Parties are probably the best way to be with a bunch of people at once. It makes you feel close to people in a way that can’t be achieved individually. They might be chaotic, but at least they’re fun (or somewhat fun depending on your relationship with the people there).

You probably went to family parties as a child. Let’s be real, most of the time it wasn’t with more immediate family members but rather with people that were a bit more distant. You had no idea how any of those people were related to you, if at all. If your parents had people they love talking to at that party, be prepared to stay quiet out of your own will. They will talk with these people for an eternity. Everyone in that group will be talking about their whole life stories like they don’t know each other. You better hope that you had cool cousins at that party. At least you would have someone that can sort of relate to you because you will never relate to the adults there. At my dad’s birthday party a few years ago, the people he invited brought their kids and they were just sitting there either doing nothing or just on their devices. I felt bad for them because I’ve been in their position. What do these kids know about my dad? They’d probably never heard a single thing about him until their parents told them they were going to a birthday party. Their parents are probably going to tell them in the future that they should know their relatives, but what if they don’t even know them that well? My parents always said that to me as if I had any interest in my relatives. If these kids knew each other, things are a bit different. They will always be super loud to the point where you’re panicking about the noise levels. I usually don’t feel comfortable with having that much noise in that kind of environment which meant loud kids were my nightmare. They were always disruptive to any kind of small talk to the point where you want to leave. You never want to say anything to these kids because you don’t want to jeopardize your family’s reputation with your relatives. At all these parties, there was always some new to meet, whether that would be a friend or someone’s new significant other. They were always the most interesting person to talk to since they come from another world and haven’t fully adjusted to the people that are there. 

(lori from va / Flickr)

Dressing up for parties can be a hard thing to do. Depending on what the party is, you have no idea how to dress. Since our parents want us to be presentable, they would force us to dress up a little bit nicer than usual. For me, that meant wearing a loose dress shirt since I didn’t like feeling super stuffy or a polo shirt. Over the years, it got a little more casual, eventually leading me to wear a t-shirt and sweatpants to a family party. One of my aunts once said to me that we’re just hanging out, not going to a fashion show. Those words stuck with me and I never cared too much about the way I dressed at parties since then. However, there were a few people that treated it like a fashion show. They would wear their luxury clothing as if they were at a ball. They even dressed up their kids like this. I once went to a party where a few kids were wearing suit vests. I don’t even think people in offices wear suit vests. The parents would sometimes tell time to not ruin their clothing with food or drink spills, but at a high-energy party that’s just bound to happen. 

(Robert Sheie / Flickr)

Pets at parties are not easy to deal with sometimes. With the amount of food that’s around the place, they will always find their way near it. I was once eating my food on a couch and one of the dogs almost ate my food. Thankfully, one of my cousins was there to snatch my plate on time. If you were allergic, it can be a nightmare to deal with. You didn’t want to say no to the party because of their furry friend, so you decided to suck it up and go to the party. Thankfully I never saw anything bad happen but if you are someone that reacts easily, bring something that you can take to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction. Your body will thank you for that.

(Let Ideas Compete / Flickr)

Speaking of food, eating time (usually dinner) was its own experience. At the parties I went to, we would have a group prayer, usually led by one of my uncles before getting our food. We would do it buffet style where everyone fills their plates with the food they want, which is always a little bit of everything. I’m guilty of grabbing too much food and then handing whatever I had left over to my sister or my mom. Where you eat can be a big question. Since most of the adults were sitting at the tables, you felt like you didn’t belong there. You would end up resorting to eating at a coffee table or just holding your plate while sitting on the floor. I usually ate my food with my siblings since that’s what I felt comfortable with.  The amount of food at these things is insane, depending on the holiday. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, there would be a turkey that tasted better than the turkey you cooked at home. There has to be some magic done to turkeys that are cooked for parties to taste immaculate. Dessert was always the best part of your meal. There would usually be around four cakes you can choose from. At the end of the night, sometimes you’ll take leftovers that you end up not eating and throwing away a few days later.

Parties keep families close together. You might start going to family parties less as an adult, but whenever you do go, it will be a night that you’ll remember a little bit.