How to Host a Paint and Sip Party: Beginner’s DIY Guide

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Have you been thinking about hosting a paint and sip party? If you have never done this before, you are probably wondering how to host a paint and sip party.

After all, you need more than just a guest list. You also need to make sure that you have all of the proper paint supplies and materials for everyone who will be taking part.

In the past few years, these paint parties have become increasingly popular. Many people are hosting these paint and sip parties in private homes.

Thanks to the Internet, the popularity of virtual paint parties was born, and there are lots of video tutorials available to use for free.

People could take part in the classes from the comfort of their own homes, without having to worry about being with people who were not in their bubble. Remember, virtual paint parties can be just as fun as in-person paint and sip parties.

Now that things are slowly getting back to normal, people are once again hosting sip and paint parties in their homes. 

If you are thinking about hosting your own paint party, keep reading to learn more about how to pull it off and having people asking you to host more paint parties.

Let’s dig deeper into how to paint and sip at home

How Much Does It Cost to Host a Paint and Sip Event?

When hosting a paint and sip party, there are a few expenses to consider. These include:

Venue rental

Do you own the venue or are you renting it?

The cost of renting a space for the event will vary depending on the location and size of the venue. 

For example, renting a space at a local community center may be more affordable than renting a space at a bar, hotel, restaurant or a professional studio.

If you have a big living room or a garage and you want to host your own paint party at home, this would save the venue cost.

If you’ve found a potential place, try to get in touch with the owner via phone call or write a letter requesting a venue for your paint and sip event.

Painting material supplies

When it comes to paint and sip materials, you’ll need to buy canvases, brushes, paint, and other equipment for each guest. The cost of these items will vary according to the quality and quantity of the supplies you buy and where you buy them.

Wine, snacks and other refreshments

If you plan on serving wine, cocktails, or other beverages and snacks, you will need to purchase and provide those as well. 

The tickets to these painting classes usually don’t include alcohol drinks. For snacks, check our guide for paint and sip food ideas.

Instructor fees

If you are not the teacher, and intend to hire an instructor to lead the event, you must consider their rates. A teacher’s fee will vary depending on their level of experience and competence.

Marketing costs

How do you plan to promote your paint and sip event? You may need to spend money on Facebook and Google ads or other promotional methods to attract attendees to your class. 

The cost of marketing will vary depending on the marketing channels you use and how effective you are at using them.

Insurance Cost

In case of any mishaps or injuries, you might also want to buy insurance.

Cleaning Cost

Who will be cleaning up the mess after the event is finished? Are you hiring a professional cleaner or you will be doing it yourself?

The price of holding a paint and sip event might vary from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on these considerations. 

When adding all the costs up, you should know how much to charge for a paint and sip session.

Tips for saving money on a paint and sip event

By following these tips, you can save money on your paint and sip event and still have a fun and successful event.

• Host the event at home, a public park or local community halls. This will save you the cost of renting a professional venue. Otherwise, try negotiating for cheaper venues.
• Purchase supplies in bulk and online in advance. This will save you money on the cost of each individual supply.
• Serve simple food and drinks. Snacks and water are always great options. Or you can ask the attendees to bring a dish and share with others.
• Promote your event using social media sites to reach a large audience. 

Choose the Venue and Format

The first step in the process of organizing a paint party is choosing the location or venue for the paint party, as well as the party format. Will the paint party be at your home, or at another venue?

If you want to host an online paint party, that’s a fun idea, too.

If you want to have an in-person paint party, you can do it just about anywhere, as long as you have the space. Depending on the weather, you may even want to host your own paint event outdoors.

One thing you will need to consider is space. For instance, if this is to be an indoor painting party, you will need to make sure that you have seating and workspace for the number of guests you plan to invite as well as knowing what to do if there are not enough people in the class.

Many people choose to use their dining rooms for these parties but keep in mind that most tables will only comfortably seat up to six people with easels. If you are inviting more than six, you will need to borrow or rent additional tables and chairs.

Is there going to be a party theme? Maybe this will be a family night or a shower for a bride to be.

Create and Send Paint and Sip Invitation

Once you have all the important details of your event, it’s time to create invitations and send them to your attendees.

I wrote a very specific guide on how to create paint and sip party invitations. You can read it to learn more.

Do You Need an Instructor?

A lot of these paint parties are taught by professional artists. If you are hosting this party in your own home, having a professional artist come in may not be a viable option.

But, even if you aren’t a professional artist yourself, you don’t always need to spend a lot of money to hire someone to teach the class.

Consider a Virtual Sip and Paint Party

Another option would be to set up a screen and play an online painting tutorial for you and your guests to follow along with. One of the great things about doing a paint party this way is that everyone can work at their own pace.

You can always rewind the video if someone needs to go over any of the steps again.

Check my detailed guide on how to host a virtual paint party for more tips.

Painting Ideas

When planning a DIY paint party, it is important to have at least a couple of sip and paint picture ideas for your guests to choose from.

I often tell paint party hosts to get their guests to vote on a couple of paint ideas, and the one with the most votes is the painting they will do.

What Will You Paint?

The next thing you need to consider is the painting that you will be doing. The final choice will depend on the skill level of those who will be attending.

If you and your guests are all beginners, it is best to choose a painting that is relatively simple to do. This is important if everyone is still learning about various art skills.

Flowers are always a great option for beginners, as well as simple landscapes. It is also recommended that you choose a painting that, for the most part, features primary colors.

That way you don’t have to worry about a lot of color blending, which is a more advanced technique.

On the other hand, if your guests already have some painting experience, you might want to choose something a bit more challenging for your paint night.

Don’t forget about the age group you will be working with, and choose the right painting for that age group.

What Paint Supplies Will You Need?

So, what do you need for a sip and paint?

Once you have decided on what you and your guests will create during the painting party, you will need to go out and purchase all of the necessary supplies.

Obviously, the most important thing you will need to supply is plenty of acrylic paint, with all of the paint colors you will need.

Keep in mind that you don’t need to use professional art supplies from an art store for paint parties. In fact, most dollar stores carry everything you need for your sip and paint party, and you won’t have to spend a fortune.

In addition to acrylic paint, you are going to need the following paint supplies:

Paint Brushes

Make sure you have a fine-point paint brush, a medium paint brush, and a large, flat brush for each workstation. Check our guide on different types of paint brushes.

Canvasses

Each person will need to have their own canvas to paint on. The size of canvasses should be at least 11X14 inches.

Easels

There are many types of easels. It is also important to have an easel for each participant, so they have a way to hold their canvases in place.

Palettes

Each person should have their own painting palette to use. You can either buy actual palettes or simply use paper plates that can be easily disposed of later.

How to Set Up the Workstations

Once you have all of the necessary paint supplies, it is time to set up the workstations for our painting party. One of the most important things to consider is lighting.

If you don’t have an actual paint studio already set up with proper lighting, you might want to consider placing some extra lamps around the room.

Space for Each Guest

You will need to make sure that you have enough space for each guest to be able to paint comfortably.

Protect Your Furniture

Paint parties can get quite messy, so it is important to make sure that you have the table covered. Then, if anyone does spill water or paint, it isn’t going to ruin your good dining room table.

Once again, your local dollar store is a great place to get what you need, including table covers. They always carry cheap, plastic tablecloths that you can use for paint parties.

Keep the Floors Clean

It is also a good idea to make sure that you have something to protect your floor, just in case paint or wine gets spilled. 

Again, those dollar store plastic tablecloths will come in quite handy to help you avoid a lot of cleanup after a sip and paint party. Or, you can also buy plastic sheets.

Provide Plenty of Snacks

Throughout the painting process, your guests will likely want to have something to nibble on. 

Make sure you have plenty of finger foods for your paint party that are easy to eat and won’t be overly messy. Some snack suggestions include a few bowls of potato chips, cheese and crackers, etc.

Don’t Forget the Beverages

Are you supplying the wine or other party drinks for your paint party, or is it going to be a bring-your-own-booze type of event? 

If you are supplying beverages, make sure that you also have some coffee, tea, juice, water, and soda for those who do not drink alcohol. Sip parties are for everyone, not just those who want to enjoy a few drinks at sip nights.

There should also be a wine glass for each guest. Make sure you have plenty of glasses, even if your guests are bringing their own drinks.

It’s important to make sure that all of your guests are above the legal drinking age to avoid unnecessary liabilities.

Keep Cleaning Supplies On-Hand

There should be at least one roll of paper towels at each workstation for sip and paint parties. This will encourage everyone to clean up any paint spills that may happen, and you won’t have nearly as much cleanup to do once everyone goes home.

Also make sure that you have a few damp cloths available for cleaning up any larger spills. You may also want to provide everyone with aprons to help keep their clothing clean.

Setting Up the Art Supplies

Make sure that each paint station has all of the necessary supplies. Each station should have a canvas, an easel, at least one water cup for cleaning brushes, paint brushes, craft paint or acrylic paints, and a paint palette. Basically, there will be painting kits for each guest.

Some people choose to share brushes and paints, so they keep everything in the middle of the table where everyone can reach them. But, since the supplies are so inexpensive at dollar stores, you may just want to supply each guest with their own materials to work with at each paint station.

One thing to keep in mind is how much paint each person will be using. Beginners often use far too much, so for this reason, you might want to use one set of paints and simply dole out what each artist will need. Another option is to have everyone bring their own supplies.

Ask Your Guests to Bring Hair Dryers

Chances are you only have one hair dryer. But, you can always ask your guests to bring their own to the paint party.

While it isn’t always necessary because acrylic paints do tend to dry quickly, if there are thicker coats of paint, hairdryers will ensure these areas are dry enough to paint over.

Ready, Set, Paint!

Once everyone has arrived and their creative juices are flowing, it’s time to start painting. If you have brought in an art teacher, they will take care of all of the instruction and more tips, and all you have to do is enjoy painting and sip your wine.

If you are using a video tutorial as a step by step guide, make sure that it is ready to start playing as soon as your guests are ready to begin painting. When using painting tutorials, it is a good idea to have a sample painting done in advance.

Then your guests will have something to go by besides the video painting tutorial, and you can offer up your own tips on recreating the painting.

Take Lots of Pictures

Make sure you and your guests take plenty of pics throughout the sip party. Not only will they have these beautiful memories (especially for those sip and paint for couples events), you can use the photos to show others just how much fun your painting parties are.

When everyone is finished painting, remember to take pics of those finished paintings so others can see what can be accomplished during these paint nights.

You might want to ask the attendees’ permission to use these photos for future marketing purposes.

What To Do After the Party is Over?

The one thing that no one enjoys about paint parties is the cleanup that comes after the painting party. It helps if your guests are cleaning up after themselves as they work, but this won’t always be the case with a sip and paint party, especially if you host sip and paint for kids.

Clean the Brushes

One of the first things you will need to do is clean up the paint brushes. Make sure that you soak them in water cups to keep the paint from drying on the bristles.

Wash the Palettes

If your guests have used palettes instead of paper plates, you will need to wash all of the acrylic paint off the palettes with dish soap and water. That way, they will be clean to use for your next paint and sip party.

Remove the Drop Cloths

If you have followed the advice in this article and used tablecloths and plastic drop cloths, there won’t be a lot of mess to clean up around the table or on the floor. Simply fold up the drop cloths and throw them away.

Offer Cleaning Tips for Clothing

It can be almost impossible to clean paint off fabric, which is why it is recommended that people don’t wear their best outfits while attending paint parties. 

You might want to print out a list of cleaning tips for your guests, just in case they do spill paint onto their clothing.

Clean Up Paint Spills on Hard Surfaces

If any paint has been spilled on hard surfaces, such as the table or the floor, try to clean it up while it is still wet. If you can’t get to it right away, you might be able to gently peel it off once it has completely dried.

Conclusion

Now that you have the information you need on how to host a paint and sip party, it is time to plan your paint party and enjoy spending time getting creative with your friends and family.

You can also learn how to start a sip and paint business without a franchise and how to host a paint and sip fundraiser on our blog.

See more:

• How much does it cost to start a sip and paint business?
• How to deal with drunk guests who drink too much

*image by Krakenimages/depositphotos