Taking Your First Date To A Friend's Party - Good Idea Or Bad?

You are about to go on a date with a person and you've been invited to a friend's party at the same time. Should you just take your new date to the party? It seems to be the obvious answer, but here are several reasons why you may want to reconsider taking your date to any friend-hosted function.

You Don't Know The Person

Even if you've spoken with your date in person or on the phone or even if you've exchanged a hundred emails, you have no idea who this person is. The first date should be spent making sure the two of you are compatible and that's hard to do around a bunch of your friends. What if the person turns out to be a complete psycho and now you've invited the person into your friend's house? Take your date to a coffee shop instead and leave parties for subsequent dates where you're a little more familiar with the person and their personality.

Under The Spotlight

If you take your first date to a party full of your friends, your date might feel as though he/she is being scrutinized at every turn, and they'd be right to a certain extent, wouldn't they? Your friends are always going to look out for your best interests and good friends will tell you quickly if they don't like your new date. This might cause the person to act fake or unnatural in an effort to appease your friends. At any rate, that type of environment won't allow you to get to know anyone in any intimate capacity. You're better off at a restaurant or even a quiet park where you two can get to know one another in private.

What If You Don't Like The Person?

A very good reason not to take your first date to a friend's party is because you might not like your date. When you're at a restaurant or coffee shop and you don't like the date's direction, you can just excuse yourself at any time. Are you going to have the intestinal fortitude to kick your date out of your friend's party the moment things turn south? Or are you going to suck it up and continue to hang out with the person, ruining your good time and your date's? Of course you never expect a date to go sour, but it can happen. Take your date somewhere else and make sure you have an exit strategy planned in case your date turns out to be a dud.

A friend's party sounds like a great time and a perfect place to take someone you're trying to get to know better, but a first date is tricky. Find someplace a little more private and personal and you'll have a much better time.