There are two main ways of running a home party. The first is order based and the second is cash and carry. There are positives and negatives for each. You need to decide which method suits you best.
Cash & Carry
This is similar to a craft show in that you take as much stock as possible to somebody's home and sell only what you have on display. Positive elements of this kind of party are that you don't need to go home and immediately start work on pouring orders, you know exactly how much stock you have to sell and people can see exactly what they are buying. Customers also get to take their orders home with them immediately instead of waiting for them to be made. The negative side is that you are limited as far as how much money you can make to how much stock you take with you and if you sell out of a particular scent, the customer has to choose an alternative. You can however, always offer them the option to place an order for a sold out item and combine cash and carry with the order based parties. This is probably the best method for those new to parties or if you will be retailing somebody else's products.
Order Based
These are the style of party that I personally prefer. When I do parties I will take one of each item with me. This includes one of every votive candle fragrance, one of every novelty (usually with some different colours for comparison) and one of each pillar size, one of each gel etc so the customer can see a cross section of my entire range. From this they then place an order for the item that they want. The positive side is that you are not limited to selling just the stock you have on hand as everything is poured to order. If you are out of stock of a fragrance, you have time to order it from your supplier and you can offer the customer the option of custom colour/scenting their candles. The downside is that you then have to spend the next couple of weeks solidly filling party orders!
Taking the orders (order based party)
I have a separate order form for party orders. On the left hand side they put their own name address and tel no, and on the right hand side is the hostess's name and the date of the party. When I take their orders from them I go through their totals with a calculator and make sure they are correct. I then assign each one a number. If the hostess's name is Joanne Smith, the first guest's order number is JS1, the second is JS2 etc. I write each number on the top of their order form and also when I write the receipt for their money, I put their number on the receipt too so if there are any problems it's easier to match them up by number than by hunting through piles of order forms!!
I insist on payment up front for party orders just incase anybody changes their mind about an order. A lot of my work is custom based and I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of green lavender candles that I can't shift!!!
