pros and cons of a cosplay dinner party?

By saneko. 31/03/13, 02:44 am

i'm holding a hamgeddon dinner party again this year on the Saturday of hamgeddon and I was thinking about perhaps making it into a cosplay dinner party.
I've invited 30 or so people, but the odds are only 20-25 will probably show up. Pretty much all of them are cosplayers as well and i'm sure it'd be fun but i'd still like to get abit of feedback as I've never gone to a cosplay dinner party before.

so what are the pros and cons? can you please list them? (aside from food staining cosplays and weird looks lol)

By oujihime. 31/03/13, 04:33 am

This is nice that you're setting up your own cosplay dinner party!
I wish I can invite that so many people.
I haven't had a dinner party organized before for this so many people, but I'm pretty sure you and your friends will have a good time!

Hope someone with better experience can help you out! Very Happy

By azeria. 31/03/13, 09:45 am

Would this be at a restaurant or just someone's house? Because if you're planning to eat out you have to think about whether it would be appropriate to wear cosplay there. We've often had dinners after armageddon, but people just get changed into casual/semi nice clothes instead.

By saneko. 31/03/13, 12:34 pm

yeah I did that last year as well, we went to a restaurant in sky city last time, I think I might ask them if they'll allow it

By **jpwise**. 01/04/13, 05:29 am

As azeria said, it depends if you're hosting it yourself or having it at a restaurant.
Giving as many tips as I can since I don't know your experience level.

For ~30 people you're definitely better off looking at a restaurant unless you're planning on doing in house catering, or ordering food in (pizza?). Likewise theres the risk of damaging cosplays with food/drink etc.

If you have it at a restaurant you can still look at having it in cosplay if you want, but by the end of the day most people will want to change into something more comfortable, especially if they've got itchy wigs, contact lens issues, or uncomfortable shoes/other items. If you do decide to go for 'in cosplay' some restaurants have private function rooms, but there may be a charge associated. Also some restaurants may have a dress code that the cosplays might not fit.

Also on the restaurant front, you want it to be a restaurant - potentially licensed if the 18+ people want to have a drink. Don't make the mistake of booking it at a bar that serves food. It can be a pretty fine line telling them apart, so ask the question over the phone. If you accidentally book it at a bar that serves food they can't have under 18's on the premises due to the bar license. If it's a restaurant it can still be licensed, but 'is' allowed to have under 18's present.

Also definitely make a booking in advance - don't just have 20+ people turn up and expect to get a table. Lastly make sure you confirm numbers as much as possible before hand. If you get a number of drop outs let the restaurant know the updated numbers - it allows them to arrange tables in advance and work out how much food they need to prepare on the night. If you don't directly 'know' all of the people attending it's worth linking the menu in advance so people know the approximate costs and can budget.

It can sometimes also be worthwhile putting a notepad + pen on each table for people to record what they're ordering so there's less confusion at the end of the night with paying the bill. Depending on how much you want to track it, mark people off the list as they pay aswell. Do be prepared to run the risk of having some billing issues - sometimes people forget they ordered an extra drink, sometimes the restaurant makes a mistake, but do be prepared for the worst case scenario and ideally have some extra money on hand. If you made the booking for the group the restaurant will be talking to you if there's anything left unpaid at the end. You also want to check with the restaurant in advance that the bill can be split at the end of the night. Some (not common, but some) restaurants insist on a single bill per table.

It's not all doom and gloom organising a dinner gathering, but just do make plans incase anything doesn't quite work out, then its less of an issue on the night itself if you've already made contingency plans 'just incase'.

Jp.

By Kuro&Shiro. 02/05/13, 05:52 am

*A* waaaah. Wish I -still- lived in Hamilton!!
Anyway... If you decide to host the dinner par
ty at your house,

pros
More privacy
If something goes wrong, you will b able to handle.it better
More variety of choice -food nyum-

cons
Neighbours
Space
the clean up
location (how to get there etc)

Here are a few tips -that you might all ready b aware of... ;_;-
-make sure the people who are coming have told u that they are coming
- if it's more of a party than a dinner -c what I did there? ;0)- disposable cups, plates and cutlery is easiest than being chained o the sink or having to load everything into the dishwasher
-a safe place to store props and stuff I reckon will b a good idea....
-have fun! Doesn't matter if stuff goes wrong, just keep calm and laugh!
Oh yeah. And if u order pizza, watch the pizza delivery person's face XD

Hope this remotely helped ye! ^-~)/
~Kuro

By saneko. 02/05/13, 11:16 am

thanks for all your input guys~ i'm going ahead with it, cheers~

By MissRedZelda. 05/05/13, 01:46 am

Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun. Wish I could afford a trip down to Hammergeddon. But alas, most of my money this week went toward fabric. Laughing

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