Hosting a dinner party, or any kind of party, for that matter, tends to be something that is done by couples. I have hosted parties with girlfriends (past and present), as well as with roommates. Perhaps because there can be a division of labour amongst the hosts, this generally seems easier than hosting a party by yourself.

That doesn't mean that hosting a party as a single person is impossible, however. I've done it myself on multiple occasions. Here is some advice on hosting a party by yourself.

Plan Ahead

Because you're going to be doing just about everything by yourself, the most important thing to do when hosting a party by yourself is to start planning well in advance of the actual party. This is especially important if you'll be serving a full meal, as you'll need to know how many people you'll be feeding.

The first step in the planning process-after deciding what type of party you want to have-is to invite people. I have found that creating an event on Facebook seems to be the easiest and most manageable way of organizing a guest list for parties. But, if you're party of the anti-Facebook movement, email works almost as well.

Of course, you can also use more "old-fashioned" invitation methods such as the telephone or even mailing out paper invites via snail mail (if you're hosting a retro-themed party, this can help set the mood).

When you're inviting people, be careful to make sure you don't invite more people than you have seats, unless it's going to be an outdoor party, in which case it's acceptable to ask people to bring their own lawn chairs. For most apartment dwellers, this means you shouldn't invite more than 3-5 people for a dinner party, or 10-12 people for a party where you'll only be serving snacks and drinks.

Food and Liquor

As a single person, living on a single income, you're going to want to save money when you throw a party. It's a bit easier to absorb the cost of feeding a dozen people when there are 2 incomes helping to pay for it. But, when you're single, it's not quite as easy.

The easiest way to save money is to ask people to bring their own booze. Toss a "BYOB" on the invitation and that's that. However, this tends to work best when you're throwing a party where you aren't serving a full meal.

For a true dinner party, you'll do well to provide a bottle of wine or a case of beer for your guests, but there is no harm in asking one guest to bring the wine if you'll be asking everyone to bring something, which is what I recommend.

The easiest and least expensive way to throw a dinner party is to have a potluck of sorts. Ask one guest to bring a salad, another to bring the wine, another to bring dessert, and so on. As the host, you should prepare the main course. And, as I said, you may also want to provide a bottle of wine or a case of beer just in case the person you've put in charge of the alcohol forgets to bring some, or doesn't bring enough.

I recommend getting as much of the kitchen prep out of the way before your guests arrive, so that you can spend less time in the kitchen, and more time entertaining and enjoying the company of your guests.

If you can, pick a main course that you can prepare the night before the party and then just put it in the oven a few minutes before your guests are scheduled to arrive. This will ensure that dinner will be ready shortly after your guests have arrived, and will mean that you're free to answer the door and greet your guest instead of yelling, "Come in! It's unlocked!" as you try not to burn the kitchen down.

Entertainment

While a good party can sustain itself on conversation alone, you may feel the need to provide some form of entertainment for your guests. If you're having dinner, putting on some background music will generally be good enough. You should choose instrumental music, as anything with vocals can be distracting and make it difficult to carry on a conversation.

If your party isn't a dinner party, or if you're seeking some after-dinner entertainment for you and your guests, here are a few options that tend to work well:

* Boardgames (recommendations: Scattegories, Boggle, Cranium, Taboo...).

* Video games (recommendations: Mario Party, Mario Kart, Monkey Ball...basically any of Nintendo's "party games").

* Music DVDs (for those who want to have a conversation, the music will just be background noise, while those who are feeling less social can simply kick back and watch the videos).

* Serve after-dinner drinks and, if you are so inclined, cigars (these things tend to act as social lubricants, and will help keep the conversation going).

Types of Parties

While this post has primarily been about dinner parties, there are, of course, a wide range of different party types. If you're not feeling ready to get in the kitchen and try to serve dinner, here are a couple of alternatives:

* Cocktail party: I don't necessarily mean this in the traditional sense, where you make actual cocktails for your guests, but the general idea remains the same. Invite over a group of friends, provide a few hors d'oeuvres and some alcohol. Let people mingle and see what happens. Alternatively, you can ask people to bring their own booze to save on costs.

* Board game or Video game party: This goes along with the entertainment ideas suggested above. If your friends are board- or video game fans, inviting them over to play games can be a great way to spend an evening. In addition to providing the entertainment, you should also provide some snacks and drinks for your guests.

Other ideas...

The advice and ideas I've provided here are hardly exhaustive. What suggestions do you have for throwing a party as a single person? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.