Designing a Safe Party Where Alcohol is Present
-
Serve low-alcohol beverages (i.e., light beer).
-
Have and offer non-alcoholic beverages.
-
Provide food and snacks for your guests (or have them bring snacks). You should always have food when alcohol is served.
-
Do not allow under-age individuals to consume alcoholic beverages.
-
Have jiggers available to deliver measured amounts of alcohol and provide bar service for liquor.
-
Refuse to serve anyone who is visibly intoxicated.
-
Do not force alcohol on your guests or allow others to exert these types of pressures.
-
Stop serving alcohol about one hour before the party is going to end.
-
See that any intoxicated individuals have a safe way home (i.e., a sober escort), or make adequate accommodations for them to stay over night.
The environment where you are having the event can have a substantial
influence on people’s behavior at the party. You can avoid many
problem situations before they start with a little pre-planning.
Here is a place to start:
-
Have a theme for the party that does not revolve around alcohol.
-
Offer activities for your guests (i.e., games, dancing, contests) that do not involve alcohol use.
-
Place a sign at the entrance indicating your house rules, for example:
-
ID required.
-
No underage drinking allowed.
-
No drinking games.
-
No funneling or shot gunning.
-
-
Have someone checking ID’s at the door.
-
Have a “sober crew” that can deal with any problems and provide transportation to those that have consumed alcohol.
-
Limit the number of guests to a manageable level, depending on space available.
-
Limit the amount of alcohol that can be brought into the party by persons who are 21 years of age.