If you had a party and served frozen foods, beer in cans, wine out of a box, no music at all, and kept the light on, the party would not be too great at all. There are rules for entertaining good food, good drinks, and atmosphere.

Even casual parties need to serve fresh food. Serving finger foods is a good idea this is because there are no utensils used so there is less of a clean up afterwards. Serve the finger foods on a tray so you don't need to run back and fourth from the kitchen. You too need to have enjoyment from the party.

Never ever serve canned beer. Wine should be bought in bottles. It should not cost you an arm and a leg even though it doesn’t come from a box. It is always a good idea to have some liquor in the house anyway, just in case you have guests drop by that like to have a drink or two.

As for atmosphere it had three components music, lighting, and decoration. There needs to be music at every party. Where there is good music there usually is dancing, and parties are a lot better if there is dancing. With the lights on nobody will even think about dancing. It is a good idea to have your light switches changed to dimmer switches sometime if you plan to have a few parties over the years.

The table with the finger foods and the liquor will probably be the focal point so pretty it up with some flowers and a table cloth. If it is a theme party then decorate accordingly. There is no need for anything tacky, just flowing decorations.

Mingle with your guests; there is no need to be running back and fourth. Enjoy the atmosphere that you have created, have some fun too.