Karaoke, a Japanese word meaning “empty orchestra,” is a popular form of entertainment that often entails belting “Don’t Stop Believing” at the top of your lungs. You can find karaoke once or twice a week in almost any local bar, and sometimes even nightly at specialty karaoke lounges. Still, if you’d like to host a party of your own, we at One Stop Rental want to help.
Send Out Invites
Before you can host a party, you have to send out invitations. Your guest list may be limited by the size of your venue, but try to invite as many people as possible. If a few people feel too self-conscious to get up on stage, you want to make sure you have enough people to go on in their place. Consider inviting your neighbors, too—after all, it’s better to have them join in than complain about you later!
Snacks on Snacks
Once you have a good idea of how many people are coming to your party, you should get some food and drinks together. Depending on the age range of your crowd, you might want to serve alcoholic drinks as well as non-alcoholic ones. Food-wise, aim for a spread with finger foods such as hot wings, pizza or hamburgers. If you want to cut down on the costs of refreshments, ask guests to bring a dish or drink for everyone.
Rent Your Equipment
No matter who’s coming to your party or what food you’re serving, every karaoke party needs a few essential items. A karaoke machine is obviously non-negotiable. Other items you should have include a wireless microphone, projector and speakers. Depending on your venue, you might also want to have an iPod adapter and some kind of stage to perform on.
Set the Scene
You’ve set out the invitations, laid out snacks and hooked up your equipment—now it’s time to set the scene for a fun-filled evening of karaoke. Invest in decorations such as party lights, balloons and maybe even a disco ball to liven up the festivities. If you want to go the extra mile, set out hats, glasses, scarves and other costume pieces for your guests to wear when they go up to sing.
Following these tips, almost anyone can host their own karaoke party that guests will be buzzing about for years. What’s your go-to karaoke song? Share it with us in the comments below or via social media—we can’t wait to hear from you!