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Alcohol and Your Party

While many people enjoy alcohol to relax or socialize, it can complicate a party.

As the event host, you will need to decide whether or not you will serve alcohol, invite guests to bring their alcohol (BYOB), or refuse to allow alcohol at your party. No matter what choice you make, you should have a policy about alcohol at your event, whether it is invited or not.

Complications of serving alcohol at your event could include:

1. Underage drinking
2. Guests drinking too much
3. Guests bringing in alcohol when BYOB is not allowed
4. Assaults, property damage and other consequences related to drunk guests

To lower the chances of alcohol use leading to problems at your party, consider the following questions and suggestions:

1. Will you allow alcohol at your event?
2. Will alcohol be served to guests, or will it be BYOB?
3. What types of alcohol will be served?
4. What kinds of containers will be used? Avoid glass bottles. Don’t risk someone getting cut by broken glass. Also, it makes your clean up easier.
5. Serve alcohol in closed containers instead of large open "punch bowls", so it is more difficult for someone to slip a drug into the container.
6. If you notice someone appearing very drunk early on, call 9-1-1, as s/he may have been slipped a predatory drug (e.g., roofie, GHB).
7. Limit the number of drinks your guests are drinking: alcohol is still the #1 date rape drug. Remember, over-indulgence of alcohol or any drug can lead to a risky situation.
8. Serve non-alcoholic beverages and provide food for guests.
9. Do not promote alcohol as the center of the event or encourage guests to engage in drinking games.
10. What are the serving times that you will follow?

You should also be mindful of the environment your guests are in when thinking of safe alcohol use.

1. Keep the event in the specified areas.
2. Close all access to your roof to eliminate the risk of someone falling.
3. Prevent access to swimming pools and close bedrooms to guests.
4. Protect your personal belongings and property.

These are all things to consider before the event begins. In the case of a large-scale event, these are questions that your vendors or co-hosts should consider before the event. Discuss these with whoever is appropriate for your planning process.