Forum Discussion
5 years ago
The length of an actively thrown party is supposed to depend on the party type and the time the guests actually get counted as having arrived. A Birthday Party will be the shortest, kids are often involved after all, while a Slumber Party will last all night and a Bachelor(ette) Party could go on for days, or so it feels. But when you've had enough, you should be able to send the guests home (MasterController's Go Home command is one way) and after the last one leaves the party should register as having concluded. Note if you do that too soon, however too soon is measured, your guests won't think they had enough time to enjoy the party and will downgrade their impressions of it accordingly.
On the food, guests won't appreciate it if they don't realize it's there; we often have to serve it to them. Since handing over plates one at a time tends to cause collisions and full plates of food being placed on the ground instead of being eaten and enjoyed, I often use icarus' Set the Table mod for a more organized sit down dinner portion of the event (doesn't have to involve everyone there). For smaller less formal parties, I can usually manage to get some food into the guests one at a time before it all has a chance to spoil but it's true that prepared meals can't sit out unrefrigerated for unlimited hours on end without that happening. How long prepared food can last on a table will depend on how freshly/long ago it was made and the quality of the fridge it may have been stored in prior. If there's more platters than are really needed, especially if guests "helpfully" bring their own to share, then I usually put the extras away in the fridge for later or for the hosts to enjoy the next day as leftovers.
On the food, guests won't appreciate it if they don't realize it's there; we often have to serve it to them. Since handing over plates one at a time tends to cause collisions and full plates of food being placed on the ground instead of being eaten and enjoyed, I often use icarus' Set the Table mod for a more organized sit down dinner portion of the event (doesn't have to involve everyone there). For smaller less formal parties, I can usually manage to get some food into the guests one at a time before it all has a chance to spoil but it's true that prepared meals can't sit out unrefrigerated for unlimited hours on end without that happening. How long prepared food can last on a table will depend on how freshly/long ago it was made and the quality of the fridge it may have been stored in prior. If there's more platters than are really needed, especially if guests "helpfully" bring their own to share, then I usually put the extras away in the fridge for later or for the hosts to enjoy the next day as leftovers.