TikTok's "Chaos Party" Is For Mischief-Makers Only

With so much chaos swirling around us today — political chaos, climate chaos, "Love Island" chaos — it's time to take some chaos into our own hands. And before you say it: No, I'm not talking about hosting an orgy. (Though I love where your head is at.) I'm talking about throwing your own version of what one TikToker has christened a "chaos party," or an elaborate theme party with a robust list of nonsensical rules that will have your guests losing their minds from all the fun (and quite possibly frustration) that is sure to ensue.

The chaos party — a very different take on another internet favorite, "hostingcore" — got the world's attention this week when high school math teacher Kimberly Clark revealed how she masterminded one several years ago with her college roommates. What she described in her original video was a house party for which all 70 attendees received individualized "missions," to be completed by the end of the night. Some missions involved starting a conga line; others involved thwarting said conga line. Some required doing a load of laundry with five items of clothing from five different people. Some involved pickpocketing guests in the living room and hiding the treasures in the couch.

The irony of this party devoted to chaos was that it was anchored by a long list of rules. Clark said she and her roommates communicated those rules via a big poster hung on the wall, dictating when guests could speak (if the lights were off, they could only hum), what guests could wear (hats were required for entry into the "jazz room"), and what guests had to carry (something in each pocket, easy bait for the pickpockets).

While elements of this party sound like my personal nightmares (when did casual small talk and hiding awkwardly in the corner go out of style?), commenters on Clark's videos seemed delighted by the whimsy. Many expressed their delayed FOMO for not having been invited, and their remorse at not being part of this friend group. Some lovingly called it "diabolical" and "calculated." And some even dared to envision other iterations of the chaos party, like the dreamer who commented: "ok this but everyone's task is to clean a random part of my home." Inspiring.

In subsequent videos, Clark laid out even more details about how the party came to life, divulging that in the days leading up, the whole thing was shrouded in mystery. The event title on the original Facebook invite was just "[event]," and there were very few clues as to what guests could expect. Someone who appears to be one of the old roommates commented on Clark's video: "you're forgetting that we only posted the rules 24 hours before the event and until then it was just a blank event on fb."

Even with nothing but the blank event, Clark said 70 of the 100 people they invited RSVP'd, leaving her viewers to wonder how the roommates were able to confirm so many guests before any information was even shared. Clark replied in the comments: "Yeah we had a reputation for great parties."

Indeed, the chaos party was not Clark's first rodeo. She and those roommates apparently hosted other legendary college parties, too, like a "Skype Interview" party — before Zoom was a thing. The dress code was "business on top, party on the bottom." They threw a middle school–themed party where everyone wore "middle school clothes" and played a platonic version of "seven minutes in heaven" in the closet. And on leap day 2020 they threw a "Frog Loko" party. (Don't ask me to explain that one.)

While all of them sound fun, the chaos party theme was a particularly prescient reflection of the chaos of our current times. And while a lot of what's happening around us can feel, well, out of our control, one thing we can do is reclaim a bit of that chaos for ourselves, harness that energy, and use it to throw an epic party.

Emma Glassman-Hughes (she/her) is the associate editor at PS Balance. In her seven years as a reporter, her beats have spanned the lifestyle spectrum; she's covered arts and culture for The Boston Globe, sex and relationships for Cosmopolitan, and food, climate, and farming for Ambrook Research.