While we can’t predict if your invitees will go gaga over a hand-carved ice luge, we can give you the answers to throwing an absolutely awesome house party.

1. Invest in a variety of alcohol…and lots of it

Nothing says lame party like the house that runs out of alcohol before midnight.  People at parties have this great habit of making a drink, holding onto it for five minutes, and then forgetting about their cup and pouring another drink.  Therefore, buy more.  It is absolutely okay to get cheap vodka and cheap rum if that means that more people can drink it.  You and your friends will have the leftover alcohol to use for the rest of the year.  If you need a guide, there are 17 shots in a fifth and 40 shots in handle.

2. Don’t forget the beer!

Even if you aren’t a beer drinker, a party without a keg means no flip cup, no beer pong, and a larger chance that someone will throw up in your house, since hard alcohol drinks will get people drunk faster than beer.  Set up the keg in the corner somewhere, and make sure you have lots of cups.

3. Jungle Juice and Jello Shots

In my personal opinion, Jello shots are awesome and fun for a few people, but if you are having a party with over 75 people, they are a waste of good alcohol and a waste of money that can be spent elsewhere.  However, Jungle Juice is easy to make, can be made as strong or as weak as you want, and minimizes the amount that people pour their own drinks into cups, helping you somewhat monitor how much they are drinking and how much alcohol is consumed

4. Make an awesome playlist

Have you ever been to a party where all of a sudden the Pokemon theme song comes on?  I’ve hosted this party.  Make an exceptionally long playlist with every song that people might want to hear at a party so that nothing embarrassing happens to you…putting your iPod on shuffle is the kiss of death. Need help? Check out these great suggestions!

5. Lock up your iPod or Computer in a room on the first floor

Because parties are all over Facebook these days and it is likely that some people you don’t know are going to show up to your house and drink your alcohol.  While this isn’t really a big deal, you would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to your valuables.  Take it from someone who had her iPod stolen during welcome week…lock the iPod in your room, and plug it into speakers or an extension cord that you can wire under the door.

6. And while your on it, get rid of your food

Reeses Puffs.  Pretzels.  M&Ms.  A bottle of Sangria.  All things that I have seen stolen at various parties.  Drunk people are hungry people and hungry people will raid your fridge and your cabinets.  Make sure that you’ve stashed anything important in your room, and if you are able to lock your fridge, by all means, just do it.

7. What goes on Facebook is there for everybody to see

If you want a smaller party with only people you know, try to make it a private event on Facebook.  Otherwise, it is really hard to dictate who comes through your front door and figure out who is a “friend of a friend” versus who “just got bored and saw a party and wanted free alcohol.” Also, a lot of school’s have their public safety guys cruise Facebook looking for open events where they can bust underage drinkers.

8. Invite your close friends to pregame

It’s a good idea to have 20 people or so at your house at the beginning of the night.  Nothing is more awkward than starting the night with your four roommates and 10 people from freshmen year who you haven’t spoken to since then.  Having people who you know at your house early makes it less awkward when your less close friends stop by, and also is an easy way to start your party.

9. And the last thing…ending the party

If it is 4am and you still have some stragglers, turn off the music, start cleaning, start putting things away…these people will get the idea….

Any other advice for first time party throwers? Any questions for the party experts? Share below! And feel free to check out our insider’s guide to the college party scene.

For times like those, magazines are the way to go (plus, who doesn’t like perfume samples and grocery coupons?). But you don’t want to waste your money on just any magazine; you want the one that will give you the most (gossip) bang for your buck.

So which ones are best? I scoured the grocery store check-out aisles for candy bars the top dogs in gossip magazines and here are my rankings:

People

This is definitely the cream of the crop, in terms of the amount of coverage, story quality, and reliability. It seems to actually like the people it talks about, showing amazing weight loss stories more than gains, and cute bikini pictures more than cellulite. Since it’s the most popular one and the most sympathetic towards its subjects, the stars are more willing to give interviews and send exclusive baby pictures that aren’t found elsewhere. The writers only print what they can back up with hard facts and legitimate sources, and always have a few pages of deeper articles, like “Real Heroes Among Us.” Sometimes, though, the articles are a bit too long for relaxed beach-reading material, and sometimes are a little depressing compared to the more fun and trashy mags.
Overall Score: 9

Us Weekly

If People is king, then Us Weekly is his lovely queen. I love the features like, “Stars- They’re Just Like Us!” or the snarky comments in the “Fashion Police.” Even though the articles are pretty shallow and not particularly well-written, they’re always fun and entertaining (meaning no deaths or disasters). And just like People, they’re pretty high in reliability and have the latest photos in the business.
Overall Score: 8

Star

This ugly duckling has transformed from a dirt-grubbing tabloid (National Enquirer, anyone?) to a certified glossy. Although it lacks the reliability of the top performers, Star is always a fun read that’s filled with attention-grabbing headliners, always accentuated with exclamation points. Titles like “Scariest Hollywood Makeovers!” and varying back-page features like “Public Displays of Consumption” (huh?) offer a wide breadth of topics, but don’t exactly have the most flattering pictures or correct information. Details…
Overall Score: 6

In Touch

Basically the poor man’s version of Us Weekly, and not even close in terms of credence and quality. The stories are kind of bland, tend to be more inaccurate, and the picture quality isn’t even very good. The only time you would want to buy this is if you only had $2 to spend, or if all the other magazines were sold out and you were about to get on a really long plane ride and had absolutely nothing else to do. Even then, though, I’d rather spend my money on Sour Patch Kids and read the back of the box.
Overall Score: 3

Do you have any favorites on the shelves? Or do you prefer to read juicy celebrity gossip online? Lemme know!

Strange, silly and awkward things overheard on campus this week:

- A lanky blonde man leans against a doorway, talking to a short-haired brunette.

“She’s really… nice, you know?” He shakes his head. “I mean, I just wanted someone to care about.”

“But a freshman?” she asks, feigning surprise. “Really!“

“Yeah. It was like fishing with dynamite.”

- Two grizzled, swarthy males stand in the dining hall.

“Man, I can’t believe there aren’t any forks,” remarks one, his thick lower lip turned in a pout. He moves one finger toward his collar unconsciously.

His friend looks sadly at the empty racks. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t even know anyone who uses spoons.”

- Across the dining hall, a guy stands up and starts singing “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from Mulan . About three quarters of the table joins in within seconds. One other guy grabs his tray, gets up and stalks away. “I thought we were done with this,” he says, darkly.

- Down the hallway, a pink-faced man is tying a lumpy plastic bag to a door. As I pass by, he looks up and smiles conspiratorially.

“It’s ladybugs,” he says.

- A punky blonde girl and redhaired boy – they look like a couple – are sitting with some others at a cafe table.

“But honestly,” says the boy, looking around the table. “Who sleeps with freshmen?”

As he looks back at the girl, she’s pointing straight at him. He shrugs.

- A professor, standing at the head of a class on prejudice and discrimination:

“Entries should be one page minimum, 12 point font. And please don’t write these drunk.”

“But what if you’re out drinking and someone says something racist?” asks a student in the back. “And you just have to write about it, but you won’t remember in the morning?”

The professor thinks about it for a minute. “Then I would take notes,” she says.

(Incidentally, the same professor suggested “gatorade and rice” as the best hangover cure.)

- Outside a dorm, three guys are sitting on the steps. They look sad about something

“Man, this sucks, dude, I’m so hungry.”

“Yeah,” says another. The smell of marijuana is thick in the air.

“F*ckin’ sucks,” the third says, mournfully.

At their feet, Lucky Charms are scattered about the steps.

Beauty is a non-negotiable attribute that one must have in order to fit the credentials of “celebrity”. Lucky for many in Hollywood, high-priced make-up artists trained at top beauty schools are able to transform even the ugliest ducklings into irresistible starlets.

Recently People took a look at an alternative breed of Hollywood royalty: The starlets who don’t need make-up to look absolutely gorgeous. Props to these actresses and performers who are comfortable enough in their own skin to shed the layers of make-up that most celebs don day and night. The girls all look gorgeous and as Jessica Biel mentions, many men prefer women who don’t wear any make up at all! So girls, ditch your compacts and eye lash curlers and join your favorite stars in celebrating natural beauty.

Photo Gallery After the jump.

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