When hosting any sort of an event, it is crucial to find the correct balance between too much open space and not enough room. If there is too much room, the party looks like an empty dance floor at a bad prom. If there is no room, it can be stifling and uncomfortable.
During the public tasting at the Artisan Cheese Festival, I found myself crammed between several people all desperate to taste cheese. The booths were too close together and there was no flow of traffic because the place was over packed. Needless to say, it was not fun. I wondered why the event planners had not spaced out the booths better or taken into consideration that it was a beautiful day that would bring a bigger crowd to the event.
Although this was a large event, the same goes for private parties in the home. If you have a small studio, don't invite over fifty friends. Allow room for guests to mingle without having to press up against a new acquaintance.
How about you? Have you ever been to an over-crowded party? How did you deal with not having enough room?
If a place is too crowded, I leave.
Family get-togethers are like attending the Soccer World Cup game. My mom has ten siblings. I have upwards of 60 immediate cousins and they have children, step-children and spouses. Depending on whose house the get-together is held at there can be absolutely no room to breathe. That is until someone puts the food (aka giant buffet) out. Then you can breathe, hear yourself think and grab a seat and stretch your legs. At one of my cousins wedding it was crazy over 500 guests including Stevie Wonder all crammed into my aunts 2500 sq ft Chatsworth home! Thank goodness she had an enormous back yard and three stories for people to mill around in but still there wasn't enough room. I was 10 and I got to escort Mr Wonder around the reception and ram family members to get them to move out of his way. I also got to work the bar with one of my cousin who was also 10. We managed to get everyone bombed out of their gourd about two hours into the reception.
My sister and I have a deal. If I go I agree that if I get in line for food, I'll fix her a plate too and she will hold two seats for us. And she will do the same for me if she decides to go get food. The cool thing is that because we are "orphans" since both of our parents are dead - our aunts and uncles treat my siblings and I very special. We are often coddled, cuddled and protected at these large family functions. It was a little annoying at first but now I understand that it just how my mom's family reacts to death, they close ranks around the survivors and protect them.
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