Worried about cost, planning – or whether anyone will show up? We asked experts how to bring back parties
Several months ago, staring down another empty weekend, a friend texted me. “Why is no one having parties?” she fumed.
Some people were, we agreed, but not nearly enough. Indeed, in January, the Atlantic’s Ellen Cushing declared that “America is in a party deficit”, quoting a 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics report that found only 4.1% of Americans attended or hosted a social event on an average holiday weekend. That figure was down a whopping 35% since 2004.
Maybe the pandemic is to blame. Or the loneliness epidemic. Or smartphones. I conducted an informal survey (texting my friends) and at least one thing was clear: hosting can be intimidating. Some said it was too much work or too expensive. Others were worried no one would show up.
“Hosting has become more complicated than it needs to be,” says Marina Birch, principal event architect at Birch Design Studio. The extravagant, artfully decorated events you see on Instagram look great, but a party doesn’t have to be so elaborate, aesthetic or expensive.
