Over the past weekend, I had an absolute blast celebrating the birthday of one of my buddies. You always know it’s bound to be a good time when multiple friends can make it over for some late gaming, good food, and a great selection of craft beers.

And in fact, that’s exactly what transpired at our place. What made it so great in particular was that we were able to have a lot of fun with a new video game that just released last Friday. Considering it was something that we all had never played before, we were all on a similar footing and were able to navigate the world of the game together, often doing raids with one another thanks to wireless play.

Of course, once the weekend was over, there was a bit of work to be done. I’m never a fan of hosting mini get-togethers since it inevitably means cleaning up after your guests. Nonetheless, I tried to predict this and avoid messes, left out dishes, and other similar things so that the mess would be manageable after everyone happened to leave. To my surprise, there were just a few cardboard boxes to pick up, electronics to put back where they belong, and just a handful of craft beer cans that were still in the basement. I’d chock that up as a win.

It’s times like these with close friends that make me realize I need to do it much more often. It’s not that I need to (or even want to!) meet up with them every single weekend, or even every other weekend. But being able to hang out like that once every month or two would sincerely make me feel closer with my friends while also being able to kick back and truly enjoy myself from time to time.

Of course, doing so means more cleanup after I have them over, but the great thing is picking up cardboard boxes and empty cans is a fantastically simple chore compared to mopping up actual messes from “parties” that people like to get pretty wild at. I’m the type of person to go with a much more mellow and chill gathering rather than force something you’d only experience while in college. The fact that some of my friends still like to do such partying blows my mind, but I suppose that’s a part of aging and realizing what you enjoy in life and what you don’t.

I always love it when November rolls around, if only because it signals two things: my birthday and the upcoming winter holidays.

I’ve always been a fan of my birthday landing in the middle of November simply because it starts off a great sequence of holidays and days off of relaxing and lounging. In fact, it’s the perfect way to “wind down” the remainder of the year before starting it back up again in full force when January rolls around.

So for next week when I have buddies over, I plan to pretty much play video games in my basement with them on 3 different TVs. This will be the perfect setup for gaming and hanging out all weekend, and we won’t have to bother my partner who will most likely remain upstairs the majority of the time. It works for us and it works for her.

But one thing I know I’ll have to take care of prior to my birthday weekend is cleaning up the basement. It’s not necessarily that it’s a “mess”, per se. Rather, there just happens to be extra folded laundry down there (since that’s where our laundry appliances are) as well as a lot of old cardboard boxes full of belongings that are being kept in storage. If I can put all the laundry away, consolidate the storage boxes, and do a quick sweep through of loose items and whatever else needs picked up, it’ll be ready to go.

There’s also the fact that I’ll want to have multiple televisions set up down there. Unfortunately for me, my basement only has one outlet, so I’m forced to rig up multiple extension cords and drop cords to be able to run multiple TVs. While this sounds super crammed at first, it’s really not that bad thanks to the multiple cords spread out along the basement (in a manner that won’t cause anyone to trip, of course).

From there, it’s just configuring the table and my small home entertainment stand to make sure all TVs face the couch and none of those aforementioned cardboard boxes full of things are in the way. Throw in a thorough sweeping and dusting and I’ll have brought the basement together quite nicely so that everything is ready to go ahead of time.

I’m sure a lot of people don’t spend their birthday this way, but it’s what I prefer to do this year (and it helps that a new game is dropping on the day after my birthday, so it only makes sense to enjoy the weekend appropriately).

Little kickbacks are nice to host at your home from time to time, even if you do end up dreading the work involved in getting ready, preparing food, making sure everyone is comfortable and having a good time, and then cleaning up after the event (the least fun part!). But the good thing is that you don’t have to drive anywhere. AND you can hang out in the comfort of your own home.

If you’re going to be throwing little parties or events this holiday season, preparation really is a major part of the party itself. If you aren’t prepared for the numerous guests coming, the food and drinks situation can be a disaster. If you don’t plan out parking, that can also cause headaches for guests and yourself. With that said, here are a few things you can keep in mind when prepping for your next kick back.

Set out a few different treats and prepare some dishes.

Everyone loves surprises at events they end up at. I’ve always enjoyed the idea of setting out candy boxes as placeholders for your guests at the table. It’s cool to personalize their little gifts by knowing who likes what candy.

And whether you prefer doing finger foods or full on meals, it’s probably standard to provide at least a few different options for food. Your guests will likely be more than happy to bring dishes as well, but as the host, it’s somewhat of an expectation to have a few options for snacking. And guess what? If they start to know you like putting out little gifts at their seats (like the candy boxes above), they’ll be more likely than not to start bringing their own things to your events!

Get your seasonal decoration on.

Whether you’re simply cleaning up the place and putting out a few candles or going all out with fall or Halloween decor, making sure your place is nice and cozy is key. Just make sure you spruce the place up to match the season or upcoming holiday and everyone will realize you made a solid effort in hosting the event!

Have everyone bring their own drinks.

Trying to cut down the costs of hosting a party? You should make sure everyone brings their own drinks. Trying to satisfy the thirst of many guests who might be getting a bit rowdy late into the night is not something you should have to worry about. The good thing is that BYOB is pretty much the standard when it comes to get togethers and kickbacks. Take the stress off of yourself and your wallet by letting others know it’s fine to drink but ONLY if they bring their own.

For me, there’s nothing better than revisiting specific albums that I haven’t sat down with for a long time. Music means a heck of a lot to me, so being able to listen to things that used to mean something to me is an extremely nostalgic experience. What’s great is that it always seems to transport me back to a place and time in my life when I had that music on repeat.

Sometimes this involves me searching through my closet storage and getting out cheap moving boxes filled with old albums; then, I pop it on the record player and sit back. Other times, I just know where to find the music on Spotify, so I’ll queue it up on my soundbar or headphones and dive in. No matter what it means to me now or used to mean to me back then, I am reconnected with an older version of myself, and oftentimes old memories will come back, or I’ll remember things I used to enjoy.

I feel not enough people choose to look at music from this perspective, as a sort of “experiential” process. Instead, music is something that you hear on the radio to and from work, and that’s it. I view this as such a limited way of looking at music, and sometimes I feel bad for those who don’t know any better. They don’t know that there’s music out there that speaks to their soul and experiences and emotions. After all, this is what music is all about. It’s about baring your soul, being real, talking about things that matter, sharing experiences, and making meaning out of life. Unfortunately, a lot of popular music anymore is stripped of these aspects and ends up just being repetitive lyrics that hold very little meaning.

I think if everyone had their own little cheap moving boxes filled with records like me, there would be a lot more love and understanding in the world. If everyone gave music a chance and journeyed through the human experience from one artist to the next, people would begin to understand what makes the world work, what makes us all tick, and what actually matters in life. Like all things, though, everyone has their preferences and hobbies and interests, and they’ll never all overlap for the better.

I’m glad apps like Spotify have become so normalized if only to make music more widely accessible to people around the world. While artists may not be compensated fairly because of this model, I still think reaching more ears is more important than artists making buku bucks off of their music. The musicians who understand the impact that their music has on people are probably fine with the model anyway, because they understand what matters.