9 Wonderful Welcome Home Party Ideas - Peerspace (2024)

• Date: February 7, 2022
• Topic: Events
• By: Peerspace

Source: Peerspace

Searching for unique, thoughtful welcome home party ideas? Whether your friend or loved one is returning from the military, the Peace Corps, a study abroad program, a faraway college, or wherever, a welcome home party is the perfect way to show how much you missed them. Everyone deserves to feel celebrated when they come back from a long trip, as coming home can feel strange and relieving all at once. These welcome home party ideas will help you express your love and make them feel like they never left.

And once you have these party ideas in mind, book the perfect party venue on Peerspace. Hosting a party in a special venue is the perfect way to celebrate a loved one and show them how much you care. Plus, when you book a Peerspace venue, you can rely on the expertise of the Concierge service. This team can source and deliver any extras you need from trusted local vendors, including catering, equipment, waitstaff, you name it. Along with our welcome home party ideas below, you’ll see photos of various bookable venues available on Peerspace to better understand what’s out there. Enjoy!

1. Order catering from their favorite local restaurant

After a trip away, people often miss the familiar dishes they love eating at home. So, serve all of the party person’s favorites from a local restaurant or, if home-cooking is what they missed most, make all of their favorite homemade dishes. Food conjures memories, so sometimes, the best way to make someone feel at home is to feed them something comforting and familiar. This would be an especially great idea if they didn’t have access to a specific type of food while away or if they got stuck eating the same three things repeatedly.

2. Serve a special cake

Cakes aren’t just for weddings and birthdays. A cake decorated with the words “Welcome Home” is a must-have for your welcome home party. You can also switch it up and serve a pie, cookie cake, or ice cream cake, as well as cupcakes with individual letters or decorated/customized cookies, based on the party honoree’s preference. Basically, if you can fit words on it, you can serve it!

3. Invite everyone they know and love

If you plan the welcome home party well enough in advance, you may be able to get just about everyone they know and love from their hometown in attendance. Send out invitations at least a couple of months before the party, and send friendly follow-up messages to those who don’t RSVP, letting them know how much their presence at the party would mean to the guest of honor. It might seem simple, but this might be the most important of these welcome home party ideas.

4. Host the party in a special Peerspace venue

It would make sense to host all welcome home parties in your home, but that’s not always practical. If you invite everyone you know and love, you may need a larger party space than your living room. Don’t worry; Peerspace has your back! You can rent a venue that resembles your loved one’s favorite place like a mansion, loft, bar, cafe, library, theatre, art gallery, creative studio, yoga studio, or even somewhere outdoors. You can also narrow your search results to find places with kitchens to make serving food easier. Chances are, if you can think of a place, you can probably rent it on Peerspace.

5. Ask everyone to dress up

A welcome home party is a big deal, so ask everyone to dress their best for the occasion. Set dress code guidelines on the invitations so that you can be sure everyone gets the memo. If you have pets, consider putting some bow ties or sweaters on them, too! Or, if it fits your loved one’s personality, turn the event into a costume party. You can leave that up to your guests’ interpretation or guide their costume choices with a theme.

6. Welcome them with the perfect playlist

Like food, music connects us to memories. So if you curate the perfect playlist, you can make them feel right at home again. You can also hire a band or musician for some live music through Gigsalad or The Bash to make the occasion extra special if you have the budget. Check out the honoree’s public Spotify playlists, do some social media snooping, or ask their closest friends for ideas of bands, songs, and genres that they love most. Or, think of the music they grew up listening to in the house and play those songs for old time’s sake.

7. Host a toast to the guest of honor

Show them how much you care and how much everyone missed them while away by hosting a toast. Grab some champagne, sparkling cider, or their drink of choice and some lovely flutes or glasses, and on the invitations, ask everyone to prepare to share some words at the party. Public speaking might be nerve-wracking for your more introverted guests, so consider laying out a journal where everyone can write a message to the guest of honor.

8. Go all out with the decorations

There isn’t exactly a template for decorating for a welcome home party. At the very least, you can’t forget the “Welcome Home” banner, but you can also decorate your party space with balloons in their favorite colors, flowers, photos. To make decorating more manageable, consider picking a theme! For example, if they were abroad, theme the party around that country, or use a patriotic theme when returning from deployment. If you can’t think of anything else, pick a color scheme or movie they like and run with it. Remember, if you find a suitable venue on Peerspace, odds are, you won’t have to decorate at all! That’s a lot less post-party hassle for you to worry about.

9. Make it a surprise

A welcome home party is the perfect event to turn into a surprise party because, unlike a birthday party, the guest of honor is less likely to suspect anything. To make sure everything goes off without a hitch, follow these guidelines: make sure to hide everything, do not leave any internet browsers open that could reveal the secret, make sure everyone involved is sworn to secrecy, have someone distract them while you set up, and come up with an alibi in case they become suspicious. This welcome home party idea requires the most coordination and effort, but if everyone is on the same page and keeps quiet, the party can truly be a surprise.

Bonus: Take them somewhere they’ve always wanted to go

This may not be one of the best welcome home party ideas five minutes after they get off the plane. However, after they’ve been back home for a couple of weeks, surprise the guest of honor by throwing a welcome home party somewhere they’re always wanted to go. For example, say you live somewhere snowy and think they would appreciate an escape from a harsh winter. In that case, book a beachside retreat in a beautiful setting! Invite as many of your friends and family that can come along.

This is also the perfect chance to try catering from a new restaurant, book a videographer to capture every exciting moment, and enjoy professional co*cktails on the premises. These are all things the Concierge service can assist you with if you booked a Peerspace to party at for a few hours!

Peerspace brings welcome home party ideas to life

Make your loved ones return home extra special with a welcome home party full of all of their favorite foods, people, pets, music, and things. Nothing shows you care like a big, personalized celebration. These welcome home party ideas will help you give them the recognition they deserve.

Find unique welcome home party ideas on Peerspace