Where to have a house party if you don't have a house

Another possibility might be the Ukrainian Club (fondly referred to by nearly everyone in the neighborhood as the Ukie Club) in the Fairmount section of Philly. It'a a private club, has a 60's themed (actually from the 60's I believe - think red faux-leather booths and chrome barstools -lounge downstairs, where I remember beer or wine was $1.00. Or maybe 50 cents. It was like stepping back in time). You had to buy a membership for entry - $5.00, I think. It's fairly small, but there is a large room upstairs that I understand is frequently rented for events. Although the neighborhood has gentrified greatly, its history is Eastern European, and there are numerous churches (Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox) within about a square mile. For raucous, though, I'd go with a club rather than a church hall. The Latvian Society on Spring Garden Street also has a liquor licence and cheap drinks, and a large upstairs room they rent out. The German Society is also on Spring Garden, but I haven't been inside and don't know what they might offer. It is a much larger, more imposing building than the Latvian or Ukie clubs. These are the kind of places where you would be able to bring in your own food or snacks. Booze - you should ask what their club licenses permit. They definitely have more leeway than a restaurant with a regular liquor license. Often they are permitted to serve alcohol after hours, as well. You could also ask about renting a Schuylkill River boathouse. They do it all the time, but I don't know about the hours. I once helped arrange an event at the Vespers boathouse, and we brought in our own beer. Keep in mind that at Vespers, at least, they provide cheap housing for serious rowers, so it's possible they would have a 2:00 am curfew so the guys can sleep. Just a thought.

I can't help with venue except to say a lot of people think their place is unsuitable, is it really? You don't actually need a lot of space and you can let your neighbours know you're having a party and will keep the noise down after 10pm or whatever. People love being invited to your home. It's hospitality at its best. Food is easy. Just call pizza including a vegetarian option. People who don't eat x/y/z know they need to eat something before they arrive. Parties are my specialty, here are my tips: 1. Encourage early drinking. Shots, glass of bubbles or signature drink on arrival. Even if they don't drink the rest of the night, a couple of units of alcohol at the beginning helps people relax and feel sociable enough to mingle. Enlist a friend or two to go round with the champagne and top people up. 2. You need three gimmicks. You want to give people opportunities to start conversations with people they don't know. My last party:invitation was a colouring contest. People had to pin them up on the noticeboard then later in the evening we had voting and a trophy was awarded. We also had karaoke and a dress up theme (another trophy for best dressed). Karaoke is great; spectators can feel like they're participating even if they don't want to sing. Hanging around to queue up songs is another chance to mingle. Strangers did duets, audience joined in with crowd favourites. 3. Is part of 2. Put your food and drink in separate spaces to give people an excuse to move around the venue. Gives them an opportunity to leave a conversation they don't like and join a new one. 4. Whatever you do for food, make more food appear at midnight. People will be drunk and hungry and its a good way to transition from house party to hanging out in one group. By this time maybe half or two thirds of the guests have left, bring everyone together, make the music go mellow. This is when my husband usually breaks out "The Brown Wine" (scotch!) for the hardcore. We're Australian so once it was vegemite on toast (toaster on the coffee table, DIY seconds), more pizza or bacon sandwiches. If my husband is not too trashy, he'll do midnight sausage sizzle. And lastly, a general long term tip for successful parties. People like parties where they will meet new people but don't like going where they don't know anyone except the host. They don't like to go with their partner, stand in the corner with their partner all night, then go home. Part of this is up to them to be sociable but the host can make it easier by regularly having different smaller gatherings where people can have met a bunch of your friends from different groups, several times, over time. Then they can run into these acquaintances at your parties. It's easier to approach someone you met at Stella's barbecue last summer. It feels as good as meeting new people but easier than starting from scratch in a crowded room. Have fun!

Do you have an Elks Lodge nearby? They will often rent out the hall when not in use. Lots of clubs that have their own spaces will do this.

Do you have any friends who live in nice, high-rise type apartments? Those places usually have community rooms you can reserve. The cheapest thing you can do is have a friend who lives in a place like this who will let you use the space. Another idea is to rent out a dive bar. You probably won't get the entire place, but the back room or a sectioned off portion would probably do you just fine. They'll probably not let you bring your own drinks, but find a place that's bar only, no kitchen and you can arrange to bring in all the food you want. They'll work out a discounted drink price with you, too.

VFW is another "hall" option; party room at a bowling alley (plus BOWLING!); many historic homes rent out for evening parties and let you self-cater (especially the less-fancy ones that aren't constantly used for weddings); parks and park buildings, depending on their alcohol rules; lots of smaller museums let you rent the museum for evening parties at relatively reasonable rates, like children's museums, art museums, even zoos. If it's a hands-on kids' museum, people get to PLAY. Lions/Elk/Moose/VFW/labor type halls DEFINITELY allow for drunkenness and usually are licensed to host alcohol-having parties (i.e., they can have a cash bar, instead of just BYOB). They can probably even supply you a 60-year-old dude bartender. That is honestly kind-of the point of them, noisy parties with alcohol. They have a bit of a high-school-dance vibe about them (as opposed to a "fancy wedding" vibe), but they're casual and comfortable and typically well-arranged for hosting large parties of the sort you're after. They usually have a dance floor and can set up for a DJ and all. Back room of a bar is good, too, although you may not have space for dancing.

I know nothing about Philly venues but FWIW I am having a birthday party this year in a hotel penthouse. You can also try corporate apartment rentals. As long as they are self-catering you can bring in your won food and drink. But honestly if you've never done this you can save a huge amount of stress by doing it in a bar or pub. You can pay for the food, the guests can pay for the drinks. You don't need to worry about sound systems, catering, booze count, unhappy neighbours, ANY of that. Just tell the venue what you want, turn up and have a good time!

Throwing a party by yourself for 50-100 people is a LOT OF WORK, I'd like to add, and may keep you too busy with hostessing to enjoy it. That's why a lot of people let the venue manage the food/drinks. Another option is to hire a friend's teenagers for part or all of the party, to prepare and pass appetizer trays, keep the cooler full of soda, pick up discarded plates, manage the iPod, etc., and generally help with set-up and/or clean-up. (In my experience it's best to hire your friend's kid, and tell them to bring along a friend whom you will also pay, and then when they're not needed they'll sit in a corner chatting and futzing with their phones.) They don't need to look like cater-waiters or anything, just regular clothes, and they're just there so you have minions. You can also ask a couple good friends to come a little early to help you set up, usually your good friends are flattered they're high enough on your friend list to be asked, and happy to help. MOST people who stay around long enough to shut down the party end up helping clean up unless they're stupid drunk.

Theres a spot called "The Deck" around the philly area and they usually run good promotions its a nice looking spot you should call them in reference to your party idea, they may even work with you the link below is their site. http://www.thedeckhp.com/#!nightclub/c1qg

Our large group of friends have this problem for New Year's - bats/clubs are noisy and expensive, our places too small. A person ended up renting a frat house, some of which are quite nice. It was reasonable, let's you do whatever you want and if it's a few months time, should be summer pretty soon.