During your Erasmus semester, you’ll come to realize that the best nights are the ones spent at house parties. There is limitless dancing, a lot of drinking, and plenty of new people to meet. Going to an Erasmus house party is one thing but there are several tips you need to know before attempting to throw one in your own house.

1. Do not provoke the wrath of your roommates

Especially in Barcelona, living on your own can be quite expensive, leading Erasmus students to share their flat with one or more people. If you are lucky, you will get along with them, if not, well, that’s a whole different story. Throwing an Erasmus house party at your house can be quite challenging. A lot of people are not very fond of having strangers roam in their rooms or search around their food cabinets while they are trying to work or sleep. I mean, it makes sense, right?

So, prepare your roommates for what is going to happen and set some ground rules. Make sure that if they do not want to participate they can still have the freedom to use the apartment without being blocked by hordes of partygoers. Also, don’t forget to lock the doors to rooms where you don’t want your guests to go. Especially if the party is quite big and you don’t know everyone in it, keep in mind to put your electronics and valuable items to a place difficult to reach.

2. Feed the beast(s)

A good party relies heavily on food. No one is going to grant you the “host of the year” award if the only thing they can eat in your apartment is that long-forgotten jar of mayo in the fridge and two half-dead onions. Make sure to have something to feed your guests. Remember that you’re probably here on a budget, so prepare something easy and cheap, without breaking the bank. Homemade pizza, mini sandwiches, chips, and maybe some dips are great ideas when you want to feed large crowds of people and feed them fast.

3. Drink up!

The most important thing you need to take care of in an Erasmus house party is that you don’t run out of booze. The most inexpensive way to do this is to ask people to bring a bottle of whatever they’re having to the party. You can have some extra beers to make sure no one is left out though. Especially when it comes to large crowds, the more, the merrier. Don’t forget to have some juice or sodas in the fridge as well, and stock up on ice if you’re aiming for a cocktail night.

4. Hang the DJ

Spotify has really made our lives a lot easier these past few years and maybe eradicated a few DJ jobs in the way of doing so. In our case, there are thousands of great party playlists that you can just shuffle during your party. This way, you get one worry off of your head so that you enjoy your night the same as everyone else.

5. Stay police – free

So this is it! Your Erasmus house party is going amazing, everyone seems to be having a great time and the drinks are off making people happy and more talkative. And suddenly, a knock on your front door. If the police decide to pay you a visit, that means you probably partied just a tiiiiny bit too hard. Try to be more mindful of your neighbors, because even if it is a great Saturday night for you, someone next door may be trying to work or study. Make sure not to overly annoy them, as it can lead to many nasty situations.

However, if a police visit is unavoidable, act nice and try to convince them that you didn’t realize the music was so loud. Apologize and promise not to do it again and if they like you enough, maybe you won’t get a fine!