Host a House Party

HOUSE PARTY PLANNING TIPS

MAKE IT FUN

People love a good time. Good food and drink will never hurt. If possible, have music and raffle prizes. Have toys and space for kids to play under supervision. Decorations in campaign colors make an event festive and contribute to a lively atmosphere

PICK A CENTRAL LOCATION

An ideal place will be centrally located and easy to find. Try not to pick a place or residence that is out of the way.  You do not have to have the party at an actual house.

GETTING THE WORD OUT

Make up a flyer announcing a Democratic House Party with date, time, and location. Post in public forums and hand out as widely as possible. Contact the local and state Democratic Party, community organizations, and candidate campaign headquarters announcing the party.  If your event is part of a nationwide DNC “Party Building” effort, register your event and invite other Democrats to attend here: Create an Event.  Try to get the event posted on the websites of local political and community organizations.

GET RSVP’S

Be sure to get RSVPS! On flyers and ads announcing events be sure to put your contact info for people to RSVP so you know how many people will be attending to best plan for space, food, and materials.

ATTEMPT TO GET LOCAL POLITICIANS TO COME AND SAY A FEW WORDS AT THE HOUSE PARTY

Politicians love opportunities to reach more voters. Contact local politicians and candidates to invite them to the house party. Make the house party a political event. Also try to get people from community organizations or non – profits to come and talk.

CIRCULATE A SIGN IN SHEET

Be sure to have a sign in sheet for people to sign with contact information.  This will help you build email and phone bank lists as well as recruit volunteers.

FOLLOW UP

After the event contact all the people who signed in. Ask for advice on how to improve the next house party and how to reach more people. Tell everyone that next time EVERYONE BRING ONE PERSON to get more people involved. Build a list serve to notify people of future events and opportunities to volunteer.

LET US KNOW HOW IT GOES.

Keep the state party informed about how it went and what the attendance was. Take pictures of the party for us to put up on our website. We can build valuable networks and publicity around the debate parties and make grassroots people feel connected to the Maryland Democratic Party.

REGISTER YOUR PARTY AND INVITE FELOW DEMOCRATS:

http://www.democrats.org/page/content/partybuilderEvents/

GOOD LUCK!