Gather and celebrate: Organising a party (Med)

When you say, ‘Let’s throw a party,’ you're essentially saying, ‘Let’s have a good time with friends.’ An informal way of saying ‘throwing ‘ a party is ‘chucking a party’. Source: iStockphoto / Ivanko_Brnjakovic/Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Learn how to talk about having a party.

Note: This episode was originally published in Feb 2024.

SBS Learn English will help you speak, understand and connect in Australia - view all episodes.

This lesson suits intermediate learners. After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.

Learning notes

Different phrases to use when talking about a party:

Let’s throw a party. Are you game?
The party kicks off at 5pm.
We're chucking a party this Saturday arvo.
I’m throwing/chucking/hosting a cosy get-together in my backyard.
We’re keeping our party laid-back.

Colloquial expressions:  

When you say, ‘Let’s throw a party,’ you're essentially saying, ‘Let’s have a good time with friends.’ An informal way of saying ‘throwing ‘ a party is ‘chucking a party’.

The term ‘kicks off’ is an informal expression that means to start or begin.

Vocabulary:  

The term 'shebang' is an informal word for a lively gathering, or event where people come together for a good time.

An abbreviation is a shortened version of a longer word or phrase.

Avo is abbreviation for avocado.

Barbie is abbreviation for barbecue.

Brekkie is abbreviation for breakfast.

Uni is abbreviation for university.

A social butterfly is someone who enjoys going to a lot of parties and talking to lots of people.

A party animal is someone who loves parties and is helps to make other people enjoy them; we could also say they are the life and soul of a party.

A party pooper is someone who doesn't like parties and so can sometimes make the party less enjoyable for others.

Laid-back means relaxed.

Transcript:

(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)

SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.  

Hi, it's Josipa! Last weekend, I had a lot of fun helping my friend throw a party.

I find the saying 'throw a party' funny because it sounds like you're throwing the party into the air or something. I mean, parties aren't exactly things you can throw around like a ball, right?

So, ‘throw a party' is just one of those phrases where the words don’t really help with the meaning. You're essentially saying, ‘Let’s have a good time with friends.’

Guess who else is about to throw a party? Our friend Allan. Let's hear how he and Claire talk about it.

Allan

We're chucking a party this Saturday arvo for my daughter's birthday. Are you game?

Claire

Absolutely! Your parties are second to none. When does it kick off?

Allan

We're thinking about 5.

Claire

Are you going to do the whole shebang like last year? Count me in!

Allan

Not really. This year it’s just a cosy get-together in our backyard. We’re keeping it low-key and laid-back with some fairy lights and balloons.

I have to say that I’m not surprised at all that Claire is excited about Allan’s party because Claire is what we call a social butterfly – she enjoys going to parties and talking to lots of people.

Remember that Allan said:

We're chucking a party this Saturday arvo for my daughter's birthday.
Allan

We can use different phrases to say we're planning a party. While we often say, "throwing a party," we can also use the more casual term "chucking a party".

Australians just love abbreviations, that is, making longer words shorter. Did you notice that that Allan used the abbreviation short for afternoon? Can you think of some others?

Let's hear the abbreviation Allan used when he said,

We're chucking a party this Saturday arvo.
Allan

Arvo. That’s a short word for afternoon. Did you manage to think of any others? I did. For example, we say 'avo' for avocado, 'barbie' for barbecue, 'brekkie' for breakfast, 'uni' for university, and so on.

And when Allan asked Claire if she wants to come along to the party? He said,

Are you game?
Allan

We all know that the word game refers to fun activities we play such as board games or sport activities. But we can also use the phrase ‘are you game’ to ask if someone is willing or wants to do something, just like Allan did.

We can also say ‘I’m game’ when we want to say that we that we are willing to do something.

Let me give you more examples, I could say, ‘I'm always game for a good time. And I'm also game for trying new things. Are you game to practise a bit more English?

I hope you are because we are going back to our dialogue, Claire said,

Your parties are second to none.
Claire

If something is second to none, it is the best. Let’s say, your friend makes delicious cakes, you could say, ‘Your cakes are second to none!’

Claire also said,

When does it kick off?
Claire

The term ‘kicks off’ is an informal expression that means to start or begin.

It comes from the idea of kicking the ball to start a sports match of some kind, so you could say that every Friday night, our local football team kicks off at 8pm.

But we also use it when we are talking about a lot of different kinds of activities and events especially if we are starting something exciting.

Are you going to do the whole shebang like last year? Count me in!
Claire

Claire wants to know if Allan is going ‘to do the whole shebang’, that is, to go to considerable effort to plan a lot of exciting and usually expensive things to make the party very active and lively, like hiring lots of different things for the guests to do or eat or drink.

Perhaps you can think of parties that you have been to that have been like that? I certainly can.

Either way, Claire loves parties and definitely wants to come along, so she agrees by saying, ‘Count me in!’

A party animal is someone who loves parties. And the party pooper is, yep, you guessed it, someone who doesn't like parties and doesn’t like doing things that other people like doing at parties. Basically, the opposite of a party animal.

At the end of a dialogue Allan said,

We’re keeping it low-key and laid-back with some fairy lights and balloons.
Allan

Low-key means not too exciting and laid-back means relaxed and easy going. When a person is laid-back, they are calm and relaxed, not easily stressed.

So, a laid-back event or setting has a casual and comfortable feel and is not too formal.

I hope I’ll get invited to Allan's daughter’s laid-back party because we always have a whale of a time together.

Having a whale of a time means really enjoying yourself and having lots of fun. Last year's celebration was fantastic, so I can't wait for this one!

A big thank you to our educational consultant, Professor Lynda Yates, and our guest Sahil Makkar.

Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire.

Transcript

spk_0

You're listening to our summer special collection, Gather and Celebrate.

spk_0

Your perfect companion for the festive season, light, fun, and full of summer vibes. In this episode, we are talking about throwing a party everyone will enjoy. Learn how chucking a party works, what it really means to say, let's throw a party, and how to use the fun expression kicks off like a pro.

spk_0

SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands, and waterways throughout Australia.

spk_0

Hi, it's Josipa, and last weekend I had a lot of fun helping my friend throw a party. I find the saying throw a party funny because it sounds like you're throwing a party into the air or something. I mean, parties aren't exactly things you can throw around like a ball, right?

spk_0

Well, through a party is just one of those phrases where the words don't really help with the meaning.

spk_0

You're essentially saying, let's have a good time with friends. Guess who else is about to throw a party? Our friend Alan. Let's hear how he and Claire talk about it.

spk_1

We're chucking a party this Saturday, Avo, for my daughter's birthday. Are you

spk_2

game? Absolutely, your parties are second to none. When does it kick off? We're thinking about 5.

spk_3

Are you gonna do the whole shebang like last year? Count me in.

spk_1

Not really. This year it's just a cozy get-together in our backyard. We're keeping it low-key and laid back with some fairy lights and balloons.

spk_0

I have to say that I'm not surprised at all that Claire is excited about Ellen's party because Claire is what we call a social butterfly. She enjoys going to parties and talking to lots of people. Remember that Allan said.

spk_1

We're chucking a party this Saturday, Avo for my daughter's birthday. Are you

spk_0

game? We can use different phrases to say we are planning a party. While we often say throwing a party, we can also use the more casual term chucking a party. And have you noticed how Australians just love abbreviations, that is, making longer words shorter.

spk_0

Alan just used one for afternoon. Can you think of some others? Let's hear the abbreviation Alan used when he said.

spk_1

We're chucking a party this Saturday. Arvo.

spk_0

Arvo, that's a short word for afternoon. Did you manage to think of any others? I did. For example, we say avo for avocado, barbie for barbecue, brekkie for breakfast, uni for university, and so on. And when Alan asked Claire if she wants to come along to the party, he said.

spk_1

Are you game?

spk_0

We all know that the word game refers to fun activities we play such as board games or sport activities, but we can also use the phrase Are you game to ask if someone is willing or wants to do something just like Alan did.

spk_0

We can also say I'm game when we want to say that we are willing to do something. Let me give you more examples. I could say I'm always game for a good time, and I'm also game for trying new things. Are you game to practice a bit more English? I hope you are because we are going back to our dialogue, Claire said.

spk_4

Your parties are second to none. When does it kick off?

spk_0

If something is second to none, it is the best. Let's say your friend makes delicious cakes. You could say your cakes are second to none.

spk_0

Claire also said,

spk_4

when does it kick off?

spk_0

The term kicks off is an informal expression that means to start or begin.

spk_0

It comes from the idea of kicking the ball to start a sports match of some kind. So you could say that every Friday night our local football team kicks off at 8 p.m., but we also use it when we are talking about a lot of different kinds of activities and events, especially if we are starting something exciting.

spk_4

Are you going to do the whole shebang like last year? Count me in.

spk_0

Claire wants to know if Alan is going to do the whole shebang, that is, to go to considerable effort to plan a lot of exciting and usually expensive things to make the party very active and lively, like hiring lots of different things for the guests to do or eat or drink.

spk_0

Perhaps you can think of parties that you have been to that have been like that. I certainly can. Either way, Claire loves parties and definitely wants to come along, so she agrees by saying, Count me in.

spk_0

Are you a party animal or party pooper? Do you know the difference? A party animal is someone who loves parties, and the party pooper is, yep, you guessed it, someone who doesn't like parties and doesn't like doing things that other people like doing at parties, basically the opposite of a party animal, and at the end of our dialogue, Alan said.

spk_1

We're keeping it low key and laid back with some fairy lights and balloons.

spk_0

Low key means not too exciting, and laid back means relaxed and easygoing. When a person is laid back, they're calm and relaxed, not easily stressed. So a laid back event or setting has a casual and comfortable feel, and it is not too formal.

spk_0

I hope I'll get invited to Allan's daughter's laid back party because we always have a whale of a time together. Having a whale of a time means really enjoying yourself and having lots of fun. Last year's celebration was fantastic, so I can't wait for this one.

spk_0

And while I wait for the invitation, let's revisit the entire dialogue. Afterward we can take a short break before practicing what we have learned in this episode.

spk_1

We're chucking a party this Saturday, Avo, for my daughter's birthday. Are you

spk_2

game? Absolutely, your parties are second to none. When does it kick off? We're thinking about 5.

spk_3

Are you gonna do the whole shebang like last year? Count me in.

spk_1

Not really. This year it's just a cozy get-together in our backyard. We're keeping it low-key and laid back, with some fairy lights and balloons.

spk_0

Today we are talking with Zahil, a dad excited about planning his daughter's first birthday party.

spk_0

It's his first time organizing such an event, and he is going to do the whole shebang. Hi

spk_5

Sahel. Thank you, Yosippa. Pleasure to be here.

spk_0

So tell me, how are you making this birthday special?

spk_5

Wow, that's a million dollar question that you asked, Yozipa. But I must tell you, I just threw a very big party back home in India. It was a huge, huge party where my daughter had a cocoelon theme party.

spk_5

We booked a place for about 300 people, so there were 300 guests and family members, and they all flew in from different parts of India just to be with us and celebrate my daughter's birthday. And now I am planning to throw

spk_5

Similar party here in Australia for our friends. We want to have a celebration with our friends, especially with my daughter's friend from the childcare, so she would, we are just excited. I think she would love another birthday party to cut the cake again.

spk_0

Wow. So what special touches or traditions are you planning to incorporate here in Australia?

spk_5

Definitely, you know, my wife has already started speaking to event managers. She already had a quote from a few. We are almost there. We're going to make it like a bit of Indian and a bit of an Australian kind of a party, or somewhere like a barbecue there, or, you know, to just to cater to the needs of our.

spk_5

Australian friends, as you know, we live in a multicultural society. People cannot be from the same community, so we have friends from all over. So what we're going to do is that we're going to have a caterer who's going to cater the needs of everyone there. So people, when they go home, they should be happy that the tummies are full, that, everything has been taken care of.

spk_0

And as you're putting so much effort into organizing your daughter's first birthday party, including two parties in two different countries, there's an event manager.

spk_0

What's the most important experience or memory you hope to create for your family and your guests?

spk_5

I think I want to create a memory for my daughter more than anyone else, you know, guests can be managed, but for my daughter, yes.

spk_5

When she grows up and when she sees the video of her first birthday party, she should feel proud and she should say that you did an awesome job. So are we going to have another theme party? Everything would be fairy, you know, anything that I can do in my, you know, uh, control, I will do that.

spk_0

Well, good luck with everything and thank you for helping us today. Thank you. It's time for practice. See if you remember the meaning before hearing the answer.

spk_0

If something is second to none, it is.

spk_5

We say that something is second to none when it is considered the best.

spk_0

What is the whole shebang?

spk_5

The term shebang is an informal word for a lively gathering or event where people come together for a good time.

spk_0

Let's now practice by repeating after Alan and Claire.

spk_4

Let's throw a party. Are you

spk_2

game?

spk_1

We're chucking a party this Saturday Avo.

spk_4

And throwing a cozy get-together.

spk_1

The party kicks off at 5.

spk_0

On our website SBS.com.au/learnEnglish, we have prepared learning notes for this episode. And if you want to get in touch with us, you can find us on Facebook. We are SBS Learn English. I'm Josipa. Thank you for learning English with me. SBS Learn English.

END OF TRANSCRIPT