Listen up, party people! We may be in a Recession, and soon a Depression, with little or no cash to fund non-essential activities. But, just like Warren Buffett said of the stock market, I say of our social lives: this is no time to panic! If you have to, don’t go out as much. Spend less on entertainment. But, for God’s sake, if you’re going to stay home, DON’T NEST, HIVE!

Nesting is what we do when we’re depressed, inwardly focused, or – funny enough – preparing for a baby. It’s the instinct we have to hole up in our houses, apartments, RVs, tee-pees, whatever – and hibernate. But in trying times, humans crave comfort through connection – not isolation. And retreating can create a social depression on top of the already-horrific economic one.

So, we here at hiving understand that you might not want to spend more money on the parties we’ve been planning. In fact, the site is going to be moving away from planning them at all, and more toward helping YOU to hive when you’re at home. No matter the size, your home can be a place abuzz with group activity. A place where you can engage with other people through interesting, fun things to do. A place that impacts your social life, without impacting your credit card.

Here are a few ways to start hiving on your own:

1. Transform your regular outings to in-ings. Just because you can’t cover the cover charge at a club doesn’t mean you can’t keep dancing. Play iPod DJ instead, where everyone gets a 3-song DJ stint. And bypassing the bar doesn’t mean you can’t “Cheers”-it up on your own – with a Make-Your-Own Bloody Mary bar, with all the fixins, or a BYOB2, where your guests bring their own Bottle and a new Body – that is, a person that you don’t know.

2. Eat, drink, and enlighten. Staying in also doesn’t mean having to lose out on intellectual stimulation or higher learning. Host a salon, a cooking club, or a craft night, and you won’t even miss the lecture series, gallery opening, or 5-course meal.

3. Pick a theme. Coming up with a focal point instead of just a straight-up celebration — like an Old School Game night, with Chutes and Ladders, Parcheesi, and Connect Four or a Pot Luck Hors D’oeuvre Party, where everyone brings a small nibble that they pass – makes people feel invested in the gathering and makes it more memorable.

4. Party with a Purpose. Apply hiving.net’s philosophy by give your gatherings a higher purpose. Ask friends to bring over unwanted books for the local library, or canned goods for a food donation. Who wants to go to an expensive rubber chicken charity dinner anyway?

Staying at home may be the first sign that Americans are worried about their finances, but it doesn’t mean the end of our social lives, meaningful connections, or having fun.

Fun - surely that’s one thing that is Recession-proof.

Halloween approacheth, and I don’t care how costume-averse you may be, there are multiple other ways to HIVE on this holiday.

There are two great things about Halloween, in my opinion:

1) CANDY, and

2) Visiting peoples homes (a.k.a. their “hives.”)

I have never lived in a house that was conducive to the random trick-or-treater, so I try to create a reason to pure people over, like by hosting a masked game night on Halloween or just inviting friends to join me in eating sugary candy on the one night per year that it’s universally accepted.

Then, of course, you can kick off the Halloween “season” by carving a pumpkin — which, if you don’t remember from childhood, is a delightfully messy and wondrous craft activity. THIS WEEK’S Hiving::2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving CraftNight is sure to be the best option for doing so: we’ll provide the pumpkin and the carving materials, and a cash bar within reach, should the competition get stressful. Plus, you’ll be hanging with your friends and other hiving::partiers, not bratty Eddie from down the street who used to steal all your best jack-o-lantern ideas.

Finally, if you are lucky enough to live somewhere where mini-Pokemon and Princesses might visit you, don’t just give away candy at the door, try to HIVE, by inviting parents in for a sip from your ghoulish tea kettle or some other, more potent concoction. It’s a night of revelry, teeming with togetherness possibilities.

Put the WE in HalloWEen!

No matter your personal politics, this is going to be the most important election of your lifetime. Political HIVING, as it turns out, is something you can do to be more involved and have fun - around the debates, the get-out-the-vote efforts, and even in more formal “conversations” you might create around politics:

1) Throw a debate-watching party with friends, and print up BINGO cards with your favorite McCain phrases (”My friends”) or debate tactics (Obama shaking his head)  — and tack on a drinking game to make it more fun!

2) Get a group together and go canvass for your favorite candidate in a nearby swing state, like Nevada.

3) Or throw together a round table to talk about the issues most important to you.

All these politically-oriented things are HIVING, too — they are inventive get-togethers that help you connect with others AND give back. Get it?

But, most of all, don’t forget to register to vote! The California deadline is October 20!

“Workin’ nine to five, what a way to make a living;
barely getting by,it’s all taking and no giving.
They just use your mind, and they never give you
credit;
it’s enough to drive you crazy, if you let it!”

I don’t know about you, but today feels a lot more like Hump Day than Tuesday. And ever since I saw that great 1980 movie, “Nine to Five,” I knew (even at 10 years old!) that if I had to live my life in that boring, daily grind, women-objectifying world, I would end up hog-tying my boss and roasting him on a pit, just like Doralee.

So instead, I hive. And work as a freelance writer — making my own schedule and being my own boss.

Today feels like Hump Day, because I’m busy with a never-ending writing assignment and suffering a bit of ADD…because I can’t stop thinking about my evening plans to see the musical version of “Nine to Five” at the Ahmanson Theater! Dolly wrote the score, Allison Janney plays Lily Tomlin, and I’m attending with a fun group of friends who have been quoting the show all week long in rapid-fire emails. I can’t remember all those quotes, so in an effort to participate in theme, I downloaded the theme song and made a rockin’ ring tone out of it.

I’ll report back with my review - but know this: making a group purchase at the Ahmanson - and at every theater in the Center Theater Group - is a no brainer. So get a group together, make your reservations today, and hive/”Nine to Five” it!

I saw a fun play last night called “R.R.R.E.D.: The Redhead Musical Manifesto,” which was LA Weekly’s Pick of the Week, and created by a very talented singer/songwriter, Katie Thompson, who is a friend of my friend Steve Bauerfeind. Among other high points of the experience (including parts of the show, a celebrity sighting of Ryan Gosling, and a terrific catch-up with Steve) was the show’s intermission concession stand, which hand-picked items in the same “celebration of all things red”-theme of the show, with Big Red gum, and “Annie” DVDs, Skittles, Two Buck Chuck, and even Big Red soda - which I haven’t seen since Big D days.

I may have to copy the color theme for an upcoming party (Maybe I’ll have a PURPLE PARTY or a BLUE BASH? Green and Black & White are sooo last year.) — with the addition of customized M&Ms (so easy to do if you have even 2 days advance thought!) and a matching colored cocktail (you can find cocktail recipes stored this way from one brand here.)

(Red) Food for thought…