Mar 3, 2017 | By Jake White

How to Throw a Sober House Party

Collegiate Recovery

When I first tell people that I teach college students how to throw sober house parties… I get many different reactions. Some laugh, some are struck with silence, and many don’t even believe me! Once I explain myself, they ask “How in the world do you get hundreds of students to attend a house party without alcohol?!” It’s pretty simple.

1. PARTNER UP – If you’re promoting a party by yourself, people assume you have no friends. If you have no friends, then you’re probably not very cool or fun. No one wants to party with someone that has no friends and who isn’t fun. So the first step to throwing a sober house party is to find someone else to help you. It also makes the planning process more fun.
2. PICK A PLACE – Find somewhere that people are expecting a house party to be. The best places are fraternity houses or off-campus houses. But sometimes you have to get creative. We’ve hosted sober parties in coffee shops and other local businesses that will let us reconfigure the place to fit our event.
3. CHOOSE A THEME – People love getting dressed up! Well, girls love getting dressed up… guys aren’t always into it, but since the girls are coming to the party, they’ll come too. It’s also an easy way to make your event stand out from the rest.
4.  GET FOOD, MUSIC & GAMES – Just mention food and college students will be there! The food will bring people in and you can get almost everything from sponsors (we can help you with that). Make sure the music is loud too, and that you’ve got plenty of games available. No one wants to hang out sober if there’s nothing to do. Pick games that four or more people can play at once. If they’re loud and competitive games, that’s even better.
5. SPREAD THE WORD – Don’t be timid about your party! You’ll be blown away at how many students actually want to come to a party like yours… so make SURE they about it. Text your friends, ask them to invite others, post on social media and invite random people you don’t even know.

I know it may seem overwhelming because, in a culture like ours, it’s hard to believe that students will party sober… but if you’re a “Doubting Thomas”, just check out the videos of our sober parties!

And if you need some help, that’s what Party.0 is all about. Just go to www.party0.org and snoop around. You can even contact us and we’ll get you in touch with someone who already throws parties!