Cosplay Celebration: How to Throw a Geek Cosplay Party

Cosplay is bigger than ever. It attracts millions to conventions every year, and cosplay parties are becoming more and more popular among the geek set. If you're looking to create your own cosplay party, you might want to consider following the tips below.

Start Planning Early

Planning your cosplay party is not as easy as you might think. After all, you're going to be keeping a lot of plates spinning during this process, especially if you're trying to organize a number of people. This isn't something you should do with a few days to go — try giving yourself at least a few weeks. As a rule, bigger parties require more people. If you're going to be renting out space, give yourself at least a month's lead time. This will help you to avoid some of the major party planning headaches.

Keep Your Guests in the Loop

It's very important to give your guests a heads up, especially when it comes to cosplay. After all, they've got quite a bit of prep work to do before the party! Make sure you let everyone know when the party will be, what (if anything) they should bring, and exactly what the theme is. While some cosplay parties allow for a lot of freedom, this isn't true across the board. The last thing you want is to have a guest show up in a fantastic space astronaut costume, while everyone else is in medieval garb!

Don't Forget the Atmosphere

Cosplay is fantastic, but it's not the only thing you need for a good party. If you're going to throw something for the various costume-inclined geeks in your life, make sure you put in the effort to make the atmosphere geek friendly. Invest in some food and drink that's theme appropriate, grab music that people actually like, and don't forget to decorate. The amount of effort you put into the room should at least match the amount of effort that your guests put into the party. Consider the atmosphere the cosplay of your event space.

Logistics Matter

Pay attention to the logistical parts of the night. If you're planning a big party, make sure you know whether you'll need to make lodging arrangements for people, that you have enough bathrooms nearby, and what you'll do in the case of an emergency. These things don't seem like a big deal if you're the person putting costumes together, but they can honestly be life-or-death issues on the day of the party. Keep the logistics in mind so that all of your guests won't have to worry about them when they arrive.

Hire the Right People

We live in a world where everyone carries a thousand dollar smartphone in their pocket. Still, it’s not exactly going to excite cosplay geeks when they’re being snapped with an iPhone. You should think about hiring a photographer to show up for the day. Everyone will feel like royalty in their costumes. I know we spoke about music earlier, but maybe you can add a twist to that too. Hire an anime band to blast songs from the stage and everyone will love it. Your party will spring to life.

And the Winner Is…

I wonder how many hours everyone spends on their costumes. One or two geeks will spend an unhealthy amount of time preparing, so they deserve to be recognized. Your cosplay party will be a lot more fun if everyone is competing for a ‘best costume’ prize. If you want to hand out even more prizes, you can think of a few cool games everyone can play. If you don’t want to get too technical, card games are great. Those who want to take things to the next level can set up video games in a corner of the venue.

Once you're done with your planning, have some fun! A good cosplay party can be a place where people let their geek flag fly, so join in. Remember, it's not the costume that counts — it's the love and affection that went into dressing up. If you're willing to put in the effort to give others a good time, you deserve to enjoy it yourself.