From sending invites to making sure you have food and drinks enough for everyone, planning a party can be quite an arduous task, no matter how much you enjoy having people over. And although having one ‘pot luck’ style is a good hack, your guests would much rather prefer that you, as the host, took care of everything.

The ‘boodle fight’ is a great way to check at least one of your party preparations off your list—setting the tables—because a boodle fight only requires a single long table and a lot of food.

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A typical boodle fight layout. Photo from www.angsarap.net

Few know that we have the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to thank for the concept, as the boodle fight originated from the military’s practice of members of the army, regardless of rank, gathering around a long table and eating food spread over banana leaves with their bare hands.

As primal as it sounds (‘boodle’ fight is military jargon for ‘attack the food’ after all), a boodle fight need not be so messy. Just follow these tips to make your boodle fight the talk of your barkada:

1. Have a theme.

Few things are more fun than themed parties, and your boodle fight’s can be reflected in the decorations, activities and, of course, the food! Prepare a lei for each guest, and serve kalua pork for a Hawaiian luau; spice up your guests’ evening with a Mexican fiesta, complete with tacos, enchiladas and margaritas; or go organic and serve only vegetarian delicacies!

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2. Come in costume.

Have your guests come as opposing characters, and prepare for a real fight! Heroes and villains, nerds and jocks, #TeamNicki and #TeamTaylor—the possibilities are endless! At the end of the night, award the guest with the best costume and prepare a consequence for that one friend who was just too lazy to dress up (oh come on, we all have one).

3. Create food stations.

Encourage guests to move around and mingle by creating food stations—meat in one area, seafood in another, and desserts at the end. You also have the option of creating several stations of the same mix of food items, so guests don’t crowd the table. Print cute labels and directional signage for your stations so your guests don’t get lost in all the food!

4. Have an accessible wash area.

Since you’ll be eating with your hands (as much as possible), your guests will appreciate a wash area complete with hand soap, lotion, and the works. Surprise them with a masseuse giving free hand massages to make it more special!

5. Have food delivered.

Save time and have food delivered instead! With foodpanda, you can order food online from over 1,000 restaurants of different cuisines (Like Greenwich, Andoks, Omakase, Cibo, Pepper Lunch etc) and have them conveniently delivered to your doorstep via www.foodpanda.ph or the foodpanda app.

So gather your friends, order food, and have the best boodle fight! That’s one match you won’t mind having with one another.

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