Do you want to have an Ultimate Party? Do you want to throw the kind of party that everyone's talking about Monday morning at work or better yet, the kind of party people don't quite remember what happened at?

Sure, anyone can throw a party. Throw some chips in a bowl, turn on the radio, have some beer, maybe even a keg. But if you want the ultimate party, incorporate a few of the following things into your parties.

Step 1: Music

Music is always essential, without it you won't have a party. So what do you do? Hire a DJ? Heck no! Who's got money for a DJ? Nowadays, we all carry a DJ in our pocket, it's called an MP3 player.
I have a couple thousand songs I keep in my media server. I control it with my Android phone. If anyone has any requests, I can easily change songs in a matter of seconds.

To set up an mp3 player all you need is a double ended 3.5mm jack. Most stereo receivers have an input for this.

Step 2: The Bar

The bar is a great center piece to a party.
Find a friend willing to make drinks all night. If you let everyone make their own, its a giant mess waiting to happen.

You don't need to have a bar, but a fully stocked liquor cabinet is important.

Step 3: The Dance Floor

My brother and his friends built this light floor for a party. Simple construction, wood frame with Plexiglas on top, sanded to look frosted. The wood squares under the Plexiglas offer support and each contain a strand of Christmas tree lights.

The ladies love the light floor!

It may be hard to see in the picture, but the carpet is covered with large sheets of adhesive plastic. Think of a giant roll of tape. This will keep your carpet clean and dry. Check your local hardware store.

Step 4: The Arcade

I built this a couple years ago. It's very popular at parties, especially the 4 player games. It's basically an arcade cabinet built around a MAME computer. It has about 3000 playable games.

There are several arcade instructables here. I also have blueprints, if anyone is interested just msg me.

Step 5: The Poker Table

Not everyone is into dancing and video games. Some people like to sit, relax,.....and gamble.
That's where a poker table comes in handy.

Step 6: The Photo-Booth

Who has time to take pictures at a party? Why not let your guests take their own pictures. A photo-booth is perfect for parties.

Depending on your camera, many have a 3.5mm input jack that can be used as a shutter release. A little bit of wiring needs to be done if you don't already have a switch. You need to use a wire with a 3.5mm jack at one end such as some old headphones. You need to cut off the headphones and connect the wires to a simple switch. Theres a great instructable to do it here.

For the booth, just hang a curtain or sheet up and your done.

Photo-booths are fun because you can see the progression of people throughout the night. You never know what you'll see the next morning. For example, watch the ladybug in the slideshow.

Step 7: Themes

Themes make parties fun. Why not make it a costume party.

Some popular themes:

pirates
disco
80's television
superhero
and of course, Halloween party

Step 8: The Drink-o-Tron 2000

The What-o-Tron??
The Drink-o-Tron 2000 is the ultimate robot bartender, sure his selection is limited, but he never waters them down.

This is a one of a kind item, but I had to share it. The The Drink-o-Tron was created by magical pirates in the Santa Cruz mountains. It will dispense 8 different liquids in any combination you can come up with. The most popular being the Long Island Ice Tea, see the video.