Yesterday I was at the birthday of a family member and it was one of the strangest situations I was in. Even if he has a large house, he decided to have the party at the garage, even with the car and other junk inside. The party did happen, but it was awkward. Is it just me or is the garage not the right place to give a party?
We also use our garage for small parties but we clean it and take away the junk first. We have a cabinet there for the needs of our cars, we take that to the backyard temporarily. And we also decorate the garage so it would have a party look. And since this is a tropical country, we place several electric fans around so the garage will be cooler. We normally party there for the kids.
I assume this was a man as a woman probably wouldn't do this and would choose a garden. Maybe he didn't want to have too much mess to clean up and wanted it outside so people could smoke or other things? It's not ideal, but a party is about the people and not the place. I am sure there were reasons, and cleaning up was one of them.
Actually it was the 50th birthday of my brother-in-law, but if wife is the one organizing everything. I think she didn't thought it out straight because there were more flies there over the food than people invited to the party, LOL!
Some people are concerned with people's shoes dirtying their floors and similar stuff, so they just decided to hold the party in the garage. If there were lots of flies hovering on the food then that's a bit disturbing and annoying.
Garage gatherings are pretty common around here. However, the garages are usually cleared out and prepped for people to be fairly comfortable (bringing in tables and benches, etc.), sometimes decorated for the purpose. It does tend to be easier to clean up than a house party, and it allows people to smoke without disturbing the house. Although I agree, those flies can be mighty irritating!
OK, so it could have been decently prepared, it wasn't. Still about the flies, someone had the idea to bring some candles that were suppose to send them away, but that didn't work. Under some paper covering the food came out like more than 10 flies, disgusting.
Garage parties aren't exactly my favorite thing, unless the garage is big and airy. I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable sitting amongst a lot of junk and flies hovering over my cake. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to simply put a few chairs and a table in the driveway of the garage and just let the party "develop" naturally with a people making their own arrangements with their seating, neighbors dropping in, etc.
We have often had parties in the garage during the summer, the house is small and it is easier to have access to the backyard if you use the garage. We just put have a few tables and chairs out along with the grill and enjoy ourselves along with some good music.
I have organized small parties in my garage, the very recent one being the graduation party of my SIL. We started using our garage as a party location two years back. Till then the garage was full of wanted and unwanted items that had been with us for years. Then we decided to get rid of all the junk things and organize the garage. WeLog In to take away all the unwanted items in the garage and also started arranging the things. After the work was completed we saw that we have enough and more space there and we help the first garage party a week later with just our families. So I don't think a garage party is awkward, for me it definitely isn't awkward.
You mentioned smoking and it's only now that I realized the convenience of our garage for smokers. Actually the smokers are in the driveway which also has a roof and an extension of the garage. When we held an informal karaoke party one time, I remember the singers would go the driveway to smoke so as not to bother the people in the garage.
My ex and his neighbors in their condo complex would all have garage parties regularly. However most of them chose to furnish their garages more or less like a lounge/bar, so there wasn't all kinds of junk sitting around. They look more like another room in the condo than a garage, most of them even had the floor painted with textured paint with images of stuff like their favorite sports teams. The only things in their garages are usually kegs, small bars, their grills, and some tables and chairs. It worked out nicely whenever any one of them wanted to entertain and throw a party, since they didn't have to worry about lots of people coming and going from their condo. Especially when the people they invited also bring along some of their other friends. They didn't have to worry about strangers snooping around their place, stealing stuff, or getting drunk and damaging things. Plus they are all big fans of playing Cornhole, so they usually end up breaking out the Cornhole boards and playing it throughout the evenings.
We had used the garage in my hubby's house for several parties. It is a small garage but we removed the cars and other junks before each party. We would also decorate it accordingly to make it look nice. Usually, our guests are just too many and we cannot accomodate them all in the house. He has such a very big family. So we need the garage and sometimes even the street to provide an eating area for guests.
I grew up in the midwest and this was a very popular thing to do, especially for spring/summer bbqs. The garage provided shade and better place to set up all the food, but still gave wide open access to the yard for those who wanted to be in and out. We would always clean up the garage, of course, before the party, to make it look half way decent and to ensure anything that could harm someone was placed well out of the way.
As long as the garage is relatively clean and it's pretty airy, I think it's totally fine. If you don't have a very big house, throwing a party in a garage can actually be a really good cheap alternative to hiring out some other big place which would be quite expensive. It also gives people the option of standing outside if they want to. However, I think garage parties may only be a good idea during the summer - it would probably end up very chilly in the winter!
It's not the most conventional place to have a party but it kind of makes sense, I guess. I also think it could have been motivated by him not wanting to have to deal with the mess afterwards, to at least keep it contained. Also, he may be very precious about his space and possessions? BUT c'mon, he could have made the effort to clear up the garage and made it a little more conducive LOL
If you've got the type of climate that allows you to have a gathering in your garage then whyever not! As long as there's enough space, I think it could be a relief not to have to worry about spilt drinks, broken ornaments and food on the floor. It's probably a great idea for kids or teen parties.
I think some people expand their parties to the garage when they are having a large group. However, that being said, they usually have them spiffed up, or they are extra recreation areas. I think having a party around all the junk is just awkward. I wonder what they were thinking..
Yep, but that was not the case. The party was not expanded, but totally held there. I feel that they done it out of convenience because they didn't want to host people inside, but that seemed rude to me the more I think about it.
I don't mind when they're held in garages, but it should NOT still have vehicles in it! It's way more appropriate to remove the cars and block off a clear area specifically for the party. Drape sheets or something over anything that's not party-associated and then it's fine.
