We usually eat variety of food (some classic party foods like chips but often also cheeses, hand made appetizers brought by guests and some main cooked by the host), enjoy boardgames and chat. That's about it.

I don't know if it's changed since, but when I was younger, the best parties were unplanned. If someone said they were having a party on Saturday night, guaranteed it would be forty people at a dull affair.

However, if fifteen people randomly ended up in one house with vast amounts of drink and drugs, the police would be called at some point and the local newspaper would finally have an interesting story

sex, drugs, and rock-'n'-roll

Most of the parties I go to are typically just chatting and drinking/smoking. Good way to meet new people that likely have similar interests to you, since everybody there already has at least one common connection, usually. Activities will depend on the friend group. Some of my get-togethers will have a light-hearted board game, sometimes everyone will watch a movie and riff on it MST3K-style, sometimes we'll just get high and bitch to each other about work.

Personally, I don't really go to parties where there's music or dancing, since that's not really my scene. But sometimes the mood will just be right and someone may crank up some tunes and start moving.

It really varies depending on your personal circles. If you're invited and feeling anxious about it, just go with no expectations. Just show up, hang out, chat a bit, and feel things out. If you decide you don't like it, you can always just leave, and usually nobody's gonna care.

I think stay home and get drunk by yourself. It's the only way to guarantee you won't say something slightly embarrassing and then dwell on it for the next week

People say "party" but really it is an awkward conversation generator. Unpleasant.

I get bored easily, so I bring instruments and play along with the music or the other musicians. Or, increasingly, I am the music.

I also bring my spindle, or my sewing. Or I stand around the kitchen helping with the food. Find a thing you do well, whether it is barbecuing skewers on the hotplate or pouring drinks, and then it will be a thing to do with your hands making for less awkward. Be helpful. And don't get too drunk because drunk people aren't as awesome as they think they are.