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Some quick tips to host a cracker of a farewell party for your seniors…
Venue: Try to manage an empty flat, preferably with air-conditioning! Other options are a backyard or a large terrace…
Theme: To make this not just any other college party, set a theme. Like ‘Bon voyage’, where guests and hosts could dress up as a ship’s captain, crew or even an explorer. Or ‘Bollywood retro’, where the seniors could come as their favourite yesteryear stars.
Invitation cards: Make creative invitation cards, which your seniors can preserve as a keepsake. For the ‘Bon voyage’ theme, you could make cruise ship-shaped invitation cards. For Bolly, old-world posters would work beautifully.
The music: Prepare the song list in advance. Do your research and find out the songs of the batch. Play numbers that have a meaning for the seniors, either individually or collectively. Throw in some golden oldies and campus songs — Purani jeans, All izz well, Papa kehte hain and Pappu can’t dance… (picture above) are a must. But make sure there are no sad songs — it’s an emotional time for your seniors, you don’t want to bum them out at your party!
The games: Arrange for interesting party games. Like Balloon Truth or Dare. For this, make up the “truth” questions and dares beforehand and write them on pieces of paper. Slip each chit inside a balloon and blow it up. To retrieve them, each senior must pop the balloon and read what it says inside.
If it’s a close-knit gathering, make every senior reveal one secret from their first year of college — a secret crush, a hook-up, a funny story. Start this only in the later half of the party and the alcohol should make your work a little easier!
The entertainment: Hold a mock award ceremony and give away token prizes. Categories could be anything from ‘Worst joke teller’ to ‘Canteen honours’ to ‘Best professor mimic’. Insist on an acceptance speech from the winners.
Gather all the embarrassing pictures you can find of your seniors and make a slideshow or decorate the walls of the venue with them! You can make a video where juniors mimic their seniors. But follow it up with heartfelt messages about what your seniors mean to you.
Party props: Have a photo booth with funky props for everyone to take a picture and remember their farewell party by. Print them out and send them to your seniors later. Props that work wonders are colourful wigs, oversized plastic glasses, glow sticks, crazy top hats, devil horns… you get the drift.
Last word: Arrange for a stayover if possible, because that’ll free you up from ensuring that all your drunk and emotional seniors have made it home safely. Also, you can then party all night!
