Party time?

I was reading Richard Foster's "Freedom of Simplicity" recently and he wrote about finding ways of entertaining ourselves simply; "why not invite some friends around and share in some music".

I looked around my room, yes, I think I could fit 10-12 people in here without too much crowding leaving some space in a corner for a musician, improv actor or story teller or ...  Then I could do buffet food in the dining room.. yeah it could be done...

So, it's going to be done! A group of friends, some from church some from other areas of my life; a chance to witness to a truth that entertainment doesn't have to be expensive or electronic. A chance to dwell awhile with people we don't know, to celebrate that these are my friends who add to my life and with whom I am pleased to share.

Maybe we'll talk about faith, maybe but not certainly. This is for friendship and sharing.  Perhaps have different groupings once a month with different forms of entertainment.

Only problem is getting the people to do the entertaining, some advice please:

I would love to get to the stage where local people with talent would come but, initially, I think that a professional or near-professional would be wise. Do you agree?

And if I did get a professional in, do you think that the 'party' would lose anything if I asked the guests to contribute £10-15?

What other forms of entertainment could we look at?  Puppetry, mime ... ?

wisdom please

thanks

Comments

[Jordan]

I think I would avoid having guests pay. Why not have everyone bring a cd with their favorite song and play them in turn. My friends and I usually have many cds in our cars. We sometimes have impromptue gatherings where we just listen to music. One person plays something and then another says, "Oh, you have to hear this." and they return from their car with a stack of music and it goes on and on until you have to leave.

You could have everyone bring a poem or very short story and read them aloud.

[Lorna]

I think charging would spoil it - instead of providing all the food and drink you could have pot luck

liked Jordan's idea of a CD evening :)

But I think this is a great idea and if you encouraged your friends to bring a friend you could have an intresting and lively bunch - and a chance to show thatChristians aren't dull and boring either!

[graham]

What a great idea!

I don't think charging would be a problem; it's just in how you word it, isn't it?

I love Freedom of Simplicity. It's a Top 10 book for me.

[Caroline]

Oh dear, good advice going in opposite directions! :-)

My guess is that for the first party, I'll try to avoid payment but it's also the first party that I'm most nervous about getting the right quality. sigh, bit of a puzzle...