Party Recipe: Thunderbolt

I don’t usually post about work parties, but they really are some of my favorites! It’s one of the best things about being a boss. This time, the occasion was celebrating the 2-year anniversaries of the first two people we hired on the marketing team. My co-director came up with the idea of a lightning bolt theme – I just love a weird party idea!

The final result was an awesome transformation of a startup conference room into a sort of “disco Olympus” bash worthy of just how wonderful these two people are.

For decorations, we replaced all the lamps in the room with blue lightbulbs, projected a looping video of a thunderstorm on the wall and made two thunderclouds over each door using tinsel curtains, tissue paper and construction paper. The whole thing was a surprise, concealed as a mandatory late-Friday HR meeting.

Pita chips, hummus, olives and other Greek snacks along with ouzo and vodka. Plenty of music. Everyone got a blue or yellow glowstick bracelet. The guests of honor also had gold leaf wreaths. And the most fun part of all? Facepaint in metallic blue and gold! Guests had their choice of thunderbolts over the eye – Lady Gaga-style – or on their arms. We got a surprising amount of people to go for the eye!

I’m so lucky to work with a group of people who appreciate oddly-themed, construction-paper-based parties as much as I do!