House Parties?
Posted by skbugco@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 94 comments
Do these still happen? I was in HS from ‘82-‘86. There were some *wild* parties back in the day. Some poor trusting parents would leave town for a long weekend and it was “party at Steve’s!”. Some of those parties ended up with some actual homeowners insurance claims being activated as I recall.
My folks place? I was too smart (and unpopular) for that. But I went to a few.
My boys, a millennial and a Gen Z- I’ve never heard so much as a story from them, or my friends with kids their age. And I’m smart enough to have either of them pull the wool over my eyes.
Any of us Gen X come back from a long trip and your kids had a party? Drank all your booze? I’m just curious.
HappyHolidayHomo@reddit
Corey Worthington https://share.google/Q3VSD016ImBsddQEt
Ruined it for all teenagers. Lol
ExtraAd7611@reddit
I've actively encouraged my kids to have parties, even when we weren't home, but his friends are so straight-laced that it wouldn't even occur to them to raid our very accessible wine and liquor cabinet.
haz_waste@reddit
When my parents went on vacation, they told my neighbors. And gave them phone numbers of where they were staying. I found out because I brought a girl over and got my ass beat when my parents got home.
Appropriate_Tear_105@reddit
My brother threw a full-on rager at our house. Long story short, we ended up having to repaint his entire room and my mom noticed later that week somehow there were a couple of unexplained cigarette burns in the kitchen counter.
I don’t remember where my parents went, but they were not very smart to leave us unsupervised. My brother was a rebel…and did deugs!! Really not sure what they were thinking. 😆
I was only 12 at the time, but my brother was 17. The cops eventually showed up (thank god), because honestly, I don’t know what would’ve happened to our house if they hadn’t come.
CDSSD111@reddit
I can't see this working now with almost everyone having a ring camera.
lorelie53@reddit
I’m sure my son (Millennial) went to parties in high school, but the damage bill I got from his college rental really showed me that him and his friends partied like it was 1988.
Tangboy50000@reddit
No, these kids don’t do shit. They talk online or on their phones. The only time I’ve seen my teenager go out to meet up with other people is when they go to a football game. The “cool kids” are only cool because they post pictures of shit their parents bought them or trips they went on. I’ve talked to them about the stuff I did as a teenager and they basically think I’m lying or should still be in jail.
icedyoga@reddit
All about the photo op. We had it so much better. My kids (30 & 26) did some partying were just uber sneaky about it. Glad they did.
shuanm@reddit
Mine are all too scared. I can't even get the ones that are of age to have a drink with me. I usually have a couple of beers, or a mixed drink in the evening. They have a water bottle.
Individual_Scale_925@reddit
Yes, my stepdaughter attempted it until my daughter (7 years younger) found out on Snapchat and told me. So we drove home at 10am and surprised all the stragglers. They were mortified and my stepdaughter got away with not cleaning it all up because she just went to her moms and hid.
Lead_or_Follow@reddit
Yes! It was awesomely dangerous and I wouldn’t change anything. Funneling off the keg, keg stands, people hooking up in the parents bedroom, up all night, cops on the scene, cigarette burns on the furniture, collapsed decks, stupid shenanigans non stop and my parents giving me nonstop shit and chores the day after because they knew I was hung over hard…
rrognlie@reddit
in '81, I was a junior. My folks left for 4 weeks (2 wks in hawaii, 2 wks in CA) I was 16 and my 17th birthday fell when they were en route from HI to CA. You bet I had a party! It wasn't huge but we had a dozen of us. Got some beer. And had a good night.
Sadly, I had work the next morning, so didn't clean up. I got home from work with a note on the door to see the next door neighbor. He was tasked with keeping an eye on me. He'd taking pictures of the aftermath.
"Straighten up and fly right... and your folks will never see these pictures"
I did and got the pictures... burned them. He did tell my dad when he was afraid another parent might rat me out, but I just got a "talking to"
Jas62021@reddit
Used to have and go to house parties a lot😂 And half the time my mom would be up in her room while we were downstairs, in the yard, in the barn and in t to be fields. I remember coming in one morning and the floor was sticky from spilt beer.
If I remember correctly house parties like this stopped because kids left drunk. Hot in car accidents. Got killed. And the adults started getting sued. Parents. Older siblings got nervous. Liquor stores started cracking down on fake id’s.
Level-Artichoke9177@reddit
Good times back in the day. I still think about Julie M’s house party when her parents left the country and Julie invited everyone over. Thanks for the memories! Seems like yesterday.
FKpasswords@reddit
We managed to party every weekend somewhere beginning in the 10th grade….by the time I was of legal drinking age I was an alcoholic
BerryLanky@reddit
Loved House parties. Thank God for the condom vending machines. Best quarters I ever spent.
BabyBearMan@reddit
I had a few friends who would throw ragers when their parents were out of town. Which was quite often. Kegs, jello shots and loads of kids air guitaring in the garage.
makeup1508@reddit
The parents of one of my best friends would be home when we had house parties. Their conditions were that you couldn't drive if you had been drinking, You would have to pull up a floor and sleep over if you were drinking.
CooperSTL@reddit
House parties, kegers, jello wrestling, even bands playing. I dont think they do this anymore.
skbugco@reddit (OP)
Never saw live jello wrestling. Parents would be more mad about wasting dessert.
CooperSTL@reddit
We had a kiddie pool we filled and added god knows how many boxes of jello to, and added bags of ice (full bags, didnt dump them so they could be removed) to cool it. Part of a toga party.
skbugco@reddit (OP)
handsomeape95@reddit
https://i.redd.it/n7fnpqj02twg1.gif
73DodgeDart@reddit
The kids don’t party like we used to. Kids these days are afraid of everything- driving, drinking, sex, anything that could be perceived as “cringe”. Heck, boys aren’t even asking girls out for fear of being designated a creep. While a dropping teen pregnancy rate is a good thing avoiding all risks is not. You take risks when you start a business, change careers or ask someone to marry you. I am going to sound like the quintessential old man but - I am worried about the next generation and our future as a society.
Not_High_Maintenance@reddit
I thought my young-adult-child was the only one.
Confirmationbias10@reddit
Kids don't even bother these days with all the surveillance. My daughter is a very introverted homebody so imagine my shock when she asked if she could go to prom this year! I was like YES!
Maybe she'll come out of her shell a bit before college.
Doordasheasthartford@reddit
Yeah keg parties was awesome miss those times
SoonerBornSoonerBret@reddit
When I was as Senior in HS... Class of '86 RULES!!! One of my good friends parents got a job opportunity in the Spring of our Senior year and they wanted to let the kids finish out high school, so they let them live in the house on their own for that Spring and Summer... they were a combined family, so their were two kids that were Seniors that year... My lord, talk about the Party House for the end of our Senior Year! That was just crazy... Surprisingly, nothing bad ever happened as far as the law goes, but there were sure some "wow, we really hope that guy wakes up from all he drank last night" moments!
SuicidalApendices@reddit
My kid goes to parties, but it’s usually either outdoors on public land (secluded sections of parks or closed/abandoned public event facilities) or a house show with a band charging cover. Every year there’s a story or two about a small gathering spiraling out of control into an unexpected big gathering, but they usually get shut down quickly thanks to our voluntary surveillance state (Ring and alarm system cameras).
EnjoyingTheRide-0606@reddit
Everything is scheduled now. Starting with play dates. Then very exclusive parties.
I had one party. But we were tricked. The ‘rents said they’ll be gone all night and came home as we were cleaning to leave for a school dance. They did not believe “John was smoking cloves” in the house. I spent most of that school year on restriction.
SJ1392@reddit
Its all online now...
NopeThisTrope@reddit
My Gen Z kids (and their friends) have asked me if house parties used to be real 😂. My experience with that gen is a few will sleepover at someone’s house, and they either game all night, or maybe do an activity (movie/sports) beforehand. Going out for food or getting delivery is a high priority too!
LadyNorbert@reddit
Never had one. My mom's parents lived across the street and her husband at the time was a cop. I was the dictionary definiton of Can't Get Away With Nuthin'. The cop thing was also part of why I was never invited to any parties, nor even told about them, so that he couldn't get the info from me for his coworkers.
skbugco@reddit (OP)
Where I lived there were like 10 CA Hwy Patrol (CHIPS!): I was dating the daughter of one (and her mom was who I was scared of, not her dad), and was BFF’s with 2 others sons.
Our class had the first “non alcoholic Sr Grad Party”, but of course we were gonna have the traditional free for all party at the river the weekend before. My GF’s dad at dinner one evening before the festivities, asked “so are you going to Jones Beach Saturday? Dawn doesn’t get to go with you.” 😆
happycj@reddit
My metal band played dozens of house parties back in the mid-1980s. Judas Priest. Iron Maiden. Sabbath. Ozzy. Thin Lizzy. We played it all. Originals too!
Top-Scarcity5937@reddit
Man, we all fell about the place.
JitteryTurtle@reddit
That time back at Johnny’s place?
Johnny_2Times@reddit
Well that chick she got up and slapped Johnny's face.....
Johnny_2Times@reddit
If that chick don't wanna know, forget her
tunaman808@reddit
Big house parties weren't my thing. Drinking generally wasn't my thing.
I did have lots of "get togethers" where 4-8 of us would do LSD or smoke a lotta weed.
My house was full of antiques, and I'd be damned if I was gonna explain to mom how her French vase from 1745 got broken in a house party. And I'm certain my parents would STILL be giving me hell for it, had I been dumb enough to let it happen.
BelliBlast35@reddit
But you can lite up a joint and have the smell permeate throughout the house ?
Five_String_Serenade@reddit
I never wondered this as a kid, but now, as a homeowner, how in the world did these kids have these crazy parties and the neighbors didn’t tell the parents about it? And yes, many a great party. Never hosted but went to some bangers.
Admirable-Currency89@reddit
My brother and I in high school got left alone for a couple of weeks in the summer as we had jobs in town. The Boomers went on vacay lol. We had a couple of parties that got kind of large. They neighbors came over and drank with us. A couple of teachers showed up. Small town. 70 or 80 people showing up. No one gave a shit.
fElonmusk2025@reddit
In those days some of the neighbors might have joined the party or been too busy with their own parties / home drinking.
Johnny_2Times@reddit
I think this all the time. How did we have these epic house parties with bands and kegs and never got busted up. The one time I tried to host; my dumbass brought in a thrash metal band and the cops came within the hour, raided the house and took me in. Good times
NoneyaBizzy@reddit
My kids were smart enough not to throw the parties. As seniors in high school, they did have friends over in our basement and I was okay with them having beer/white claw down there. I checked with the other parents and all the kids walked here/home.
There were a few kids in town whose parents allowed bit parties and they were similar to our GenX parties. Most of the time there was no real damage (other than puking) if the kid was respected. But a couple kids tried to social climb and threw parties when the parents were away. Unfortunately, some of the dumber guys trashed the houses. I told my kids how dumb that was. When we were kids, the house was protected by the football players so that the kid (or others) would have parties in the future. In another bad result, a kid's friend put the party on social media and within an hour there were 100+ kids there from neighboring towns causing trouble.
So, all-in-all, it wasn't too different from my GenX parties. But their music sucks.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
My friend’s younger sister told her friends that she was having a party. Unfortunately word got around. Every high schooler knew about it. The sister hired her brother and friends as bouncers for the night. We manned the doors. We patrolled party. Nothing was damaged. We did the favour because we went to a few home wrecking parties. Assholes show up just to damage things.
Southern_Ad5843@reddit
I threw a party at my grandma’s house once while I was house and dog sitting. She had a basement with a full bar, so it was basically begging for it, but I knew the Swans (the neighbors on one side) were watching the place for my grandparents to make sure i didn't throw a party
To keep things quiet, I had everyone park at the school down the street and hop the fence on the opposite side of the house. I literally just left a ladder out for people to climb over so no one would be seen on the street or in the driveway.
The party got way bigger than planned, and at some point, someone actually stole my grandma’s cordless phone. When she got home and saw it was missing, she was pissed. She didn't even consider a party—she straight up thought I had sold her phone for cash.
I finally had to come clean and tell her, "Look, I had a huge party and someone must have swiped it."
She didn't believe me for a second. We did such a good job sneaking people in that the Swans told her they only ever saw me and my best friend Jon (who I actually had permission to have over). Since the "lookouts" saw zero activity, she stayed convinced I sold her electronics. Honestly, I don’t think she ever believed the party actually happened.
kevtay1969@reddit
Different times. No way could kids do what we did back then, or live like we did. Not sure how to explain it, but we were “older” than kids today. At least a hell of a lot more self reliable than kids today.
And yes, went to many “parents are away” parties back in the 80s. So much fun.
Southern_Ad5843@reddit
my kids school a couple years ago the living floor collapsed into the basement from the kids dancing upstairs jumping up and down ended up on the news my daughter was there for a few min before it happened and decided the cops were def going to be called so they went somewhere else. we allowed her to have a few "hang outs" which are suppose to be small few people maybe playing games one turned into a full on party and we had to break it up and send everyone home they def still happen i think there is a smaller group of kids that party though my daughter was def in that scene the other 3 never really went out much
fElonmusk2025@reddit
These days cops would arrest the parents for neglect and child abuse if they were out of town and other parents would have charges filed too, and then the neighbors would chime in also and god help you if there is an HOA :)
Johnny_2Times@reddit
Yes, I agree! We were older at 15 than the 15 yr olds are today. Moved out at 16; now kids never move out 😆
Mikethemechanic00@reddit
Younger Gen X with Alpha kids. Told them they will never be alone to throw a party at our house. We take them on every vacation anyway. I went to a lot of house parties in the early 90s.
Unhappy-Ad2460@reddit
There were no social host laws in the 80s. Parents are liable now.
LayerNo3634@reddit
True story: Husband's brother left for the weekend. That week, he was reading the police blotter in the paper (20 years ago) and sees his address! His kids had a blast while he was gone!
chimpyjnuts@reddit
I think part of it is that today's parents wouldn't leave their kids home alone for a weekend any more.
External-Dude779@reddit
Because we were left alone and know what happens 😂 Now parents take their kids out of school for the week. No effin way we're leaving them alone, they're coming with us
Lab214@reddit
Went to a few parties in high school in my Senior year. Thankfully we never trashed the house or anything crazy like seen on movies. Had a few parents who supplied the kegs for those parties. Talk about some cool ass parents back then . Would I have done it for my kids ? Hell no 👀
Head_Trick_9932@reddit
We had some wild parties at my house due to being eased by a single dad working his bum off. Kudos to my understanding neighbors who would end up parking cars.🤣
I can confirm they still happen, at least in my area. My senior son was at one last weekend that got busted up. There was @ 100 kids that scattered and the unsuspecting single mom was out. My son texted me when it got broken up and said he’s driving a few home. He’s normally the DD as he doesn’t like drinking… yet. I’ll take it!
PinkyLeopard2922@reddit
Up until our friend group was absolutely decimated by divorce and people moving a few years ago, we were STILL throwing house parties. Far less destruction but still plenty of stupid in those good times.
Cold-Government6545@reddit
We had a small crew of friends that stayed at my boys house every weekend for the 4 years of high-school. His parents were saints and his mom was actually going deaf at the time (sad now) but we would stay there, no DD. Just drinking or smoking or both. Always brought out own snacks and beer. Love ya Lori!
fridayimatwork@reddit
We had a basement bar with a separate entrance in the back of the house.
Temporary_Client7585@reddit
House parties are still a thing. Our kids come home and tell us some pretty entertaining stories. They know to call for a ride, anytime, no questions asked.
skbugco@reddit (OP)
My mom was a ER RN- we had that offer too: “I’ll come get you any time, anywhere, no questions asked. However, if you get behind the wheel, or into a car with someone who’s been (insert disinhibition of choice here), you’d better hope you die, because I’ll kill you if I find out…. and I always find out (because ER nurses know all the cops/ medics in town).” Always called mom if I wasn’t staying all night at the party.
Throwaway7219017@reddit
I went to a house party every weekend throughout the later part of high school. Usually at a house where the parents permitted it.
When they lived at home, I would have permitted my kids to drink with their friends, but most of their teen years were through Covid, so they all sat at home, playing online with friends.
My brother lets his kid have a few friends (15-20) over to have some drinks, figuring it's better/safer than letting them do it elsewhere.
Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit
I don’t think it happens near as much nowadays. At least not at a parents house. Teens either don’t go out as much or are rarely out of adult surveillance. Plus, cops are zealous about that kind of stuff and parents will get arrested for a small fraction of what we did as teens. Our parents had it much easier by comparison. Teen drinking and other things wasn’t dealt with as harshly back then..now society loses its mind and they lock up the whole family. When some news breaks now about teens going wild, the first comments are always “charge the parents”. I’m glad my kid is grown. If there were parties when he was a teen I never heard about them. Of course country kids usually went off in a field somewhere.
notguiltybrewing@reddit
Yes they still happen and at least once in awhile a Gen X parent gets arrested for letting their kids throw one.
Honeybee71@reddit
We were at keg parties or PJ Parties every weekend. My kids (millennials) rarely left the house. Nerds lol
Monkeynutz_Johnson@reddit
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
My younger sister would have crazy parties at our parents' house; one was notable. I was home from college for the summer, working, and she had a party while the parents were out of town. She passed out drunk pretty quickly, and wasn't around for the rest of the night. I arrived with it in progress, with her dumbass friends (and about 25 other people we didn't know) trashing the house, feeding the dog beer, eating all of our food, etc. I let it go for a while; my girlfriend was there, so we spent some, umm, quality time in my room. After a while, I got pissed with the noises of clear destruction coming up the steps, and the idiot boys that were trying to get into my sister's bedroom, where she was passed out, and shut it down. I had to physically throw out at least one dude that was passed out in our kitchen.
Yeah, I was the buzzkill in that particular situation, but I was working my ass off that summer and didn't need 50 younger idiots creating havoc in our house. The house was a wreck; the next morning, my sister got mad because I got in my car to go back to my college apartment. "You made this happen, you can clean it up..."
sherrib99@reddit
I had one of those! Invited a few people, half the town showed up. Oops 🤣🤣🤣🤣
rogerm3xico@reddit
I'm younger GenX '79. We had some pretty wild parties growing up. I asked my daughter(17) if they still have parties. She said "no". Couple days later she says "well apparently they do have parties, I'm just not invited." Felt bad for her but a little relieved at the same time. She still gets lost driving home from anywhere besides school or her friend's house and has to wake me up to take pizza rolls out of the oven for her.
rks1743@reddit
Both kids are now in college. Older one was always more responsible and would just have a few friends over. Younger one threw a few house parties BUT only with permission and we were home to answer the door when the cops came.
FrostedMoon8888@reddit
I attended a couple in houses slated to be demolished for the city to build a manmade lake for reasons I don't remember. Highly reckless damaging parties, but since the whole neighbor hood was being demolished it didn't matter. Cave parties were better but exponentially scarier. I dont think my gens z son ever attended a house party or otherwise for that matter.
dolwedge@reddit
I am having a house party at my house for my band in May. You're all invited! (Actually, our headcount is over 80 people already so it might be a tad crowded).
esquirlo_espianacho@reddit
The kids are still out there living crazy. House parties, bon fires, lake houses, air b n bs (that’s a new twist - some parents rent them out for kids to throw a rager)… we are in the northernmost suburbs of Dallas. McKinney, TX to be exact.
asyouwish@reddit
Um yes. House parties still happen.
cleverusernameistook@reddit
My kids are in high school and college and they say that most of the big parties are thrown by influencers and it costs money to get in. (We live in L.A.). They don’t go to them but it sounds horrible to me. We just stole the bottom shelf plastic bottle Popov from my first job as a liquor delivery boy and had a debauched time for free! Got TWO police helicopters to break up one of my parties. That was epic.
fElonmusk2025@reddit
My mom was STILL drinking the plastic Popov from the bottom shelf up until last year of her life in 2020.
sysaphiswaits@reddit
My kids have friends over but I don’t think they’re social enough for the parties to be big or get too out of hand.
Dead_Is_Better@reddit
I have been to many a house party in the early 80's and I have seen some homes get seriously trashed in the process. When you throw a party thinking maybe 20-30 people tops are gonna show up and 80-100 show up instead you know that it's gonna get out of hand at some point during the night. You could just about guarantee some drunk dude on his way back from the bathroom is gonna bump some other drunk dude on his way to the bathroom and there goes your parents dining room furniture as they proceed to go full WWE in your house. Entertaining as all Hell in the moment but you quickly realize whoever was throwing that party is so fucked because they're not coming up with any kind of believable story their parents will buy that explains why their dining room table is now in 5 pieces and missing a leg and all the glass in the china cabinet is smashed.
coffeeplease1972@reddit
Ahhh, house parties. Hilarious how that was a thing, looking back. "Hey coffee, party at my house Saturday night, parents gone all weekend. Bring your friends." "Um, okay."
And depending on who was hosting the party, I could walk into The Smiths blasting or Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. I could be handed a water cooler or a beer. Weed smokers outside or clove ciggies lit up in the kitchen. What in the world? Lol
heyyabesties@reddit
In my case "poor trusting parents" are actually "neglectful, straight up abusive boomers."
grateful_john@reddit
I remember when the unpopular kid tried to become popular by throwing a party when his parents were away, I’ve never seen a place so badly trashed.
When my son was in high school big parties were still a thing, at least until Covid hit his junior year.
Select-Regret-9840@reddit
I remember spending a Sunday morning with my uncle showing us how to patch drywall and a friend's house after one of those parties. Even showed us how to match the texture with diluted spackle. Friend knew where some left over paint was in the garage and hell of it didn't turn out great. Finally told his mom about it 20 years later.
Uncle Paul was pretty cool. He died in 2011. I miss him.
Johnny_2Times@reddit
Loved the house parties in the 80's! One of our friend's name is actually Kegger. There's still house parties but they aren't like the ones we went to back then. This past weekend we had a live Mariachi Band house party across the street which happens about every 4 months or so. There was no Oingo Boingo playing that night 😅
Unique_Information11@reddit
Boomer parents went on trips and left their kids at home. GenX parents seem to bring their kids along in family trips.
platypusandpibble@reddit
Ah, man. I miss those parties. One of the most epic ones was a classmate whose mother didn’t speak English. He took her to the liquor store and got her to purchase 4 kegs. She then went out of town for a week. That was one hell of a weekend. We spent Monday and Tuesday after school cleaning up the place.
Top-Scarcity5937@reddit
I miss puking my guts out after 12 California Coolers. That was the best ! lol
Top-Scarcity5937@reddit
Reminds me of the women who tried to sue to stop the release of a Freaknik documentary. Videos that were recorded in the mid 90s. I am glad that the things I did were in the 80s. I never harmed anyone - other than myself. Pretty surprised that I have lived as long as I have, really.
airckarc@reddit
Pretty high risk now with social media. Not only do they have to worry about regular photos popping up on mom’s feed, but it’s that much easier for randos to crash the party.
We had tons of house parties, myself included. And beyond a broken glass or whatever, I never saw someone’s house get trashed. But we were rural and everyone knew everyone, and their parents.
skbugco@reddit (OP)
Yeah, ditto. Grew up very rural, and my friend group would go camping (or whatever) to party, or if the parents were gone, we’d do it there- but treat it like we were home.
When I moved into the city my Sr year, I went to a few “ragers”. And my younger sisters (well, just the one really- and she turned out fine), they had a couple at home- but I’m enough older, mom and dad were none the wiser.
Thank baby Jesus we didn’t have any of the platforms our kids have now. I don’t wanna try to explain a few things- lol.
drunkfaceplant@reddit
Ive heard some current parties at local warehouses they rent out. I have a couple exchange student kids. The house parties were so fun though back in the day.
Vast-Notice-3415@reddit
My Sister did. My Mother knew instantly. I was 12 and we were camping. I found French Fries under my bed forever. This was in about 1979