by **diamonddan** » June 17, 2004 4:31 pm

Get e-mail addresses!!! We had a sign in book (My 25th), collected about a hundred of them. We sent out an e-mail with everybodys contact information, and it's great!! People that haven't seen or heard from each other in years now are send each other notes, and getting together.

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » June 17, 2004 4:35 pm

I've got 10 years on you, and my husband was the class of '83 at the same school. We've been to 2 10's, a 15, a 20, and I have a 20 this year.

A lot of people complain (especially outta staters) because they don't do them around homecoming - where we could go to the game, make a float for the parade, etc.

We've had a lot more fun at the icebreakers and casual reunions, than we have at the formal wedding-like sit-down dinner and dancing $80 per person ones. There's also many more people at the casual versions - for people travelling to attend, they have enough expenses already to fork out $160 to see people they won't see until the next one. And paying for the open bar isn't alluring to the non-drinkers.

The atmosphere is also more relaxed, and it allows for a lot more mingling when it doesn't take 3 hours to eat all of the dinner courses. My 15 was in a banquet room with cash bar, appetizers, and a cd player, and it was the most fun. How about a luau?????

By the way - how many in the graduating class? Ours were both at about 400 all those years ago.

Good luck, and bravo for you to take the bull by the horns!

Coconuts · Post by **Coconuts** » June 17, 2004 4:42 pm

Have you checked on classmates.com? I would hope they would have ideas over there. I haven't ever been on it (I fall into the "I never want to see those people again" category for almost everyone that I'm not in touch with), but if any site should be able to help, it would be that one.

Melli_Fera · Post by **Melli_Fera** » June 17, 2004 4:45 pm

Tiki Bar wrote:I've got 10 years on you, and my husband was the class of '83 at the same school. We've been to 2 10's, a 15, a 20, and I have a 20 this year.

A lot of people complain (especially outta staters) because they don't do them around homecoming - where we could go to the game, make a float for the parade, etc.

We've had a lot more fun at the icebreakers and casual reunions, than we have at the formal wedding-like sit-down dinner and dancing $80 per person ones. There's also many more people at the casual versions - for people travelling to attend, they have enough expenses already to fork out $160 to see people they won't see until the next one. And paying for the open bar isn't alluring to the non-drinkers.

The atmosphere is also more relaxed, and it allows for a lot more mingling when it doesn't take 3 hours to eat all of the dinner courses. My 15 was in a banquet room with cash bar, appetizers, and a cd player, and it was the most fun. How about a luau?????

By the way - how many in the graduating class? Ours were both at about 400 all those years ago.

Good luck, and bravo for you to take the bull by the horns!

We've rented a hall, booked a DJ and are looking at a buffet caterer... we're planning on tickets being no more than $35 each... there were 225 in our graduating class, we're hoping to have 100 bodies in attendance...

We don't have an official "homecoming" but we do have an annual thanksgiving day football game... i was thinking of having some kind of donuts/coffee thing before the game (thursday) and the formal reunion would be on saturday...

I'd love to do a theme reunion... but we're a traditionally italian neighborhood, so I think we may bow to the highly original

italian buffet...

hikingontuesday · Post by **hikingontuesday** » June 17, 2004 5:01 pm

Your "coffee, donut" thing is a great idea.

I used to live in Watertown and I know that the Boston area is HUGE on those Turkey Day games. Perhaps there is a local watering hole where you could meet for Bloody Mary's before hand.

I know my friends now make it an annual event to hit "The Pub" before the game and see old friends.

I agree that the "non-formal" events are better than the evening one. But, I have been to a 10 and 20 and loved them both.

Classmates.com and reunions.com helped us find people.

sirgumby77 · Post by **sirgumby77** » June 17, 2004 6:06 pm

Melli_Fera wrote:
rednekkPH wrote:Class (or lack thereof ) of '94 here, too! As far as I know, we're not even having a reunion. Not sure if I would have gone anyway, but the option would have been nice. Good luck.
Yeah, me and another girl left a msg for the class president, and she never called us back. SO we said f**k it and are doing it ourselves. Someone said they saw the prez last year and asked about a reunion, and the prez told this person, "i don't want to see any of those people ever again." real nice class president huh? I didn't vote for her.

Im sorta the same way. I think I talk to maybe a total of 3 people I went to school with. If I do end up going----I may have to do an encore performance of how I crashed the prom.

Bob Roberts · Post by **Bob Roberts** » June 17, 2004 11:38 pm

When I first read the title, I got a little worried. I thought you may be referring to "political" parties. I knew that one would be a hot topic, thank you for it not being.

AndrewGill · Post by **AndrewGill** » June 17, 2004 11:44 pm

Not sure what to tell ya, but maybe Karaoke so you can laugh at all the people from your class, make sure they have buffett though!!!!!!

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » June 18, 2004 11:22 am

sirgumby77 wrote: If I do end up going----I may have to do an encore performance of how I crashed the prom.

Sounds like there is a good story here, just dying to be told

sirgumby77 · Post by **sirgumby77** » June 18, 2004 12:40 pm

rednekkPH wrote:
sirgumby77 wrote: If I do end up going----I may have to do an encore performance of how I crashed the prom.
Sounds like there is a good story here, just dying to be told

Oh there is..... but it will have to wait to later tonight after work. All I can say was well.... you will see...

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » June 19, 2004 3:50 am

Funny you should ask ... I'm from Huntsville, Alabama and my 10 year reunion is next month (July 10th) ... heres what I'm doing for ours ---

Driving to Janesville, Wisconsin
Drinking

Staying at the Motel 6, Partying in the Best Western
Drinking

Getting on a bus the next day headed for East Troy, Wisconsin
Drinking

Dining in the Alpine Parking Lot
Drinking

Catching a concert by some parrot guy (hell I dunno)
Drinking

Riding a bus back to the Best Western
Drinking

Passing out somewhere

Hope that helped

Lemme double check somethin ---
Yep, my priorities are straight

creeky · Post by **creeky** » June 19, 2004 4:01 am

I went to my 20 year reunion - and it was pretty much - stand around and drink and talk ...

being shy , I stood around and drank .... then I talked ... too much, then I ended up on stage dancing - then a girl said hi to me and I asked who she was - one of my best friends in primary school

- oops!

I then, when outside waiting for a taxi home - went up to the toughest girl in the school (stupidly of course) and tried to talk to her - she snobbed me - so I announced to her that she was a total b*tch in high school and and even bigger one now

I can say - I dont know I will be going to any future reunions after that effort!

(not to mention - going up to a guy I was in class with when I was 6 and finally telling him how I felt about him cheating in a craft activity his parents helped him with - of course - he had no idea what I was talking about , but it was good to finally tell him

)

sirgumby77 · Post by **sirgumby77** » June 20, 2004 12:55 am

Ok to make my story short----cause I do not remember all of it.....

Senior Year of High School----i didnt talk to many of the kids in my school---only cause they were snobs and I didnt give 2 shits about any of them.

Good majority of my friends were all older then me ( 21+) when I was 18. So ... Prom was held at the Holiday Inn in Matteson, IL ( not too far from the World Music Theatre.... opps for those who do not knwo they now call it Tweeter Center. Anyways----we are sitting at my buddys place just down the road from the Holiday Inn.... We had been drinking all day and were looking for some fun. Came up with the lame brain idea----Lets crash my prom.... Lets see the look on all the idiots and adminstartors there. So.... Foolishly we get up there----barely able to walk..... Get into the prom-----while everyone is dressed up we walk in torn jeans, t-shirts reeking of booze and other illegal stuff-------after that---its still most of a blur to me----we ended up leaving cause the prom was dead anyways.....

Trevor K Bama · Post by **Trevor K Bama** » June 20, 2004 9:57 am

I would say, one thing NOT to do is have the WB film your reunion for it's 'High School Reunion' show. That seems like a fairly bad idea to me.

Trevor K Bama · Post by **Trevor K Bama** » June 20, 2004 10:00 am

creeky wrote:I went to my 20 year reunion - and it was pretty much - stand around and drink and talk ...

being shy , I stood around and drank .... then I talked ... too much, then I ended up on stage dancing - then a girl said hi to me and I asked who she was - one of my best friends in primary school - oops!

I then, when outside waiting for a taxi home - went up to the toughest girl in the school (stupidly of course) and tried to talk to her - she snobbed me - so I announced to her that she was a total b*tch in high school and and even bigger one now

I can say - I dont know I will be going to any future reunions after that effort!

(not to mention - going up to a guy I was in class with when I was 6 and finally telling him how I felt about him cheating in a craft activity his parents helped him with - of course - he had no idea what I was talking about , but it was good to finally tell him )

Creeky!! That is CLASSIC!! ROFLMAO!! Thank you for sharing!!