Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Shopping
• Part 2 of 3: Preparing for your party
• Part 3 of 3: Throw the party
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

One of the hottest new trends at house parties, student parties and birthday parties around the world is the glow-in-the-dark theme. At these types of parties, guests are asked to wear fluorescent clothing and glow-in-the-dark accessories, which glow in blacklight to create a magical, multi-colored experience. Throwing in the perfect glow-in-the-dark party will go a long way with a little planning, so read on to Step 1 to get started with the right shopping list.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Shopping

1. Bring a blacklight into your home. If there's one thing that immediately comes to mind when you hear the word glow-in-the-dark, it probably is this! Blacklight or UV light gives a fluorescent glow to brightly colored objects and clothing, turning the dance floor into a whirlwind of colors. Although blacklight is not necessarily necessary is to make your glow-in-the-dark party a success (you can also just use glow-in-the-dark decorations and accessories), this will take your party to new heights, so consider using a black light buy or borrow.
   • There are special websites where you can buy blacklights and special decorations that light up with blacklight (for example this website). The cheapest blacklight options cost less than $ 10.
2. Buy glow sticks. Another essential part of glow-in-the-dark parties is the glow stick. This is a kind of plastic tube, sometimes in the form of a bracelet or necklace, that contains a mild chemical that - if you activate it - will glow for hours. Wear them around your neck or on your wrists.
   • Glow sticks are very cheap. For example, a pack of 50 glow bracelets that glow for 12 hours costs only € 7.
3. Buy fluorescent markers and paper. If you want to give your party a nice creative touch, try making your own decorations with brightly colored paper and markers. Craft paper sold as fluorescent will usually glow in blacklight, and most "neon markers" do too.
   • Both fluorescent paper and fluorescent markers are cheap, usually they only cost a few euros per pack. To make sure they glow, you can take your blacklight to the store to try it out.
4. Buy fluorescent lights / LED bulbs. Another great addition to your party is plain luminous decorations. Usually you buy it as an ordinary pear or LED lamp. LED lights are inexpensive these days and can often be programmed to blink different colors or slowly transition from color to color, so it's a great buy for your glow-in-the-dark party. But it could also be that you still have colored, flashing Christmas lights in a box in the attic, so you don't have to spend any money at all.
   • The price of a string of Christmas lights usually depends on the length. For a cord of 100 lights you usually pay no more than € 10, but one with 300 lights or more often costs more than € 20.
5. Buy cheap, brightly colored accessories. If you can find them at a good price, brightly colored sunglasses, necklaces, rings and bracelets make great gifts at your glow-in-the-dark party. However, it has to be cheap; your entire budget shouldn't be spent on gifts that might break or get lost in the dark.
   • For example, you can search the internet or a party store for a batch of cheap imitation Ray-Ban sunglasses in bright colors.
6. Buy body paint. If you really want to go all out, you can paint yourself with fluorescent paint and offer it to your guests too. You can buy glow-in-the-dark body paint at party stores and online. You may have to do some searching before you find it, but if you use it properly it will give incredible results.
   • If you can find it, it is usually not that expensive; a set with different colors usually costs no more than € 20.
7. Provide good music. Party and music go together like bread and butter; they go together perfectly. If you want to turn your glow-in-the-dark party into a real "rave", you should choose classic house or techno. But you can actually play any kind of music at your glow-in-the-dark party, as long as it is festive and can be nice and loud!
   • Make sure you have a playlist ready in advance. It can also be fun picking out music with friends before the party starts, then all you have to do is set it to shuffle and forget about it.
8. Think about food and drinks. You need something to eat and drink at every party; Guests who dance, chat and have fun will get hungry and thirsty at some point, so make sure you have good things at home. At a glow-in-the-dark party, it is more convenient to only serve snacks that you eat with your fingers, because it can be dangerous to have to work with crockery and cutlery in the dark.
   • "Party trays" full of snacks such as cheese, pieces of sausage and spreads can sometimes be found ready-to-eat at the supermarket. This can be very easy and inexpensive. But maybe your guests appreciate it even more when you prepare tasty things for them.
   • For the drinks, rather use plastic glasses than your beautiful crystal. You don't have to wash plastic glasses after the party and you don't have to worry that things will break.

Part 2 of 3: Preparing for your party

1. Send the invitations on time. After you have decided that you are going to throw a glow-in-the-dark party, you should invite your guests as soon as possible; the sooner you invite people, the more likely they have nothing planned for that evening, so it's wise to hurry up your invitations. If you're throwing a small, intimate party, you can send everyone an email individually, but if it's going to be a big party, you can create an event on social media and invite your friends that way.
   • It can be smart to ask your guests to respond to your invitation in time. Then you know approximately how many people are going to come and you can take that into account when you are going to stock up on food and drinks.
2. Ask friends to help you prepare. Depending on how elaborately you're going to decorate for your glow-in-the-dark party, you may want to start the preparations a week to a few hours before your party. Regardless of how big your party is going to be, it can be helpful to ask a few friends to help you out. A few extra hands shorten the preparation time and it is always nice to use the opinions and ideas of others when making decorations. Perhaps one of your friends will come up with an ingenious system to hang your LED lights, for example like a starry sky from the ceiling.
3. "Shield" your party area. At a glow-in-the-dark party, it is important to have as little light as possible in the place where most of the decorations are. In other words, the party area with the most decorations should be as dark as possible. If the party is in a basement or attic, you may not need to do much. But if there are windows, you may need to blind them so that no outside light comes in.
   • With black garbage bags you can blind your windows very cheaply.
4. Put the decorations down. Now you are going to hang and place the decorations. You can decide for yourself how you want to do that, but in general you want to have the blacklights and decorations in the dark part as much as possible, so that they light up well. You may also want to add some decoration to the outside of the building to welcome your guests.
5. Ask permission if you really want to throw a big party. For a party with just a few friends, you usually don't have to worry; even if the neighbors think it is too loud, they will come and say it and ask if it could be turned down a bit. On the other hand, if you have organized a really big party and you have not asked for permission from the neighbors, there is a possibility that they will call the police. To prevent this, it is best to talk to your neighbors first. Let them know when you're going to throw a party, give them your phone number so they can call you if it's too noisy, and let them say if they have any concerns.
   • If you are really organizing a huge party, you may need to apply for a permit from the municipality.

Part 3 of 3: Throw the party

1. Prepare all your snacks and drinks before the guests arrive. Try to have everything ready before the first guests arrive (no later than the start time you set on your invitation, because that's when the first guests usually come). By having everything ready, you can immediately offer something to the first guests. You no longer have to rush to get things done, so you can have a nice chat with your guests and hang out as the perfect host!
2. Play glow-in-the-dark games with your guests. When the first guests arrive, they usually start talking to each other on their own, so you don't have to worry about whether they are having a good time. But if the party gets a little slow and there are some awkward moments, you might want to play a fun game to get the party started. For example, you can play children's games such as tag and hide and seek, or "hints", which takes on a whole new meaning in the dark. You can also play some well-known games to break the ice, such as "who am I" or "truth or dare"; it's totally up to you.
3. Keep your music going. When there are enough guests so that most of them can talk to each other without your help, you can get into the music. The volume depends on the type of party. If your glow-in-the-dark party is more of a casual get-together than a serious dance party, then you should turn the music down a bit so that it stays background music. But if you want everyone to go crazy on the dance floor, turn it up hard!
   • Unless you actually hired or appointed a DJ, you should put your playlist on shuffle. If the music stops after every song while you have to figure out the next song, it is annoying for the dancers.
4. Let your guests get some fresh air now and then, if they want to. If you have a very busy party (mostly when everyone is dancing), your guests need to know how and where to get fresh air. After an hour of dancing, you really don't feel like a sweltering, sweaty space, so make sure your guests can go to a garden, balcony or patio to cool off.
5. Advise your guests to drink plenty of water. At large parties where there is a lot of dancing, a lot of water must be drunk. Make sure your guests can grab as much water as they want and encourage them to drink a little while dancing. Dehydration can cause people to overheat and pass out, which can be dangerous at a busy party (and can put a damper on the fun).
   • Sufficient water access is available mostly important for partygoers who have used ecstasy (XTC, MDMA) or other party drugs. In addition to other physical dangers of using these illegal drugs, they can lead to fatal cases of dehydration and exhaustion, so offer your guests plenty of water if this is the case at your party.
6. Recognize the signs of exhaustion. As mentioned above, don't think too lightly about injury or death from dehydration. If you throw a party where there is a lot of dancing (and mostly if drugs are possibly being used), make sure you recognize the signs of severe exhaustion so that you can keep your guests safe, happy, and healthy. If you think one of your guests is exhausted, take him / her to a cool place, water (no alcohol) and if things are not getting better, call an ambulance. It's better to get help to be on the safe side than to risk your guest dying. If you recognize the following signs of exhaustion, you may be able to save a life:
   • Confusion
   • Dizziness
   • Weakness
   • Pass out
   • Headache
   • Cramps
   • Pale skin
   • Nausea

Tips

• Use a black light and ask your guests to wear at least one white or brightly colored item of clothing.
• Have good music to keep you dancing all night long.
• Provide 2-4 glow-in-the-dark items per person.
• If you happen to have a pool, throw glow sticks in the water.
• White cotton clothes and neon colors work best under a black light.

Warnings

• Be careful when playing games in the dark.
• Always have an adult present at the party. That may sound silly, but if it gets out of hand, you are happy with it. In any case, make sure you can have an adult come very quickly if something goes wrong.

Necessities

• Glowsticks
• Glow-in-the-dark paint
• Glow-in-the-dark hair gel
• Glow-in-the-dark body paint
• Glow-in-the-dark glasses
• Glow-in-the-dark bags
• Blacklight
• Refreshments
• Party favors