I have done reading parties before. I used to restrict the amount of people, though...as many as I thought I could do in one night. So you need to figure out how comfortable you are reading for several people. If you feel you can only do a few per evening, then set up one night a week over the period of a month
In my experience, the people at these reading parties have usually been friends already, and so yes, they did mingle and chat in another room while I did readings. (If you need privacy for your readings, make sure this can be arranged in advance, so that you have a comfy spot to read in.
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You will find that people will begin to chat about tarot or fortune telling or psychics etc, and each will have a story of some sort to tell! Or, they will excitedly chat with each other as each person comes back from sitting with you.
Some ideas:
You can get them to draw numbers to see who goes first, who goes next, etc;
You can make it a wine and cheese (or dessert, or potluck, or what have you) night as well, and ask each person to bring something along;
You can set it up so proceeds go to charity, or you can read for your own fee, or for free; I used to make a set fee for the evening, and everyone would pitch in to make up the amount.
You can stick to the same spread for every person. Three cards is often enough to answer a question, and allows you to be able to fit more sitters in...
You can ask them to have a question prepared ahead of time. I found general readings simply took too long, so I would ask them to each write down one question for me at the beginning of the evening, and give it to me when it was their turn to sit.
I hope those tips help! Good luck, and have fun! And one last recommendation, focus on keeping your own energy on an even keel for reading - don't worry about the other people, they will entertain themselves!
ETA Annabelle gave you a great tip right there to start with!
