Party Hard Trivia Quiz

Answer: Housewarming party

A housewarming party is often held as an open house, an informal party to which people are invited to arrive at any time that suits them, and stay for as long as they find convenient and enjoyable, between specified times. When we moved into our first house, the signs I put up at work advised that we would be entertaining between noon and midnight; the last guests went home about dawn, and the house had been well and truly warmed.

Answer: Halloween party

After seeing the parties on "Roseanne", some of our friends expected a more extravagant spook show than we provided. We did ask everyone to come in costume, and provided a bunch of old sheets to create on-the-spot ghosts as necessary. Bobbing for apples, by the way, is a lot easier before you start drinking the alcoholic cider.

The jack-o-lantern carving competition produced some 'interesting' results.

Answer: Tea party

I have actually never thrown a tea party, but I remember attending them as a child, and being taught about the proper behavior on such occasions. Darjeeling, Formosa Oolong and English Breakfast are all varieties of traditional tea, while Chamomile is a popular herb for preparing an infusion. Tea parties are traditionally relatively formal and staid affairs, with the best silver and china being put to use, and everyone sitting (or standing, if necessary) around making polite conversation. Cucumber sandwiches are stereotypically associated with tea parties, but many other treats such as cakes and slices are commonly served.

Answer: Block party

At least where we live, it takes a lot of work to organize a block party, the origins of which lie in the spontaneous congregation of neighbours. Before the street can be closed to traffic, you need to collect signatures of agreement from every single residence in the affected area.

This can take weeks, so spontaneous is no longer a suitable word to describe a block party! Still, it is a good way to improve harmonious relationships - when our neighbours actually met our yappy little dogs who bark their heads off for five minutes every weekday morning at 6am as we leave for work, they discovered that they are actually quite likable. For 23 hours and 55 minutes of the day.

Answer: Divorce party

Hen parties and bachelor parties (for the bride and groom respectively) are traditionally held immediately before the wedding, although it is becoming more common to hold them up to a week earlier, allowing plenty of time for recovery before the big day. A bridal shower focuses more on the giving of gifts to the bride than on 'partying hard'.

Answer: Murder mystery party

There are kits you can buy for murder mystery parties that provide character descriptions and costume suggestions, and give each player the relevant information for their character. If you have ever played one, you can readily organize one for yourself. Our theme was set in the 60s, and allowed us all to dress in 'hippie' gear.

The dining table was prepared with a tie-dyed tablecloth and serviettes, dozens of candles provided the illumination, and it turned out that I dunnit. Murder mystery parties work best when everyone is prepared to get involved in the requisite role-playing, so you need to choose your guests wisely.

Answer: Surprise party

Personally, I think surprise parties are a dangerous thing to plan. Either the 'victim' will want a party, and be unhappy that you don't seem to be organizing anything, or they won't want a party, and be appalled that you have organized one. Then there's the issue of deciding to work late to finish off a job, or going out with a friend at short notice because he's got tickets to a basketball game, or heading off to see an interesting movie with friends (who weren't invited to the surprise party).

As someone who likes to organize things well in advance, I see so many ways in which a surprise party can go wrong!

Answer: Costume party

Since my guests were dressed as a mixture of real-life and fictitious characters, the best term for the party is a fancy-dress, or costume, party. It is common for such parties to have a theme, such as "Gone with the Wind" - everyone would be expected to dress in period, preferably so as to be identified with one of the characters in the book or movie.

Answer: Christianity

Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is a celebration originally held before the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, which is the liturgical season during which Christians prepare for the celebration of Easter. It was a time to use up all the perishable fatty foods that would not be consumed for the following forty days, and has become associated with a major party event in preparation for the privations to be experienced during Lent.

Many people now enjoy the party, and ignore the privation.

Answer: Birthday party

Birthday parties traditionally include a birthday cake with candles. When I was young, there was one candle for every year. Nowadays that would require a cake the size of a football field! It is traditional that the person whose birthday is being celebrated should blow the candles out after making a wish - if they are successfully blown out on the first try, the wish will come true. My twin brother and I used to have to share a cake (one quarter was white with white frosting, which I considered proper for a birthday cake, one half was chocolate with chocolate frosting which was his favourite, one quarter was white with chocolate frosting to suit the taste of my younger brother who celebrated his unbirthday when we had our birthday; my mother was amazing) which meant we had two of us to blow out the candles. I still never got my pony until I was an adult and could buy it for myself.